GROUP HEARING AID

Dominion, Volume 32, Issue 147, 17 March 1939, Page 7

GROUP HEARING AID

Wellington Installation ITS USES EXPLAINED The group hearing aid installed in the rooms of the ,Wellington branch of the New Zealand League for the Hard of Hearing was explained by Mrs. G. A. Hurd-Wood in an address at the "Hearing Day” gathering of the branch yesterday. “The group hearing aid is an instrument which possesses considerably more scope and efficiency than the usual types of portable personal hearing aids,” Airs. Hurd-Wood said. "By its use a score or more of hard-of-hear-ing people can hear. Not only does the actual loudness of the sound exceed that obtainable with portable aids, but the naturalness is also better. "The apparatus consists of a microphone, amplitier, and a system of outlet boxes and earphones. Any number up to 50 can listen simultaneously, bearing the sound picked up by the microphone. The microphone is similar to those used for broadcasting and the amplitier is somewhat similar to those used for public address systems. In its design special attention was given to the faithfulness of reproduction of the sound, more particularly in the higher audible frequencies, or the higher pitched notes, as difficulty is frequently experienced' by the hard of hearing in hearing that part of the sounds of speech and'music. “Though the equipment is designed primarily for use with speech and music coming through the microphone, it can also be used to make radio | programmes and gramophone re- ( cords audible to those listening with the earphones. The special features of the equipment are that it has been designed to give faithful reproduction of speech and music, because it has been found that persons hard of hearing readily notice lack of true reproduction, particularly of the high-pitched sounds. Adequate output volume has been provided, <so that almost any person who could be assisted bv a mechanical hearing aid would be able to hear the voice from the microphone. “Considerable use is made of the group hearing aid, the most important being the re-educating of the remnant of hearing. The final part of each lipreading lesson is devoted to a combination of lip-reading and listening. The necessity of combining the senses of sight and hearing is stressed. “The members of the Wellington branch make very good use of this apparatus. Various lectures and travelogues, play-readings, music, and community singing are included in the recreational activities. Even so, there is scope for greater use of group hearing aids.”