How Sweet The Sound

Why churches notoriously have poor acoustics…
Churches are usually large, with very high ceilings and a large volume of space. Add to that the fact that most churches are constructed of hard – walled materials such as stone, cement, plaster, marble, and glass. The ceilings are usually peaked which gives a megaphone effect. This can create annoyingly loud spots and / or acoustically “dead” spots.
So when a pastor speaks at a large church, the sound bounces off multiple hard surfaces. The prolongation of the voice caused by multiple reflections is called reverberation. Reverberation time can be measured: large churches have a large reverberation time. This lengthy reverberation time “smears” speech by eliminating the stops or gaps in speech that allows us to recognize the beginnings and endings of words. This is why it is so difficult to understand the sermon. To complicate this even more, any noise generated by talking, coughing, by babies crying, and the like adds to the overall noise level to further degrade the speech of the presenter.
In church, the best solution is a hearing loop system. A hearing loop encircles the congregation’s seating area with a cooper wire. Hearing aids equipped with a telecoil (which can be activated by pushing your program button) will pick up the sound that is plugged into the loop area, which should be the speaker or musician coming through the microphone. This provides direct-to-your-ear sound delivery and avoids the noise and reverberation that degrades the speech message.
Arkansas Loops a division of Saline Audiology can do a free site survery and demo for your church. Contact us if you have questions about a loop system or want to set up a survey. 501-778-3868
A hearing aid is a battery-powered, electronic device that makes listening easier for people with a hearing loss. A hearing aid consists of a microphone, an amplifier and a receiver. The microphone picks up sounds in your acoustic environment and turns them into electronic signals. The amplifier selectively amplifies the acoustic electronic signals. The receiver is a very small speaker that changes the electric signals back to sounds and delivers the sound to the ear.
Hearing aid technology is becoming more sophisticated everyday. Today’s digital hearing instruments amplify soft sounds to make them audible just like hearing aids of the past but they are able to provide many advantages over past hearing aids. These improvements include features that protect your ears to ensure that sudden loud sounds like a door slamming are not too loud, sound classifiers that will automatically adjust the characteristics of the hearing aid based on the sounds around you and even features that allow you to wirelessly talk on your mobile phone and have the sound amplified to meet your listening needs.
Hearing aids are amazing little devises that can change your world.
Saline Audiology
501-778-3868 or 501-922-0053
Most people never think that they will have a need for an audiologist and many could not even tell you what an audiologist does. But if you have ever experienced hearing loss or dizziness, then you should consider a visit to Saline Audiology.
Audiologists work with people who have hearing, balance, and related ear problems. They examine individuals of all ages and identify those with the symptoms of hearing loss and other auditory, balance, and related sensory and neural problems. They then access the nature and extent of the problems and help the individuals manage them.
Saline Audiology 8 N. East Street Benton, Ar. 72015 501-778-3868 or 110 Este Way, Suite 2 Hot Springs Village, Ar. 71909 501-922-0053
by Jennifer Durrant
Do you have trouble hearing sometimes, maybe it sounds like people mumble? Or is your hearing problem more profound, and you wear a hearing aid? Well, you’re in good company. About 48 million Americans — 20 percent — have some level of hearing impairment. And if you’re older than 65, one in three Americans has hearing loss. Plus,15 percent of children are impacted by hearing impairment.
Hearing problems can make life more difficult. When your hearing is bad, it can be hard to interact with people around you, and enjoying movies or theater performances is nearly impossible. But a theater in Utah is making a difference, with hearing solutions for everyone.
“We feel like theater — really well done — offers a much-needed escape in an ever-busier world,” said Quinn Dietlein, Hale Centre Theatre’s development director and annual giving manager. “We also feel that this opportunity should be available to as many people as possible.”
Click the link below to read the entire article:
https://www.thriveglobal.com/stories/26693-utah-venue-is-making-theater-more-accessible
Thrive Global published April 2, 2018