Making The LDS Church Enjoyable For People With A Hearing Loss

Going to church isn't easy if you have a hearing loss. I know because I have a hearing loss myself. It is a challenge that most people aren't aware of unless you have a friend or a relative who is Deaf or Hard of Hearing or if you have served an Sign Language Mission for the LDS Church. 

For many people, hearing loss can keep someone from enjoying church or from being fully active. Why? It can be a challenge to enjoy what is being said during Sacrament meeting or to participate in Church activities. If a person with a hearing loss attends General Conference, they will have a hard time hearing the General Authorities speak unless they are sitting in an area reserved for Deaf and Hard of Hearing members. Even going to the Temple can be a challenge despite the fact that it is very peaceful and quiet inside.

People think that wearing hearing aids will help improve the person's ability to hear. Actually, hearing aids can only do so much because there are other factors that an affect a person's ability to hear. Such factors are sound quality, distance from the sound source and the person, ambient noise and reverberation, the quality of the hearing aids and the percentage of hearing loss are just some of the many factors that can affect a person who is wearing a hearing loss ability to hear. 

However, there is technology that eliminates all of these different factors that affect a deaf person's ability to hear. Its called hearing loops.

What Are Hearing Loops? 

A Hearing Loop, (also known as a T-Loop or Induction Loops), takes the desired speech or sound signal signal straight from the basic source (microphone, television set, music speakers) and broadcast directly to the listener’s hearing aids. The signal at the listener’s ears is free from distance issues, reverberation and ambient noise interference. Thus, it provides a person with a hearing loss with the ability to enjoy what is being said at Sacrament meeting or General Conference without any interference of any kind. 

How do Hearing Loops Work? 

How the LDS Church Would Benefit From This Technology?

Although many LDS meetinghouses offer Assisted Listening System devices, there are many drawbacks that hearing loops don't have. The LDS Church would benefit tremendously from installing T- Loops at LDS Chapels, Temples and the Conference Center. Interestingly enough, there are Mormon Churches in Europe that have been installed with Induction Loops. However, this technology is not common in LDS places of worship in the United States and other parts of the world.

The biggest benefit is that Church would become more enjoyable for people because they will get alot more out of Church meetings because they are able to understand what is being said. This will bring many members back to Church who have gone inactive due to their hearing loss or who have left the Church because they cannot hear. When other Churches have installed hearing loops, they see increase in membership both from inactive and new members. People have been known to drive miles to a different Church if they know it has hearing loops.

How Do I Get My LDS Meetinghouse Installed With A Hearing Loop?

If you wish to have your LDS Meetinghouse installed with a hearing loop, the best way to start is to send a letter to your Bishop and to request that your letter be sent up the chain of authority until it reaches Church Headquarters. Your Stake President should also contact the Area Facilities Management Department to make the request. If that is not successful, he could also go directly to the Facilities Management located at the Church Headquarters.

I also advise talking to other people within the Church about your hearing loss and talking about how you would enjoy Church more if only you could hear better at our meetings. Getting the word out about the challenges you face will help you find people who want to advocate on your behalf. They too, will want to write letters to their bishop and ask that it be passed along the proper channels or will want to talk to their Church leaders about why their friend or relative is having a hard time at Church because of their hearing loss. 

I suggest people with hearing loss find other people within your ward or stake who have a hearing loss. It is very common for people who have a hearing loss to be unaware that there are people with similar challenges. Once you find each other, you can then work together to share your concern with your Bishop or Stake President who will pass these concerns on to the proper authorities until it reaches back to Church Headquarters. 

Another idea is to share informative articles with other people.  For a handout on how to procure a hearing loop for your facility, read this article. If you want to learn more about the benefits of having hearing loops in a house of worship, I strongly suggest reading the an article in the May 2010 and September 2013 issue of Technologies for Worship Magazine.

There's also this short informative video that explains the benefit of installing hearing loops that you can share with friends, family members and Church leaders. Watch below: 

I also suggest using social media like Facebook and Twitter to initiate the conversation with other members that you know. Many wards and stakes now have Facebook pages.  LDS Church is on Twitter along with various General Authorities who now have a twitter account. I strongly encourage you to pass this blog article to others or share it on social media. 

How Do I Get The Conference Center Looped? 

The LDS Church might loop a certain section of the Conference Center. But they need to know if members would really want to have the Conference Center looped. The best way let the Church know about your desire is to send a letter to your Bishop and to request that your letter be sent up the chain of authority until it reaches Church Headquarters.

Conclusion

The various challenges that come with being a member of the Church with a hearing hearing loss can be easily remedied if induction loops become a standard feature in LDS Meetinghouses, Temples and the Conference Center.

However, in order for the LDS Church to begin making hearing loops a standard feature of Church buildings, there has to be a need for it. However, the Church won't install this technology unless they hear from a lot of members regarding this issue. Right now, there isn't enough awareness about Hearing Loops or a demand to justify installing the hearing loops. However, you can let the Church know about this issue by following the proper steps of making your Bishop or Branch President aware of this matter who will pass the request up the line of authority. The more people share their concerns, the more LDS meetinghouses will have hearing loops in the future.

If you would like to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints to install a hearing loop at your local ward meeting house or at your favorite Temple or at the Conference Center, please politely share your thoughts and requests at the following email address: DeafSupport@ldschurch.org.