Hear Room's Hearing Augmentation Solution
The technology integrated into hearing aids is advancing rapidly. The Federal Government provides various aids to different learners, and the receivers in these aids vary. There is no longer a single platform to enhance instructional audio for hearing aid receivers. The Building and Construction Code mandates that learning environments must be equipped with infrastructure to transmit audio to these receivers.
UConnect Soundhouse
The UConnect SoundHouse comes in both a wall recessed model and a wall-mounted version, serving as a comprehensive instructional audio solution. It can be customized in your choice of color, and the labeling can be tailored specifically for your school.
UConnect Mini
The UConnect Mini is a compact, steel hearing enhancement device designed for wall recessing. Measuring approximately 315 x 280 mm, it is preassembled and delivered ready for electrical connection, eliminating the need for on-wall power outlets or cables, and includes prewired inputs for PA speakers, screens, and other audio sources.
UConnect SoundHouse and UConnect Mini are top-tier solutions:
Instructional audio is gathered, modified, and linked to any transmitter for current and future use
Our ‘In Wall’ interfaces are equipped with all necessary electronics and power supplies pre-installed, eliminating any ligature risk from electrical cables
User-friendly and backed by Hear Room - Hear Assist package
Can be powder coated in any colour to match your new construction
The UConnect range offers custom in-wall interfaces for all audio in a learning environment – including office messaging/PA, screen audio, and possibly voices – ensuring that all learners with hearing aids featuring built-in receivers, regardless of brand or type, receive the same auditory information as any other learner.
Each in-wall interface type – whether a UConnect SoundHouse or UConnect Mini – arrives on-site with all electrical components and electronics pre-installed and tested. Ready to be placed in a wall without additional GPOs.
UConnect SoundHouse and Mini capture and convert instructional audio (including school-wide and local office messages, local screen audio, and other audio) to make it accessible for transmission to receivers in aids worn by learners, teachers, and visitors.
The UConnect SoundHouse and UConnect Mini adhere to regulations by accommodating any type of transmitter for aids, tailored to the needs of the school's population.
Backed by assessments from expert Access and Compliance/Surveyor professionals, our solutions deliver optimal outcomes to meet Code/BCC, Disability Law, Standards, and Government/Diocesan policy requirements.
Transmitter for Education
Hear Room is able to offer and supply an extensive and diverse range of high-quality transmitters, each designed to cater specifically to the unique and varied needs of the school. This ensures that every learner, regardless of their individual requirements, can receive clear and effective communication. By carefully considering the specific receivers used by its learners, Hear Room tailors its offerings to provide optimal compatibility and performance, thereby enhancing the overall educational experience and ensuring that all students have equal access to the information being transmitted.
The Phonak Roger Multimedia Hub enables multimedia connections that can be transmitted to Phonak Roger receivers built into Phonak hearing devices or to Roger receivers linked to cochlear implants or other compatible devices.
Transmitting between 15 and 40 metres depending on environmental factors.
Roger™ Multimedia Hub
Phonak
Experience superior sound quality with state-of-the-art Bluetooth Auracast™ technology, allowing you to easily share your audio with Auracast™-compatible speakers, headphones, and hearing aids.
Capable of transmitting between 3o and 40 metres depending on environmental factors
Auracast Transmitters
Auracast
The Resound Multi Mic offers a small, flexible solution to let you hear up to 25 meters (80 feet) away* without having to wear an extra device around your neck.
Connect the ReSound Multi Mic to an audio source and receive the audio directly to your compatible Resound Hearing device.
* clear line of sight
Multimic
Resound
Hearing Augmentation
Hearing augmentation refers to a system that enhances sound clarity, whether in speech, conversations, or music, for individuals with hearing impairments. By boosting volume and minimising reverberation and background noise, the listener benefits from a significantly improved signal-to-noise ratio (S/N).
Various methods can achieve this, such as hearing loop systems (utilising hearing aid T switches or providing loop receivers), frequency modulation (where users wear individual receivers to pick up radio waves), infra-red technology (employing emitters and receivers for a direct line of sight reception) or using the latest technology from Bluetooth SIG, Auracast.
