United States Supreme Court Installs Hearing Loops

The United States Supreme Court has recently put out a press release that they will be installing hearing loops in the nation's highest court in preparation for the upcoming Court Term: 

A new assistive listening system has been installed in the Courtroom to improve visitor services. The hearing loop system will be available for use when the Court’s Term begins in October. The new system transmits sound through an electromagnetic signal picked up by most hearing aids and cochlear implants without requiring additional equipment. Listening devices will be available for those who wish to use the hearing loop but do not wear hearing aids or have hearing aids that are not compatible with the loop technology. The Court will also continue to offer the FM and Infra-red listening devices made available to Courtroom visitors in the past.

The installation of the “induction loop” (also known as T-Loops or Hearing Loops) assistive listening system in the Courtroom is great news for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community. Many people who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing do not communicate using ASL and use hearing aids or cochlear implants that include a telecoil (a small copper wire which boosts magnetic signals) to help them experience improved sound quality and clarity in venues such as churches, theaters and courthouses simply by switching on their telecoil. 

Kali Borkoski writing for SCOTUSblog explains that the induction loop "works by transmitting sound electromagnetically. An alternating current is run through a wire around the Courtroom, thus creating a magnetic field; when a visitor wearing a telecoil enters the magnetic field, the telecoil picks up the electromagnetic signal, which is processed by a chip in the hearing aid/implant/headset, and fed to the listener’s ear as sound."

The Court is striving to meet the diverse needs of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community by providing communication access such as Assistive Listening Devices or Sign Language interpreters who wish to attend oral arguments at the Court. The Court may be sending a signal to other courts across the country to start installing induction loops into their court rooms because many courts offer other Assistive Listening Devices such as the FM and Infra-red listening devices. Some courts, typically smaller courts, don't offer any listening devices at all. The attempt to get courts in the United States to be compliance with the Americans With Disability Act (ADA) is still an ongoing project. As a result, the Court is setting an example for the rest of the judicial courts across the nation by installing the induction loops in the Court.

I am on the steering committee for the Loop Utah Movement here in Utah. In working with audiologists, businesses and Deaf and Hard of Hearing individuals, our goal is to help state and local government agencies, and places of public accommodation be aware of Hearing Loops (also known as T-Loops or Induction Loops) that will enable them to meet their legal requirements of providing effective communication with Deaf and Hard of Hearing individuals. 

While many courts in Utah offer Assistive Listening Devices such as the FM and Infra-red listening devices, none of them (as far I know) have installed induction loops in their courtrooms. Installing induction loops would be a great help witnesses, jurors, attorneys or just members of the public to hear what is going on in court here in Utah.  Even Judges who wear hearing aids will benefit from having induction loops in their courtrooms. Hearing loops provide the best all-round assistive listening solution. This opinion is shared by most knowledgeable installers and venue operators and he led to induction loop becoming the default solution in most countries.

While many courts here in Utah work hard to meet the needs of Deaf and Hard of Hearing individuals, there is still a lot of work that needs to be done within the criminal justice system.  Hopefully, the Utah judicial system will follow the Court's example by installing hearing loops in courthouses in this state.