Atlantic Shores Retirement Community has embarked on a life-changing technology initiative designed to boost hearing quality in hard-to-hear environments on their 100-acre campus. Installation of a customized system combining two technologies is helping residents with hearing difficulties understand, participate in and enjoy everyday social activities more completely. Equipment and installation for the initial system was donated by Healthy Hearing Now!, a small, family-owned hearing aid company in Virginia Beach. Atlantic Shores’ Anchor Room, a hub for activities and presentations, has been equipped with a Hearing Loop system, which delivers a broadcast quality signal customized to each listener. The Chesapeake Room, the community’s main room for daily dining and monthly meetings, has been outfitted with a portable Rogertouchscreen microphone and associated Roger MyLink receiver, allowing residents dining together at the same table to converse and hear each other.
By employing both technologies, Atlantic Shores is able to accommodate residents in a variety of campus facility spaces, with the loop system designed for a single speaker talking to a group of listeners, and the Roger system used for both large group presentations, as well as residents in personal conversations. Reprogramming of existing facility microphones allows them to integrate with the new technologies.