A common query we encounter involves finding the optimal hearing enhancement solutions for our needs. More specifically, people wonder if a one-size-fits-all technology exists that works seamlessly across all hearing aids and keeps pace with rapid technological advances.
Addressing these questions isn’t as straightforward as one might hope. For many years, the telecoil or induction loop system served as a universally accepted standard, having been the mainstay since the 1930s. Yet, its relevance has seen a decline in the design of modern hearing aids. The trend among manufacturers has been a shift towards creating smaller, more visually appealing devices, with a significant lean towards exclusive wireless technologies in the last fifteen or so years. This shift has resulted in a fragmented landscape of technologies for linking to external audio sources. The good news is that manufacturers of hearing aids have acknowledged the need for a modern, universally applicable technology. They have rallied behind a new technology, brought to us by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG), known as broadcast audio, or Auracast™. This innovation stands on the brink of becoming the new standard for hearing enhancement technologies worldwide.
Given the vast array of technology options at our disposal, navigating the best approach for hearing enhancement in new environments or communal spaces poses a challenge.
At Hear Room, we advocate for a tailored approach, taking into account the likely devices used by your target demographic, a strategy that proves especially effective in Australia, where technology usage can often be segmented by age group, particularly in educational settings and aged care homes. Armed with this insight, we can recommend and implement the most appropriate technology or combination of technologies. Furthermore, we suggest the installation of multiple hearing enhancement technologies wherever feasible, to cater to the broadest range of needs and preferences.
Audio Inductions Loops (Telecoil)
An Induction or Audio loop is a wireless signal that can be received by a hearing aid when set to the Telecoil setting. Instead of using the hearing aid's built-in microphone and amplifier, the signal is picked up and converted into sound by the hearing aid. This method of signal reception results in improved speech understanding.
Induction loops have a long history dating back to the mid-1930s. However, they are now being gradually replaced by newer wireless technology, aiming to enhance audio quality and reduce the size of hearing devices.
I
nduction loops installed in these areas need to cover at least 80% of the floor space.
Auracast™
Auracast™ is a part of the new Bluetooth® Low Energy Audio specifications and differs significantly from classic Bluetooth®. This new standard marks the first-ever support for true broadcast audio by Bluetooth®, opening up new possibilities for various applications, including public assistive listening in wide areas.
Auracast™ broadcast audio will enable all types of public locations – from large venues such as airports and conference centres to smaller establishments such as gymnasiums, cinemas, and houses of worship – to deliver audio experiences that will enhance visitor satisfaction and increase accessibility.
Auracast™ enables seamless transmission of audio to a wide range of compatible devices, including hearing aids, headphones, earphones, and Auracast receivers, ensuring an immersive and inclusive audio experience for all users.
Phonak Roger™
The cutting-edge Phonak Roger technology harnesses a digital wireless signal to securely deliver audio on a 2.4GHz frequency to Roger receivers that work seamlessly with compatible hearing aids or receivers attached to them. Additionally, it offers versatility by being compatible with universal neck-worn receivers, allowing it to integrate with other technologies like telecoil.
Any space using r FM transmitter-receiver systems must cover at least 95% of the floor area. There is also a minimum receiver ratio based on how many people can fit into the space
Need Receivers? How many?
Are you installing a hearing augmentation system that needs receivers? If so do you know how many you need to use to comply with NCC 2022?
NCC 2022 D4D8 Hearing Augmentation
- a system requiring the use of receivers or the like, it must be available to not less than 95% of the floor area of the room or space served by the inbuilt amplification system, and the number of receivers provided must not be less than—
- if the room or space accommodates up to 500 persons, 1 receiver for every 25 persons or part thereof, or 2 receivers, whichever is the greater; and
- if the room or space accommodates more than 500 persons but not more than 1000 persons, 20 receivers plus 1 receiver for every 33 persons or part thereof in excess of 500 persons; and
- if the room or space accommodates more than 1000 persons but not more than 2000 persons, 35 receivers plus 1 receiver for every 50 persons or part thereof in excess of 1000 persons; and
- if the room or space accommodates more than 2000 persons, 55 receivers plus 1 receiver for every 100 persons or part thereof in excess of 2000 persons.
Make sure you have the correct number of receivers for your project by using our calculator.
