These could be ushers, greeters, small group leaders, or anyone familiar with the system and willing to promote their availability. Other ways to let congregants know about the systems include announcements before services, video/YouTube demonstrations, and system champions. They may also share information about devices and usage instructions on their websites, in weekly bulletins, and on social media. Houses of worship that offer assistive listening systems often use physical signage to promote their availability and usage. Radio frequency receivers and headsets can be cleaned with disinfecting wipes, charged quickly, and stored easily between uses. They can select the channel and adjust the volume to suit their preferences.īecause ambient noise is not amplified, listeners only hear clear, intelligible audio no straining to hear and understand a speaker’s words over the din of background sounds. Listeners hear sound through headphones (either their own or church-provided headsets/headphones) plugged into the receiver or directly through their hearing aids or cochlear implants via a neckloop. Sound from audio sources is transmitted over radio frequency to small receivers that listeners carry or wear on a lanyard around their neck. Audio sources such as microphones, TVs, or speakers are connected to transmitters. Radio frequency assistive listening systems are simple to install and operate – an important consideration for houses of worship that may not have dedicated IT and AV professionals on staff. Unlike infrared technology that requires receivers to be in line of sight with transmitters, radio frequency passes through walls, making it ideal for spaces with annexes or adjoining rooms such as fellowship halls, chapels, Sunday School classrooms, and vestibules. Radio frequency systems are cost effective and ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliant. There are multiple assistive listening technologies, but one that is especially well suited for houses of worship is radio frequency technology. Congregants can gather safely in person to share in worship while experiencing personalized sound. While many may have missed the fellowship of in-person services, being able to stream church services and watch them on-demand meant worshippers could move to a quiet location free of distractions and adjust the volume and audio settings on their devices to meet their unique hearing needs.Īssistive listening systems in houses of worship function similarly, facilitating hearing and improving intelligibility for all users by delivering clear sound directly to their ears. Worshippers may feel frustrated, distracted, isolated, embarrassed, and they may simply check out.Ĭontrast this experience with the experience of worshippers who attended services virtually during pandemic closures. Sermons, hymns, and prayers spoken aloud can offer comfort, inspiration, and encouragement however, when hearing loss, background noise, distance, or poor acoustics (think high ceilings and hard surfaces common in many churches) make hearing and understanding challenging or impossible, the experience is diminished. Audio is a crucial element of in-person worship. One way they can do this is by improving their audio systems with assistive listening technology. So is this truth: Churches, synagogues, mosques, and other places of worship have unique opportunities to reconnect with congregants and visitors and make their return to in-person worship more engaging and meaningful than before the pandemic. Numbers suggest that people are returning to in-person worship. As restrictions are lifted, houses of worship, once shuttered because of COVID-19 transmission fears, are reopening.
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