Today, Thomas A. Demetrio of the law firm Corboy & Demetrio gave a press conference to speak about the injustice that his client, Dr. David Dao, experienced when he was forcibly removed from a flight after refusing to give up his seat for one of the four United Airline employees that needed to get on that plane. He invited everyone to participate in a public discussion about how the airline industry treats their customers who fly on their planes.
I'd like to participate in this conversation and share my thoughts. As someone with a hearing loss and who travels frequently on domestic and international flights, I'd like talk about one simple thing that the aviation industry can do make our airports friendly to travelers with a hearing loss.
It is important for the aviation industry to consider the needs of people who have difficulty hearing because almost one in six people in the United States have some hearing loss.
A common frustration shared by many people who are deaf or hard of hearing is that they are unable to hear the announcements for boarding a plane or other important information at the airport because these places are large, open, loud, and noisy environments. The solution to this problem is that all airports within the United States should be installed with hearing loops.
A hearing loop is a wire that circles a room and is connected to a sound system. The loop transmits the sound electromagnetically. The electromagnetic signal is then picked up by the telecoil in the hearing aid or cochlear implant. Assistive listening devices are required for any environment where audible communication is integral to the location for both disability access legislation and building codes. Over the last 25 years, Hearing Loops have become the default assistive listening solution in many parts of the world, and are now becoming increasingly prevalent in America.
Hearing Loops can be installed in almost any location and it helps reduce ambient noises and loud noises within the area covered by the loop. This allows the person to hear the speaker clearly without any distractions which is an ability that is lost as hearing is lost. For people with a hearing loss, they know how noise affects our ability to pick out a speaker in a sea of sound. Hearing Loops eliminates that sea of sound so that they can just hear the speaker.
Last summer, I went to Europe for vacation. One of the most enjoyable parts of my trip was flying in and out of the airports in Europe because all of the airports had hearing loops. The Dublin Airport in Ireland had hearing loops. So did Heathrow and Gatwick in England.
While the majority of airports in Europe are equipped with Hearing Loops, some airports in the United States have installed hearing loops. For example, the Gerald Ford International Airport (GFIA) has installed hearing loops. More recently, Detroit International Airport has installed hearing loops at the gates served by Delta Air Lines. Hearing loops were also installed at the Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport.
I'd like to share one an experience that I had while I was in Europe that demonstrates how powerful and helpful hearing loops are for people with a hearing loss. I had the opportunity to visit England's Supreme Court in London which is the equivalent to our Supreme Court in Washington D.C. After I took a tour of the building, I was given the opportunity to sit in on oral arguments that were being presented to the Judges. I could hear the judges and attorneys because each courtroom was equipped with hearing loops. I could actually follow the conversation as they were discussing a specific statue in British law. As a deaf lawyer, it blew me away that I could follow everything in the highest court of England.
Airports operated by public entities are required by two federal laws to render communication accessibility to individuals with hearing impairments.
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. 794, requires federal financial recipients, including state and local governments, to provide auxiliary aids to ensure that services to deaf and hard of hearing persons are equal or equally effective to the services provided to persons with normal hearing. This obligation now applies to "all of the operations" of any state or local government which receives any form of federal financial assistance, under the Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987 (P.L. 100-259), codified at 29 U.S.C. 794(b)(1)(A).
The other federal law that the airports are required to follow is the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The ADA requires local and state government entities, such as airports operated by the local government, to provide auxiliary aids to ensure effective communication with deaf and hard of hearing individuals. 28 C.F.R. Section 35.160.
Hearing Loops are the ideal solution for large, open, loud, and noisy environments for places such as airports. While hearing loops are common at airports outside of the United States, it would be great if the aviation industry made it a standard feature in all airports across America.
