Hearing Loss LIVE Talks with Listen Technologies

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Hearing Loss LIVE! Talks  with Listen Technologies.  Julia: Hello, welcome to Hearing Loss LIVE!  This week, we sit down with Listen Technologies,   who is an assistive listening device company  that helps people with a hearing loss,   especially in open venues out in the public.  I first met Listen Technologies, oh gosh,   when was our first Walk4Hearing? Oh my heavens,  maybe 2008, 2009. So, 2010, wow. And they were a  

huge contributor to helping us have a successful  Walk4Hearing that first year and following years.   We have with us, Amanda Nielsen and Cody Hall,  both from Listen Technologies, they are going   to introduce themselves and talk a little  about Listen Technologies, and their latest,   which I've already forgot the name, their  latest product called Listen EVERYWHERE.   Who would like to start, Cody or Amanda? Amanda:  I'll start. My name is Amanda Nielsen,  and I'm the content marketing manager   at Listen Technologies, and I've just  been there just a little over a year.   Go ahead, Cody. Cody: All right. Yeah. Thank you for having us. I'm  Cody Hall. I'm product manager here at Listen  

Technologies. I've been here for a combined 14  years, couple stints here at Listen. I love it   here. I love being able to provide equipment that  helps people to hear and enrich their lives. So,   it's great to be here today. Julia: Thank you. Amanda, do you  want to share your slides  

and talk about Listen Technologies? Amanda: Thank you. Yes. How do we do?   Okay. You can see screen now, right? So,  Listen Technologies was founded in 1998   by our founder, Russell Gentner, and he actually  is also hard of hearing, wears a hearing aid, and   he really founded the company so that he could  find ways to innovate in the assistive listening   industry. He noticed that a lot of the technology  hadn't really changed for years, and so,   he started in order to start innovating and making  experiences better for people with hearing loss.  Amanda: I will go to the next slide. So I just  wanted to talk a little bit about some of the   different technologies of assistive listening that  you'll find in the industry. If you go to a venue,  

we offer these different product lines. So,  ListenRF, which is great radio frequency.   And ListenRF is unique in that Listen  Technologies offers radio frequency in   both 72 megahertz and 216 megahertz. And what this  means is that in the 216 megahertz, we actually   can cover very large venues. So, if you go to  a large stadium, you can use the same receiver.  

You may have had the experience where they  had to figure out where you were sitting   to give you the right receiver. And with our  ListenRF, there's no need to coordinate where   you're sitting with your receiver, it covers the  entire stadium. So, very large coverage areas. So   for example, Seattle Seahawks, the Dallas  Cowboys' stadium, both of those use Listen   Technologies, assistive listening systems. ListenIR, which is infrared, so that's just like   your remote control, and that light that goes from  your remote to your TV to change the channel or   hit the volume that is infrared light. And that  is really great for things like courtrooms.  

One of the things that comes with infrared  technology is the security, because it is line   of sight secure. So you receive the sound with  the light, and if you're outside of the room,   you can't access the audio for that  room. So that's great for, like I said,   courtrooms, medical settings, anywhere where  security is, you want to keep the sound secure.  

And we also offer a little bit of a different  product called ListenTALK, and that's a one-way   or two-way group communication system that allows  you to hear in difficult hearing environments.   And ListenTALK really actually has three very  powerful uses. So, there's group communication.   Think about taking a small tour of a manufacturing  plant in a difficult hearing environment,   ListenTALK provides clear audio directly to  users, and because it's one-way or two-way,   people have the flexibility to set it up for either just listening or you can have a group of   people and that can ask questions. So it's great  for tours, training, communicating with masks   in difficult hearing situations like that.  So for example, Duracell Batteries has  implemented ListenTALK at the beginning of the  pandemic so that their employees could remain   physically distant for safety, but also still  clearly hear and communicate with each other.   It's also a very powerful, portable assistive  listening system, so if you have situations,   for example, a courtroom, again, a courtroom is a  great example of ways that you can use these for   sidebar conversations. Anything that needs  to be heard clearly, but still maintain space  

