Greenburgh Public Library, First in Westchester to Get “Looped” In
The Westchester Chapter of the Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA) recently unveiled Greenburgh Public Library’s state-of-the-art audio induction loop, which came as a donation from the local chapter’s 2013 Walk4Hearing proceeds. An audio induction loop makes it possible for people with hearing devices to listen to and enjoy events that require PA systems that would otherwise be inaudible. Greenburgh Public Library, one of the largest free libraries in Westchester, is the first in the county to receive a system of this kind.
Metro Sound Pros, Leo Garrison, spoke to the audience about his company’s installation of the loop and the importance of this system to the hearing impaired population. Garrison said that while assistive listening technology is mainstream in Europe, less than 1 percent of the United States is looped. “This technology has allowed us to help so many people, but we still have a lot of work to do,” said Garrison. “We have to advocate for the 17 percent of the American population with hearing loss, and unfortunately that number is increasing.”
John Sexton, acting director of the Greenburgh Public Library, thanked the Westchester Chapter of HLAA for its generous funding of a permanent looping system, which cost nearly $5,000.
The 2014 Westchester/Rockland Walk4Hearing is scheduled for 11 a.m. on May 17 at FDR State Park in Yorktown Heights. The 5K walk additionally supports college scholarships for high school students will hearing loss, service dogs for hearing impaired people, help for soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan who have suffered hearing loss, and many other programs and activities at the local and national level that serve the 48 million Americans with hearing loss.
Registration is available online at www.walk4hearing.org. To volunteer, contribute, or find out more about sponsorships, please contact co-chair Steve Wolfert at 914-960-4692 or swolfert@optonline.net. Current sponsors include Phonak Hearing Systems and Oticon.
