Yes, I am aware of the loop, neck loop, FM loop, etc. but I am upgrading to new bilateral hearing aids and so I have the question. Thank you!

If you want the most bang for the buck from your hearing aids, you will want both BT and telecoils. BT works great in personal situations such as using your cell phone. It is not effective in large venues because each BT receiver (your personal devices) requires a unique transmitter. It would be impossible to serve the public in a performing arts center, for example if the sound system had to have a separate transmitter for every BT receiver in the venue.

A system that connects to telecoils only requires a single transmitter connected to the PA system. That means that anyone in the venue can bring the desired sound directly to their hearing aids or cochlear implant processors. If the system in the venue is a hearing loop, all you have to do is turn on your telecoils to pick up the sound. If the system is an FM system or an Infrared System, you need to use a receiver that is compatible with the sound system in that venue. In most instances, that means that you have to pick up that receiver, leave some form of ID so the venue gets the receiver back, and then don a pair of headphones that connect to the receiver to hear. For the most part that means taking off your personal hearing devices and using only the headphones. Not very convenient.

That is where the telecoils come in. Even with FM and IR receivers you can use a neckloop rather than the headphones. The neckloop works the same as a room installed hearing loop but only for you while you are wearing it. All venues that provide FM or IR should have both headphones and neckloops available. However, sometimes that takes some advocacy and education as the equipment managers don't always know this.

It is a shame that the hearing aid industry, including manufacturers and people who sell hearing aids do not jump on the advocacy/education bandwagon to let venues know what works for the nearly 20% of the US population that experiences hearing loss. For those of us who are in the know and who use this equipment, it's the difference between enjoying and attending theater and other events that require hearing and understanding to participate or simply not going to such events.

So, the answer is YES, telecoils are still valued, especially in places where the population that benefits from this technology is actively advocating for it. All it takes is one or two people who are willing to let venues know that communication access is a piece of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Again, shame on anyone who sells hearing aids who does not educate their clients about this technology. It is very inexpensive and simple to install a hearing loop in an office where it can be demonstrated to anyone who needs and wants to know how it works.

By the way, a telecoil included in a hearing aid adds less than $10 to the cost of the hearing aid. BT adds considerably more. One more thing: Most expensive hearing aids contain telecoils, BUT they have to be activated by the provider. Be sure to tell whomever you are purchasing hearing aids from that you want the telecoils activated. If they tell you there are no telecoils in the product, ask for a different model that has them.