or overcome other hearing obstacles like  masks, distance, anything like that, right?  And then we have Listen EVERYWHERE, which is our  audio over wifi product that Cody is going to go   into more detail, so I won't tell you too much  about that, but it's really just accessing   audio via wifi streaming, right? And then we have  Listen NAVILUTION, and Listen NAVILUTION is a tour   product that is actually GPS-triggered content.  So you can either hop-on, hop-off type tours,   or guided tours on either boats,  trains, planes, anything you want,   GPS-triggered content. You record the content, so  a story about an interesting place, and then your   guests use the audio and listen to the audio, and  it's automatically triggered as you travel around   what you're touring. So those are our product  lines, and now I am going to turn it over to Cody   to talk about Listen EVERYWHERE. Cody: Yeah. Thanks, Amanda.   That's a good introduction to our five  product lines that we sell here at Listen.  

Starting back in probably 2012 or so, we started  to hear, this is before we had Listen EVERYWHERE,   which, like Amanda said, is an audio over wifi  streaming solution, back in 2012 we started to   hear a lot about, "Why can't I just use my own  personal device? Why do I need to go to the front   desk at a venue or at a museum? Why do I need to  go check out a device when I got one in my hand,   why can't you send it to my phone?" And so really  that was what the industry was asking for was   a lot of audio over wifi type solution. So, we went through a couple generations of   product. In 2014, we launched our ListenWiFi  solution, and through multiple evolutions of   that product and figuring out what works and what  doesn't work and really catering it for the user,   here we are in 2022 with a really  cool Listen EVERYWHERE solution,  an audio over wifi solution. So, let's talk about  kind of what Listen EVERYWHERE is in general and   the applications that we see customers where  they require an audio over wifi type solution   as compared to some of those other  solutions like ListenRF and ListenIR.  So, Listen EVERYWHERE is the, like I  said, audio over wifi streaming solution,   and it's done to your smartphone. So,  guests don't have to stop by the front desk,   they can just use their own smartphone. The  only requirement is they have to download an app  

to receive the audio. This system is great  for applications such as assistive listening,   language interpretation, or video wall,  TV listening, things like gyms, casinos,   houses of worship, we sell a ton in houses of  worship, theaters, conference centers, bars,   schools, the list goes on and on where really it  can fit. It's one of the most asked for solutions   that I think we offer here at Listen. It's grown  in popularity tremendously with the smartphone.  With that being said, I also want to  mention like what Chelle's done. We got   her a server here a couple months ago, and she's  actually using it in her own living room. So,  

that's another application. Listen EVERYWHERE  just simply provides a method to send audio over   any wifi network, whether that be at home, at  school, any existing wifi network, you simply   plug our server into the network, or your home  router, whatever it may be, or a network switch,   and plug the audio into that server, and now  you're streaming audio channels over that   specific network, wherever you may be. So this  can be ideal for any hard of hearing individuals,   or even say, it's, you don't want to disturb  your partner while they're maybe sleeping and   you're watching TV. So really, there's a wide  range of applications for Listen EVERYWHERE.  So, I kind of gave you an overview there of how  the system works. Like I said, it's very simple  

and straightforward. You simply plug that server  using a Cat 5 cable, plug it into your router   at home, we all have a Cat 5 connection or  otherwise known as an ethernet connection.   You just plug that server right into your router,  and inject the audio in just like you would a VCR   or any other type of AV equipment used in RCA  cables, or we support professional balanced   lines for more professional applications  like at theaters and in the professional AV   world. And then our users just download the Listen  EVERYWHERE app, it's free on our Play Store,   or on the Play Stores, the Play Store and App  Store, I should say, and you download it, and the   app will find those channels on the network, and  make it accessible to the users. So, it's really,   really simple to set up and use. Can  we go to the next slide there, Amanda?  

