Google Maps has recently begun including hearing loops in the accessibility information on its website. This has received little notice from the national media or hearing loss–related entities but, for the hard of hearing, this is important news. A national database of looped venues has been a goal of hearing loop advocates for years and it’s finally becoming a reality. This action, a joint undertaking of the Get in the Hearing Loop Committee (GITHL) of the Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA) and Google Maps, is the latest example of the growing awareness and availability of hearing loops in public places. 

Hearing loops are the preferred assistive listening technology for those people with hearing loss and hearing aids. Unlike Bluetooth, currently a 1-to-1 means of transmitting sound, hearing loops can serve an audience of 1 to 1,000 or more. Hearing loops, in their simplest form, are a thin copper wire discreetly placed to encircle a room and are connected through an amplifier to the room’s public address system.  

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