25 Jun Crystal-clear sound restores inclusion at Ashley Church

“I feel fully included and I can enjoy the service.”

Ashley Church in St Albans has had a hearing loop for the past 30 years. But worshippers had begun to notice that every time they switched their hearing aids to the T position, rather than getting the sermon clearly through their hearing aids, they would hear a buzzing and high-pitched whistle.

The church’s Technical Manager, Mike Elliott, suspected parts of the loop system might need replacing and contacted us to help.

Our engineer assessed the system and found that the loop driver needed replacing.  The loop cable was still in good order so that was left in place.

“I found Contacta by searching online via the ISCVE scheme. I was impressed by the company’s accreditations so was confident in approaching them for help,” said Mike.  “A visit by a Contacta engineer was quickly and efficiently arranged.  Not surprisingly, he recommended a replacement loop amplifier and carried out a survey to ensure the right type of unit was specified for our site. The order and installation for the new amplifier were arranged and it was efficiently installed.  I’m very happy to say that our hearing aid users were delighted with the improvements.”

Ruth attends Ashley Church and is a hearing aid user.  She said the sound quality is now ‘crystal clear’.

“The church was fully supportive when I reported the faulty audio loop.  Previously, the sound quality was poor, with a constant buzzing noise, and interference that made it impossible to fully enjoy the hymns, prayers and sermon. I was straining all the while to hear and missing out.

“Now, the sound is crystal clear, with no background noise or echo, making it easy to follow every word of the service. I feel fully included and can participate and keep pace with what’s being said.  It’s clear that my church values accessibility and has made every effort to make everyone feel welcome.”

Ashley Church now has a loop listener, a hand-held monitoring device that allows Mike, who doesn’t use a hearing aid, to check the system is working and giving worshippers clear sound, free of interference.

He added; “I would wholeheartedly recommend Contacta to any church or other organisation seeking to make provision for hearing aid users.”