You can't figure it out? Amanda: Yes. Just a second. Oh my goodness.  Cody Hall: While she's doing that, I'll just talk  about the Listen EVERYWHERE. We do here at Listen,   we understand, Listen EVERYWHERE is  an important piece of the future.   Being an audio over wifi solution with what  we call BYOD, bring your own device, it's very   much asked for and requested here for people  to just use their own personal smartphone.   So we do view it as a big piece of the  future of assistive listening because of   that power of just bringing your own device.  So, let's talk about some of the advantages of  

using Listen EVERYWHERE. We just hit on one, I  don't have to ask for a device at the front desk,   right? We can just simply walk right in. There's  no stigma associated to asking for a device, using   the device, everyone's already on their phones,  they're already connected with their phones,   and so, it just makes sense to use their phone. The other one that I hit it on is it uses your   existing network. So, once again, wherever  you have wifi, you have coverage for assistive  

listening, which, when you kind of compare  that to some of the other technologies,   that's not necessarily true, you're within a  limited range. Sometimes that's on purpose,   like with ListenIR, you don't want it to leave  the room, and that's where it's very powerful,   and confidential, and secure in that way. But if  you're trying to get maximum coverage in a space,   we're already covering it with wifi, right? Every  building, it seems like in the world, has wifi   that's being put in, or they want to put it in  and have that full coverage everywhere we go,   so it makes sense in that way to  use the existing wifi network.  iOS and Android. So we support, like I said, iOS  and Android, and it's free. It's a free app, you   download, there's no charge, we're not going to  prompt you for any payment, it's free to the user.   So, the only thing that's required to purchase is  the venue has to just buy a server, they're very   low-cost, budget-friendly, buy a single server  that would be plugged in, like we talked about,   and kept at your facility. And they range from,  I probably should have brought one to show, they  

range from a little box that's much smaller than  a VCR, it's probably even smaller than a toaster,   it's just a small little box you would throw  in. And they range to a full rack mountable   multi-channel unit, so, we have multiple different  variants of those servers. That's the only   requirement, like I said, the app is free. And in  regards to the app, we all know there's updates  

that are constantly coming to iOS and Android, and  Listen has been committed and will continue to be,   every time there's a new Android update, iOS  update, we are on top of that, and we work with   Apple and Google to make sure we're ready when  those updates hit, that were fully compatible,   and we're able to deliver that same  great experience for the end user.  Another cool thing that we launched, I think it's  been about a year ago now, is private channels.   So, for applications where they want  security and the confidentiality or privacy,   we can password protect channels, so that, say  a student at a higher education institution,   they have to put in a passcode in order to  access that audio channel. So kind of a cool,   neat feature the market was asking for that  we've added in. And you can set one, or all,  

or many, they can have the same password,  different passwords, it's really flexible   the way we did that. So the private  channels is a cool feature.  The next one there on the list, low latency,  is important, and I wanted to spend a minute   and talk about this. Latency, let's start with  what is latency, latency is the time it takes   for the audio to be sent to our server,  go over the network to your smartphone,   your smartphone to process it, put it out  into your earpiece to be transmitted back   to sound waves into your ear. How much time does  that all take? It's not instantaneous. And so,  

there's always some amount of delay no  matter what technology we're talking about.   With Listen EVERYWHERE, we want customers to know  it is low latency, and we want you to try it out   yourself. We even have a video on our website, you  can check out, but with Listen EVERYWHERE, we have   great lip sync, it's virtually imperceptible. So, that is important for real time audio,   and that's another reason we use your local wifi  network. We don't go out to the internet and come   back because it would be a second behind, two  seconds behind. We don't do that, we keep it   local, because we're focused on that low latency  audio, real time audio, which is important.  

It's important not... for strain, and I'm sure  the hard of hearing community is even more so   with lip sync reading, Chelle, correct me if I'm  wrong, but I would think that would be even more   important within the hard of hearing community.  So yeah, low latency is important. And then,   like we said, no checking out devices. You  can simply walk in... Yeah, go ahead, Chelle.  

