T-coil issues

It is good to ask your audiologist if the telecoil is working. If she owns a Verifit I or II (she will know what I am talking about), the telecoil can be quickly tested. Bring the verifit handout from the CenterforHearingAccessOrg website.

My BIG question, however, is: are you certain that the live theater where you would like to hear better has a hearing loop installed? Find a national list of theaters on the CHA website, or state-level lists.

IF they do not have a hearing loop, you will have to obtain a receiver (FM or Infrared) and ask for a neckloop rather than headphones. Look for the handout on using assistive listening systems on the same CHA website. I am unable to include links in this response. 🙁

Unfortunately my Phonak I 90 Sphere Ultra hearing aids are the largest hearings aids on the market. As good as they are they just did not have room for the telecoil feature. I am not vain and have no stigma with wearing hearing aids and even without the telecoil feature they are far and away the best hearing aids I have ever had for crowded restaurants. Even my friends have noticed a difference.
The biggest problem I have encountered is finding a good audiologist. Hearing specialists have become the norm in the Denver market. I just made an appointment with an audiologist at UC Health Anschutz in Aurora. I am hoping that will be a huge key in maximizing my current hearing aids.
I appreciate your insight as always.

@julieo4 Appreciate your comments! TY. Joan

And as Julie mentions, http://CenterForHearingAccess.org is an excellent site that has a wide variety of information that anyone with questions about hearing loss, hearing aids, assistive listening systems and much more can find. And, there is a comprehensive list of devices that have telecoils and Auracast.
Unfortunately, there are only a handful of hearing aids listed that are including both telecoils and Auracast. Blame the manufactureres not being in touch with the users and the marketing as Julie mentioned reinforcing "invisibility and stigma" of hearing loss by promoting small devices. Why is should a visible hearing aid be any different than someone wearing eyeglasses? There is also link to places that have hearing loops listed by state and community. And if traveling, you can check on google maps if a facility has a hearing loop. If a place installed an Auracast system they would still have to provide numerous receives and headphones AND neckloops so one with telecoils could still utilize the system. Final criteria/standards for Auracast won't be out until the end of 2028 so IMO, it makes sense for a large venue anyway, to wait until the standards are finalized to make sure they are installing the most correct operating system. Telecoils are still the gold standard. I've never experienced any latency in a properly installed hearing loop. Why should we even have to ask that our hearing aid provider for telecoils in our hearing aids? Telecoils should be as ubiquitous in hearing aids as they are including bluetooth now. I have yet to hear from any AuD or hearing aid provider what is their reasoning for not including them automatically. None of this, "there aren't many hearing loops here"--So what, people travel; or, "it's old technology"--yes, but still the gold standard; or, "there's new technology coming"--ok, but why should we have to wait??? Does someone have to wait for a ramp or elevator to be installed in a building being built? There excuses don't hold water and are BS.

@juliettesterkensaud, you will be able to post links soon. In the meantime allow me to post the helpful links you wanted to share with @jdalylew and others from the Center for Hearing Access.

- Check/adjust. How to Use the Verifit: verify telecoils in hearing aids https://centerforhearingaccess.org/uploads/using-the-verifit-verify-telecoils-in-hearing-aids/

- Listing of where to find hearing loops in US, Canada and elsewhere: https://centerforhearingaccess.org/state-lists/

- Radio Frequency (RF) Assistive Listening Systems https://centerforhearingaccess.org/fm-system/

It took me 10 years to figure out the very simple retort we all need to make to hearing "specialists" who state "nothing is looped". The answer is "EVERYTHING is looped" when it comes to venues, conferences, courtrooms, etc. that have amplified sound or where "sound is integral to the experience".
That is because if the site is required to provide an assistive listening system, and that system is not a hearing loop, they are REQUIRED by the ADA to provide neckLOOPs along with the FM or IR receivers that you borrow to use their system. Sites with an Auracast system will also be required to provide neckloops for users that don't yet have the proprietary technology in their hearing instruments.
That is the reason that we at the Center for Hearing Access coined the phrase "ADA-Access ready hearing aids/CIs".
I have the benefit of running a performance and education venue while also being a lifelong disability advocate. I am embarrassed that it took me so long to translate into consumer English what the ADA means by a system that sends the sound directly to your hearing aid/CI.
I can also add that through our monthly, peer-led open "workshops" hearing loss has not only lost its "stigma" around our building, it is the hot topic. The other day I heard 2 men on the way to the restroom saying, "I just got new hearing aids and am using the loop." "All right ! Isn't it great!!" [The outline and suggested starting curriculum to replicate these sessions is on the CHA website, and we are happy to answer questions.]
Lastly, yes -- any sound from actors, singers and/or instruments -- even the tap dancers -- must be "mic'd" and sent through the hearing loop (or other ALS) -- even for acoustic concerts. For our musicals, for example, we never put microphones directly on the actors and the accompanying orchestral music is not sent through our PA system. However, there are plenty of invisible mics strategically placed to deliver the sound that we want everyone to hear -- including the tap dancing, along with the right balance to make it part of the overall experience.
The more knowledgeable you can become, the better, more confident, self- and community- advocate you will be. Most venues don't understand this important aspect of assistive listening systems -- we need to train ALL elements of the experience. If someone or some entity isn't using a mic effectively, TELL them!! If somebody says "nothing is looped" -- set them straight!!!

Thank you Ginevra.

Also overlooked and under accessible are the transportation depots that people use everyday. They are noisy and the loudspeakers are difficult to impossible to understand. Very few are looped and the staff are generally so busy and undertrained that they are unable to help.

@arrowshooter Thank you arrowshooter. My inability to hear the announcements on trains and planes, and in stations and terminals is a regular cause of tremendous stress. On a plane, I tell the flight attendants that I will need their assistance if there is an important safety announcement. But in all other cases, it's miserable.