Posted:
In today’s diverse congregations, assistive listening systems play a crucial role in making worship spaces truly inclusive. This guide breaks down the process into ten actionable steps, including:
• Understanding Congregational Needs: Identifying the specific hearing challenges faced by your community.
• Exploring Technologies: FM systems, infrared, hearing loops, and Wi-Fi-based solutions.
• Budgeting and Compliance: Meeting ADA requirements and managing long-term costs.
• Training and Maintenance: Ensuring systems are user-friendly and sustainable over time.
Whether you’re in the planning phase or actively implementing a system, this resource is packed with practical advice and real-world considerations to help you succeed.
The full guide is attached for your reference and deeper exploration. Let’s discuss your experiences, challenges, and questions about assistive listening systems in worship spaces.
Comments
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Submitted by Chris Myers on Mon, 08/11/2025 - 11:06 am EDT
What is an effective way to let a church know what assistive listening should be especially when the church's folks don't have any idea what you are saying ?
In reply to (No subject) by Chris Myers
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Submitted by ICAAT Tech Forum on Tue, 08/12/2025 - 3:05 pm EDT
Hi Chris, good question. Many people have never heard of assistive listening, so the easiest way to explain it is to let them experience it. You could arrange a quick demonstration by having an installer bring in equipment or by visiting a church that already uses assistive listening systems. Once people try it, they usually understand right away. Assistive listening is a tool that sends the pastor’s voice and other important sounds directly to a person’s hearing aids, cochlear implant, or a headset the church provides. It makes sure everyone can follow the service.
There are different types of systems, such as hearing loops, FM or infrared systems, and Wi-Fi streaming. Our Assistive Listening in Houses of Worship guide attached to this resource explains how to figure out your congregation’s needs, explore the options, and keep the system working well.
In reply to (No subject) by ICAAT Tech Forum
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Submitted by Sandra Davis on Tue, 08/19/2025 - 4:19 pm EDT
Hello,
This is Sandra Davis. I have been trying very hard in the last few months to find someone who can explain ALD and how they work in various situations. I have never used a neck loop before. My hearing aid provider gave me one and a member of the church I go to gave me a "Listen" display receiver, however it seems places provide ALD but don't know how they work. I have a Phonak Naida paradise with Bluetooth and tcoil but no one is explaining anything to me that makes anything work. I am looking for a tech savvy person in Corpus Christi to help me but there is no one.
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Submitted by Juliette Sterkens on Tue, 08/12/2025 - 4:33 pm EDT
Is there proof that Audio-via-WiFi systems work for the majority of hearing aid users?
In reply to (No subject) by Juliette Sterkens
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Submitted by ICAAT Tech Forum on Tue, 08/12/2025 - 5:05 pm EDT
Juliette, current evidence suggests that Audio-via-Wi-Fi systems can be effective for many users, but there is no universal compatibility across all devices. Not all hearing aids can receive audio directly over Wi-Fi, and many require an intermediary device such as a smartphone app, neck loop, or dedicated receiver. Effectiveness also depends on the individual's comfort with mobile technology, the venue’s network quality, and whether backup options are available for those without compatible devices.
However, there are real-world examples and use cases of audio-via-Wi-Fi systems working well.
As an example, a church installed a "Listen Everywhere" system, streaming audio over Wi-Fi to an app on smartphones. Around 30 people were using it weekly to hear sermons more clearly, and it was praised as affordable, easy to set up, and reliable. Learn more about it here.
HearingLink in the U.K. also mentions that Wi-Fi systems are a valid assistive listening option for gyms, sports venues, and places with multiple audio channels. Learn more about the advantages and disadvantages here.
In reply to (No subject) by ICAAT Tech Forum
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Submitted by Juliette Sterkens on Wed, 08/20/2025 - 12:55 am EDT
There are no third-party studies that demonstrate that Audio-via-WiFi provides effective assistive listening for those with varying degrees of hearing loss. It most likely does not meet the ADA. If ICAAT is aware of any studies, I am very interested. The pastor or a user did not write the same post in two different magazines about the Boulevard Baptist Church, nor are any users quoted praising the technology. Do you want me to believe the claims from the MFR of the technology? Furthermore, having worked with hundreds of churches, I find it doubtful that 10% of a congregation would use an assistive listening tech. I believe that it is a puff piece, written by ListenTech's marketing department.
