Re: Assisted Listening systems.

kimble wrote 
> >The DOWNSIDE of the loop are the folks whose hearing is on the 
> >edge of needing a hearing aid.  They may want or need a little 
> >boost for shows, but do not yet have a hearing aid.  That is 
> >why IR systems are generally considered the optimal solution 
> >over inductive loops.
> Not to mention the people with specialised hearing aids[1] that don't
> include inductive pickups... 3.5mm headphone jack converters[2] are
> usually available.

The directionality of IR may be a problem if the church is one in
which the seating is rearranged eg to face a fount at the back of the
church for baptisms, or if the congregation are inclined to dance
about a bit when filled with the Spirit. However it has the advantage
of easier separation between adjacent areas, eg if the sanctuary and
an adjacent room for a children's group both require asisted listening
systems with different content.

An acceptable compromise might be to use an Induction Loop (which will
avoid the expense etc of providing IR headsets/receivers) and make
available some headphone sockets in selected locations, preferably
with adjacent power, so that if anyone has a particular need they can
bring along whatever they use to listen to the TV at home and just
plug it in.

Owain