Oh, you're just saying, yeah. Chelle: I'm sorry. I was just going,  yay, because I love not checking out devices and  returning them, that takes up so much time. So,   that's just awesome to me. Cody: Yeah. No standing in line,  

no happened to go back upstream through  everybody trying to leave a facility to   return it to the front desk, right? It is  a nice thing. And then the sanitary-ness  of it is nice too, right? We don't have to  worry, especially with COVID and everything,   it is nice not to have to worry about what germs,  or did it get cleaned properly? Someone else has   been touching this, I'm just simply using my  own smartphone, so that is a huge thing.  Another really cool thing with Listen EVERYWHERE,  and some customers use it, some don't,   but it is a tool that we've offered, another  free tool, I should mention, is we have what   we call our cloud services tool that allows you  to completely customize that mobile app. If you   don't want it to say, Listen EVERYWHERE on there,  you don't have to have it say Listen EVERYWHERE,   you could have it say, Chelle's living room.  You could have your own photos on the app.   You can change the color, the themes, you could  upload PDF documents of... whatever you want,  

it's really customizable and flexible,  and we've created a cool tool to  customize that app. So, I did want to mention  that, because it is a cool feature, and no one   else has really done that out there to the extent  that we have. So, we're pretty proud of that.  And then the last thing, which is really  big, is Listen EVERYWHERE is compatible   with your existing t-coil or telecoil  and Bluetooth-enabled hearing aids.  As we know, 85% of major smartphones are hearing  aid compatible and then that number is growing.  

And so, that is an important statistic. And  basically that means if you receive audio   on your smartphone, you're going to get it to  your hearing aid, right? So we now have that   connection there, the odds are... And we offer two  connection methods and I wanted to talk about each   of those. So, the first one being that, that  telecoil, and I'm sure Chelle, and Julia, and   you guys are aware of the telecoil operation.  For those that don't, telecoil is an inductive,   in the hearing aid, you can  flip a switch or sometimes it's   programed that way to pick up an inductive field  to the audio to go into the hearing aid.  And so, with our Listen EVERYWHERE  system, you got your phone,  how do I get it to that telecoil? Well, we offer,  here at Listen, and have for a number of years,   what we call a neckloop, an inductive neckloop.  Simply put it around your neck, and plug this in,  

and it can plug into any device. It's a typical  eight-inch jack, 3.5 millimeter jack that you   plug into your smartphone or anything, and  now it's telecoil-compatible. So, that is an   important accessory. And it's also important for  the ADA, the ADA does require that. You have to   have a certain percentage of neckloops for each  receiver. And we can talk about the receivers   here in a minute, but the neckloop is an important  piece of that because that is so important   for people with hearing aids. Traditionally,  telecoils have been around for years and years,  

it's a very old technology, but it is written in  the ADA that neckloops have to be provided. So,   we're proud to say, Listen EVERYWHERE still  supports that telecoil functionality.  The other one is Bluetooth, and this one's been  growing like crazy over the last decade or so,   and especially the last few years with a lot  of modern hearing aids are Bluetooth-capable,   and already connected into people's smartphones.  So odds are, if you're a hearing aid user,   you probably got a device that you're already  connected to. And so, that just makes it that   much easier. So you don't have to worry about  a telecoil at all now, and you get better audio  

quality with Bluetooth as well. So, simply  download our app, receive the audio over wifi,   and you're already connected to that hearing aid  high quality, high fidelity audio. So, any audio   on your device is sent to your hearing aid.  So, those two pieces of compatibility are huge   both for the ADA and for the  hard of hearing community.  And with that, we've reached the end of my  list on that. Yeah, then we got one more slide,   it looks like. So, I'll sum up the  end user experience here, it's simple,  