Yes, I have heard of some reports, mainly from CI users, that it worked for them. Yes, it can work, if completely occluded earmolds are used (and thus the user has no ablity to hear ambient sound), or if the user does not need an "M+A-via-WiFi" (equivalent to the M+T setting) setting, to permit hearing one's voice for singing, or hear the congregation's feedback due to latency and lip-sync issues. Users of vented domes or open earmolds also have this problem. I have personally used the technology and found it severely lacking. I am happy to post my experiences if there is interest. I have gone on record to advise churches against installing the technology here: https://network.crcna.org/topic/justice-inclusion/disability-concerns/physical-disabilities/get-hearing-loop
The technology can work in places where the audio is silent, such as fitness centers and sports bars, but that does not make it an ADA acceptable solution.
I refer readers to https://centerforhearingaccess.org/wi-fi/ where many other concerns regarding Audio via Wi-Fi systems used as an assistive listening system are listed.
In reply to (No subject) by Juliette Sterkens
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Submitted by Chris Myers on Tue, 08/19/2025 - 4:50 pm EDT
Juliette:
At the Catholic church I go to it uses Listen Everywhere's app on my cellphone where I stream the audio although sometimes the Wifi there is a little spotty after a rain storm . Usually when I don't sense it working, I let the church know. From what I heard the Listen Anywhere was a cheaper option than looping
Chris
In reply to (No subject) by Chris Myers
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Submitted by ICAAT Tech Forum on Fri, 08/22/2025 - 3:30 pm EDT
Hi Chris,
I'd be curious to learn more about your experience with the Listen Everywhere app. Would you be willing to share its advantages and disadvantages from a user perspective.
In reply to (No subject) by ICAAT Tech Forum
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Submitted by Chris Myers on Fri, 08/22/2025 - 3:46 pm EDT
Yes, the Listen Anywhere app (when it works) at my church is really good for the audio of the priest and the choir at my church. At first I used my neckloop on my Widex hearing aid but I am also can stream it with my phone. The only weakness that happens with it Is when the wifi at my church doesn't work, it does not get me the sound I need. The only time I use the app is at my church, I don't know if there is a list of places that has it.
Basically I have to use the wifi that my church uses to be able to use the Listen Anywhere app.
If you would like to email me, I am at CMyers@vanwagner.com
In reply to (No subject) by ICAAT Tech Forum
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Submitted by Chris Myers on Fri, 08/22/2025 - 3:46 pm EDT
Yes, the Listen Anywhere app (when it works) at my church is really good for the audio of the priest and the choir at my church. At first I used my neckloop on my Widex hearing aid but I am also can stream it with my phone. The only weakness that happens with it Is when the wifi at my church doesn't work, it does not get me the sound I need. The only time I use the app is at my church, I don't know if there is a list of places that has it.
Basically I have to use the wifi that my church uses to be able to use the Listen Anywhere app.
If you would like to email me, I am at CMyers@vanwagner.com
In reply to (No subject) by ICAAT Tech Forum
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Submitted by Chris Myers on Fri, 08/22/2025 - 3:46 pm EDT
Yes, the Listen Anywhere app (when it works) at my church is really good for the audio of the priest and the choir at my church. At first I used my neckloop on my Widex hearing aid but I am also can stream it with my phone. The only weakness that happens with it Is when the wifi at my church doesn't work, it does not get me the sound I need. The only time I use the app is at my church, I don't know if there is a list of places that has it.
Basically I have to use the wifi that my church uses to be able to use the Listen Anywhere app.
If you would like to email me, I am at CMyers@vanwagner.com
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Submitted by Juliette Sterkens on Fri, 08/22/2025 - 11:19 pm EDT
To whom it may concern,
I was asked, as an attendee and one of 3 keynote speakers at the October 2017 Future Loops Conference in Berlin Germany to share 1) my experiences with the Wi-Fi technology featured at the Berlin conference and 2) my thoughts of the future developments of assistive listening technology for people with hearing loss.
Let me state that I am all for new technology that is directly hearing aid compatible. By that I mean a person with hearing loss must be able, to hear with his or her own personal hearing aid or cochlear implant, regardless of make, model or country of origin, by activating a feature in their personally prescribed device for their individual hearing loss and hear the announcements, religious service or performance directly and wirelessly in their hearing aid.
