Monitor on Psychology - December 2011 - (Page 60)

FM or infrared signals to headphones — are inconvenient and ineffective. In a movie theater, for example, people who struggle to hear need to get headsets from employees, check them out and return to their seats. By contrast, a hearing loop system transmits directly to hearing aids and requires only the push of a button for people to tune in. “Put yourself in the position of a person with hearing loss,” Myers says. “Which of these two systems are you more likely to use?” Hearing loops transmit magnetic energy to hearing aids through a wire that surrounds an audience. The loops work in small areas — such as the back seats of all London taxis — as well as very large areas, such as the 12,200 fixed seats in Michigan State University’s basketball arena. “That’s part contractor tries [the system] with a headset, the sound output seems fine to them. They fail to consider what human factors psychology emphasizes: the need to design technology with real human users in mind.” But that might be slowly changing, thanks in part to Myers’s advocacy. Since 2002, Myers has helped spark local hearing loop efforts across communities in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Missouri, New Mexico, Wisconsin and New York City. Last year, the American Academy of Audiology, the national professional association representing audiologists, joined the Hearing Loss Association of America, the advocacy organization for people with hearing loss, to launch a national awareness campaign promoting hearing loops and hearing loop- Why hasn’t the technology been embraced in the United States? While the Americans with Disabilities Act requires public facilities to have assistive listening systems for people with hearing loss, most places comply by relying on FM or infrared systems, which are easier to install. of the beauty of the technology,” says Myers. Typical costs for installing them range from $2,000 to $8,000 for small to medium-sized worship centers, but more for very large facilities with lots of embedded steel. Myers emphasizes that hearing loops are more effective because they deliver sound customized by one’s hearing aids for one’s particular hearing needs. In the United Kingdom, the law mandates public facilities to be equipped with hearing assistive technology, and many sites have opted for hearing loops. The devices are also used throughout Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland. Why hasn’t the technology been embraced in the United States? While the Americans with Disabilities Act requires public facilities to have assistive listening systems for people with hearing loss, most places — such as movie theaters — comply by relying on FM or infrared systems, which are easier to install. “American AV installers have opted for the easier ‘plugand-play’ FM or infrared listening systems that don’t require running a wire around an audience,” says Myers. “When the 60 compatible hearing aids. The campaign was funded in part by Myers’s family’s charitable foundation. Making public spaces more accessible for people with hearing aids reduces the social isolation so many of them feel when they go to public events but can’t understand what’s being said, says Michael Harvey, PhD, a psychologist who specializes in the treatment of people who grew up without hearing and adults who lost their hearing late in life. “It takes a lot of work, but it is possible to convince, fund and make hearing loops become national,” he says. “Psychologically, it’s hugely, hugely important,” he says. A growing need Myers started losing his hearing as a teen, due to a genetic condition that gradually eroded his ability to hear lowfrequency sounds. He started using a hearing aid in his early 40s, and within a few years, couldn’t function professionally without one. Despite the slow loss of his hearing, Myers earned a Monitor on psychology • DeceMber 2011

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Monitor on Psychology - December 2011

Monitor on Psychology - December 2011
Letters
President’s Column
Contents
From the CEO
Willpower Pioneer Wins $100,000 Grawemeyer Prize
Single-Sex Schooling Called Into Question by Prominent Researchers
Maternal Depression Stunts Childhood Growth, Research Suggests
For Boys, Sharing May Seem Like a Waste of Time
Good News for Postdoc Applicants
In Brief
Treatment Guideline Development Now Under Way
Government Relations Update
Psychologist Named Va Mental Health Chief
The Limits of Eyewitness Testimony
Judicial Notebook
Random Sample
Time Capsule
Deconstructing Suicide
Questionnaire
A Focus on Interdisciplinarity
A Time of ‘Enormous Change’
The Science Behind Team Science
Good Science Requires Good Conflict
A New Paradigm of Care
Speaking of Education
Science Directions
New Labels, New Attitudes?
Psychologist Profile
Early Career Psychology
Unintended Consequences
Better Options for Troubled Teens
Saving Lives, One Organ at a Time
New Journal Editors
APA News
Division Spotlight
Guidelines for the Conduct of President-Elect Nominations and Elections
American Psychological Foundation
Personalities

Monitor on Psychology - December 2011