right? You download the app, you walk in,  not check out a device, walk in, sit down,   launch that app. Well, you will have to connect  to the venue's wifi network, if you've been   there before, your phone will automatically do  that, launch the app, it will automatically find   channels on the network, and I simply select  a channel within the app and I'm now streaming   right to my hearing aid or through my ear  speaker or whatever it may be that I have   connected to it. So, it's really that easy. And then I did want to mention that we offer   signage. As you mentioned, signage is  important. It is very important that  we advertise this at venues, right? That,  hey, we have assistive listening available,   download the app, step one, two, three, connect  to the wifi, choose your desired channel. So,  

we have posters, and that's what this slide here  is showing some posters, table tents, window   clings, I think is also in that kit. And so, it's  important to advertise to people to know that   assistive listening service is provided.  Any questions on any of that, that we want   to talk about? I do want to jump into the  ADA, but I wanted to pause for a minute,   and that was a lot, so I want to give us  a chance to catch up here before we do.   Julia: Thank you, Cody. This is Julia,  and I am going to have two questions,  and I also want to have time to talk about  how involved with the community you are,   because you guys are stellar with nationwide  community advocacy with hearing loss. But Chelle,   I want you to give a quick synopsis because I  know you've been trying this Listen EVERYWHERE   and I want to hear your thoughts on it, and I  do have two simple questions after she's done.

Chelle: Chelle's living room. Listen  EVERYWHERE is really awesome. I also have a   hearing loop in my living room, which I've used,  and what I liked about the Listen EVERYWHERE is   that there's some metal interference in my living  room. So I get that teeny-tiny hum that comes in   the hearing loop, and we really couldn't get  over that with the simple loop design we have.   When I walk into another room and outside of  the loop area, it's like all audio pretty much   stops and it goes into a major hum in other parts  of the house. So I've never been able to use   the loop outside of the loop. So, when  I got to try the Listen EVERYWHERE, 

I don't have Bluetooth hearing aids, I have  old hearing aids, I cannot connect with them,   so I'm just listening with ear buds. And I like  to do that, I like to practice listening because   it keeps my brain recognizing sounds, and words,  and stuff, so, I do that every chance I get. I had Listen EVERYWHERE on and my husband was  watching the news, which is something I don't   usually watch, but I like, it gives simple sound,  there's no background noise to it or anything.   So I was in the kitchen making dinner, chopping  vegetables and stuff, and I'm starting to argue   with the newscaster. I'm like, wow, this is really  good, that I'm sitting in here arguing with the   newscaster. So, it's awesome, and no matter where  I go in the house, I am still connected to the  

sound. So, it used to be, "Pause the movie,  let me go to the kitchen and get a soda."   Now it's like, I just walk in, grab my soda and  the sound is following me everywhere. So I really   like Listen EVERYWHERE, and I hope a lot of places  consider taking it up because it is so easy.  

When you were talking, Cody, I thought,  wouldn't this be amazing at airports?   I hear nothing at airports, so I  think it would be amazing in an  airport. And for the first time in many  years, I want new hearing aids with Bluetooth.   So, it's awesome. And this is the first product  to come along to make me want to go out and buy   hearing aids.

Julia: This is Julia. That takes a lot for Chelle too, to   change, change, no. Okay, Cody. Cody Hall: Yeah. I was just going to say,   we love to hear that here, right? That's  what we do, we want to help people and   change their lives, and help them to hear,  so that really makes my day to hear that.  Julia: Okay. I'm going to ask you two  simple questions. So, I think you kind of answered this with, the device can be  this size versus this size for the receiver,   is that based on your wifi ability, correct?  Or is that based on how many, maybe,   let's say it's the university stadium, so you want  a certain size to cover whatever this, let's say,   5,000 fans, is that how that's kind of based? Cody Hall: No, not necessarily. What it is,  