The non-proprietary technology of Telecoils is known around the world as the only assistive listening technology that is directly hearing aid compatible. Telecoils are found in ever increasing number of hearing aids and in 100% of cochlear implants. This is the reason that hearing loops are used around the world, in airports, theaters, houses of worship, ticket offices, taxicabs, information booths, elevators, and pharmacy counters.
While at the Berlin conference I used the hearing loop with a hearing aid, and also used the Sennheiser MobileConnect Wi-Fi app to listen to direct translation German-English.
While using the Wi-Fi system I experienced the following:
1. I had to remove my hearing aids as they are not iPhone compatible, and I had to pick up a device, my smart phone, down load an app and connect to a server. Connecting to the server was not intuitively obvious.
2. While using the app, I experienced several sudden dropped connections which required me to restart the app, reconnect to the server - which took more than one try - for the live streaming to re-start, all the while missing key points from the speakers at the podium.
3. While I was using the Wi-Fi system with my iPod earphones I was unable to surf the web, receive emails, phone calls or text messages.
4. I was unable to hear what was going on around me and I was prevented from exchanging brief comments with those sitting on my left and right, as my earphones plugged my ears and the MobileConnect App prevented access to an environmental microphone.
Older hard of hearing consumers are going to have much difficulty accessing this system (I am thinking of my 91-year-old mother who travels from Amsterdam to the USA at least once a year. Handling the app, connecting, pairing etc., especially in an emergency would be difficult for her.)
Because most hearing aids are not directly smartphone compatible, those consumers who want to access the Wi-Fi system would need to use earphones to hear. Using standard earphones is not an option for those with moderate to severe and worse hearing loss, and even if they tried, they would not be able to hear conversation in their immediate vicinity. To hear conversation, they would have to remove the headphones, re-insert their personal hearing aids. Any new wireless assistive (“Wi-Fi”) technology that requires the user to pick up a special device, in order to get connected, is not directly hearing aid compatible.
Users of non-wireless technology cochlear implants (CI) are unable to use a Wi-Fi app. CI user are deaf to sound stimulation (i.e. hearing through headphones) without the use of their cochlear implant processor. While some newer sound processors can receive Bluetooth signals from a smartphone, the average sound processor can only be stimulated by the microphone or by the telecoil. This means that headphones plugged in to their smartphone is not an option for CI users.
A neckloop could work for CI users who want to access the Wi-Fi system, but now a system that is supposed to make travel easier for people with hearing loss to hear, would require them to not only to use one (a smartphone) but two devices (a smartphone with app and a neckloop) to hear emergency and gate announcements. Further, the Wi-Fi app experience with ear buds do not customize sound for the hearing-impaired traveler as the loop system does, because it is not compatible with the hearing aid. It only amplifies sound.
Compare the Sennheiser Mobile Connect Wi-Fi app experience to hearing aid or a Cochlear Implant user’s experience in a hearing loop; when in an area served by a loop, these users can walk in, sit down, activate the telecoil and are instantly connected to the sound system. No pairing. No linking. No use of headphones. No neckloops. Hearing aid and cochlear implant users hear the sound directly and wirelessly in their ears. Hearing loops very much add to the hearing-impaired traveler’s experience. The hearing loop also provides international compatibility for any hearing aid or cochlear implant user with a telecoil.
Perhaps, the Wi-Fi app could be useful in the future in theaters where there is a stationary fixed audience for a designated period of time, but it is not the direct-to-hearing-aid-compatible, ADA Access Board recognized standard that people with hearing loss need and deserve. The effectiveness of the Wi-Fi application may not be achieved for 15 - 20 years if at all.
Sincerely,
Juliëtte Sterkens, AuD
HLAA Professional Advisor for Loop Technology
jsterkens@hearingloss.org
• UWO - Distinguished Alumnus Award 2015
• Arizona School of Health Sciences - Humanitarian of the Year 2013
• Academy of Doctors of Audiology - Leo Doerfler Award 2013
• Wisconsin Audiologist of the Year 2011
• Larry Mauldin Award 2011
• American Academy of Audiology - Presidential Award 2011