it's number of channels. So, if we want to just  have two audio channels, our little box that,   like I said, is smaller than the size of a  toaster, I don't know if that's a good example,   it's smaller than the size of a toaster, little  box, that two-channel device would suffice. If   we start getting into 4, 8, 12, 16 channels,  that's where we got a full, they're 19-inches   wide because that's the width of a traditional  rack mount in a professional audio AV closet,   and those mount right in. So they're a little  bit longer to facilitate that, which is usually   our high channel count type applications. Anyway,  like you're saying, an airport, or a large venue,   or a stadium, that would be maybe higher channel  count, we would have the bigger server. So,  

all of our servers support 1000 users, no matter  how big, no matter the size or channel count they   are, they all support 1000 users. Julia: Sweet. So, that's probably part  of my second question. So if I wanted just  a little two-channel one, because I want   my office to work for me and my  living room to work for my husband,   that would be the scenario. Correct? Am I right? Cody Hall: Two-channel server. Yep,   that's right. And it doesn't matter  where that server's at physically,  

as long as it's connected to your network.  Yeah, you can have audio over on one side of the   building or the wifi coverage and one over here,  and it'll service both those on the same network,   and you and your husband in that scenario  would just select different channels.  Julia: Perfect. Yeah, that  was my second question.  Cody: Yeah, no problem. Chelle: She's trying to save her marriage,   the TV's too loud.   Julia: Yeah, that. Cody: Yeah, whatever you got to do, right?

Julia: So, Michele or Chelle, you guys  have had a longer, I think, relationship  with Listen Technologies than even myself, if  you want to talk about your experience on how   much they actually work in the community  to advocate, they volunteer time,   they donate services. Do you guys want to talk  a little bit about your experiences with that?   Michele. Michele: I'll just mention that I've been a volunteer for  the SayWhatClub for many years now. I joined in   2008, and when I started attending conventions is  when I started hearing about Listen Technologies,   and I've never been able to wear hearing aids,  I have severe hyperacusis, so I can't tolerate   sound. But with a hearing loop, that little  bit of noise, little bit of sound that I get   without any background interference really  enhances my lip reading even though I have just a   few low tones now, I'm going to assume that Listen  EVERYWHERE would going to be the same concept.  

But anyway, Listen Technologies has always  been a great support of the SayWhatClub,   and you've sponsored us, and I believe  you helped us install a loop one year.  Yeah, I think a couple of years. So, we  really appreciate how you insert yourself   in the community and your commitment to  making the lives of people who are deaf   and hard of hearing much better. So, thank you. Chelle: Okay. So this is Chelle, and I started   going to the Sanderson Center, I think in 2009.  And in 2010, as Julia said, we had a Walk4Hearing.   And I think Listen made sure the loop was laid out  in the park outside, which was really cool, and   made sure we could hear. And then I think you guys  did that all three years that we had the walk.   And then also Listen has been wonderful about  supporting our local HLAA Chapter in any events   that come along for the hard of hearing  sponsored lunches. You've also been awesome in  

letting me try things that come out. And I really  enjoy that. I remember trying the ListenTALK back   at the Hale Center Theater when there was a  tour there, and also at the ribbon cutting   like three or so years ago at the offices there  too. And you guys did a tour of your whole   offices and work area with the ListenTALK. So, I like that because it allows two-way  

communication, and somebody could press the  button and talk, and everybody hears it,   and then there was no spinning my head around  to find out who was talking, I could actually   hear them like they were right there. And, let's  see, I always, yeah, the SayWhatClub convention,   I was really happy to bring you along there and  introduce you to them. And you guys sponsored   them quite often for their convention, and Listen  is just really awesome about supporting the hard   of hearing community. Thank you. Julia: Amanda.  Amanda: Yeah. I just wanted to say that that  is music to our ears. Chelle, that's one of the   reasons that Listen Technologies exist. One of our  core values, we believe everyone deserves the same  

great experience. And so, that's our whole  mission with our improving and innovating   every product that we have is to make it the best  easiest experience for the very end user, right?   So, yay. Cody: Yeah. And that's why we also have five different  technologies and solutions too, right? Because  

every application is just maybe a little bit  different. And Chelle, like you just said, two-way   communication. If you want two-way communication,  that's where ListenTALK is going to be   a better solution for assistive listening, or tour  guides, or whatever it may be. We have ListenIR,   today we talked in depth about Listen  EVERYWHERE, but here at Listen, we're   not married to any one particular technology, it's  about providing the right solution to the problem   that's going to give the best experience  to the end user. So, that's our mission  

and that's why we have different product  lines to support the different applications.   We've had a lot of, I didn't want to mention, we  have worked with the HLAA in the past quite a bit   with hearing loops. We have our ALD locator  also that we have put out online to make it   easy for people to find venues to have any  of these solutions, whether it's an IR, FM,   wifi-type solution. We're constantly looking for  ways to help that end user hear at facilities. Julia: Thank you, Cody. One of the  things I like is your compliance covers   many different areas, large venues for public  venues under Americans with Disability Act,   it also could easily cover any employer who is  also responsible for accommodations for ADA,   especially in their conference room areas. And  price-wise, if you were redoing a conference room,  

why not look into Listen Technologies, see what  you can fit into that. Even us with hearing,   in those big board rooms, man, it's a nightmare  sometimes, it'd be nice to be able to just   listen to the speaker that I may need  to have important information on.   I like that. I like that you're  all-inclusive for ADA compliance.  

Any other thoughts, questions? Cody. Cody Hall: Yeah. So speaking about ADA, I mean,   obviously the ADA calls out the American with  Disabilities Act, the latest version from 2010,   it calls out that most venues or any  venue where there's amplified audio,   they need to provide receivers  or assistive listening devices.   They need to provide those at the  front desk or make them accessible   for any individual to ask for, and have signage up  that they have those to be compliant with the law,   and that's part of the ADA. And also part of  the ADA is that neckloop that I talked about,   you have to have a certain percentage that also  have neckloops. So, with Listen EVERYWHERE,   the question does come up, well, if people are  using their own smartphones and their own devices,   are we compliant? Now today, we don't offer any  type of dedicated wifi receiver. For customers   that ask us, we would tell them, well,  go buy a handful of cheaper smartphones,   load the app on it, keep them in your drawer,  and we consider that to be compliant per   what the ADA calls equivalent facilitation. And  so, as long as you're providing a solution, you're  

going to be fine, you're going to be compliant. So, I did want to point that out that   that is the solution for the ADA. And like I said,  we also sell neckloops. So people shouldn't shy   away from Listen network due to that, due  to the fact that people have additionally   for years purchased RF and IR systems, those are  not the only technologies. This is 2022, we have  

many other technologies now and on the horizon,  that I'm sure is going to change people's mindset   on that. And I also did want to mention that  Listen has some exciting new products this year   that will address a lot of these concerns. So stay  tuned. I'll just leave it at that. Stay tuned,   because Listen EVERYWHERE will be ADA compliant. Julia: Nice. So, all you public venues out there   doing updates this next year, call Listen  Technologies first, that's what I say.  

Any other questions or comments? Chelle. Chelle: Yeah, this is Chelle. I've always   got something to say, I think. Yeah, be sure to  let me know what new technology comes out because   I just love trying new technology all  the time. Even Michele and I have tried   like a buzz band with haptics on it to  keep us included in our environment. So  

technology's just way fun, and it's keeping up  with my hearing loss, and you guys offer amazing   products, and I just love the Listen EVERYWHERE.  I just wanted to say, to tell everybody,   please request assistive listening devices  wherever you go into a public venue. The   more of us that are asking for assistive listening  devices, whatever they are, the better. I like to   think of it as we keep the employees trained when  we ask for them because a lot of them don't know,   and they have to go back and find out. So the more  we're asking, the more the employees are going to   be trained on assistive listening devices. And then, also, a lot of places say not enough   people are asking for them so they don't update.  We want updated technology so please ask for  

assistive listening no matter what, even hearing  people can request assistive listening technology   devices, and use their phone and  whatever, just to get it known,   and for clear sound, and less background  noise. So, there's all kinds of advantages to   having one while you're at a show or something.  Please everybody request assistive listening   devices. We have a problem with people  not asking, and the people who set these   things in motion get frustrated because they  have the hard of hearing community at heart   and they want to help us, but we're not doing our  part all the time. So everybody, please request   assistive listening devices. Michele: I just wanted to make a quick mention about how  important the signage and actually putting the   information where the public can find it is.  I do a lot of captioning and accessibility  

advocacy, and organizations will  become accessible offering whatever,   but you can't find it on their website.  I know we've mentioned here that the   ALD signage, a lot of times isn't used. And, I  mean, there's so much about the things that are   available to the hard of hearing that seem to be a  mystery because there's not a consistency with the   people who use these things to get the word out  about it being available. If you have any advice   on that in how you approach that or how you see  solving that problem, I would love to hear it.  Amanda: This is Amanda, and I don't think that we  have all those answers. We would love to solve it,  

but there's definitely an awareness  gap. And I did want to mention that,   Chelle, every employee at Listen  and all of our family and friends   know about assistive listening and we ask  for devices whenever we go to a public venue.   It not only increases awareness, but it helps  us understand what that process is like.   And it also identifies venues that maybe don't  have their staff trained to know where the devices   are. Are they charged? Are they working? There're  so many things that happen when you actually ask  

for those. So, it's really, really important. And  I just wanted to echo that, Chelle, that you do   need to ask every time. The owner shouldn't only  be on the hard of hearing community, and we can   spread that through family and friends, right? My  daughter attended an event a few weeks ago, and I   made her ask for a device when she went. I'm like,  "Don't forget to ask for an assistive listening  

device." And she commented on what a pain it was  to check one out and to return it, and Listen   EVERYWHERE solves for all of that, right. Another thing that venues can really look   forward to with is that then they're not  keeping track of it, right? They don't have to   have that training for those frontline employees  who may experience quite a bit of turnover   to know where the devices are, or how they work,  et cetera. So, Listen EVERYWHERE really solves for   all of those things and makes it a lot easier  for them to not have to keep track of devices,   et cetera. So, yeah, everyone should ask  for devices and we know that there is a big  

awareness issue as well, and word of mouth, and  getting it out to all of our family and friends to   ask for devices, that's one way we're doing it. And that's why we're so heavily involved in the   advocacy side as well, right? It's not just so we  can sell additional devices, it's hey, this is an   assistive technology that can really help the hard  of hearing community fully participate in life.   And it makes a difference, right? Because if they  can't participate or they can't keep up, they tend   to want to stop doing those things, right? And the  more isolated you get, and I think you've talked   before about how that isolation and that hearing  loss can also lead to dementia because of that   isolation. So it's really important we get the  word out, and that's one of the reasons we were  

so excited to agree to do your podcast as well, so  that we can spread the word to everyone that this   is really important for so many reasons on so many  levels. So, thanks for having us for that reason.  Cody: I wanted to add as  well, I'm part of that awareness,   we walk in a building and they have that sign  there, the ear. And Chelle, you hit on this,   not everyone knows what that means. So, it should  be coupled with some text that kind of explains   what is that service we're offering and what to  ask for specifically, instead of just walking by,   I don't know. So many of my family and friends  are like, "Oh, that's what that ear is." I often   wondered, they don't know. So even though it's an  international symbol and it's called out by the  

ADA, I do think there's maybe some improvement  there that we could help raise awareness. We'll   have to look at that. Julia: Me likey, [Julia speak]. Got to do it at least  once. Yeah, there needs to be a lot more awareness   on that sign. It's amazing how many don't really  know what that means. I think growing up, I just   thought that meant you could wear your hearing  aids there, so happens to us all. Anything else?   Well, thank you for joining us today,  we look forward to seeing you next week,   and we hope you have a great week. Cody: Thanks for having us.  

Next week, Hearing Loss LIVE! Talks   requesting CART services.

2022-02-16

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