Hearing loop, infrared or Auracast: which does your venue need?

Here is the rule most venue operators have never been told: under the National Construction Code, where a room in a public assembly building has an inbuilt amplification system - other than one used only for emergency warning - hearing augmentation must generally be provided. Auditoriums, halls, council chambers, lecture theatres, courtrooms and conference rooms are all in scope.

The hearing loop is one answer, not the answer

Most people say “hearing loop” when they mean hearing augmentation. The copper induction loop is the classic method: a wire loop around the room transmitting straight to the telecoil in a hearing aid, with no receiver to hand out. Where a loop is used the code sets a coverage requirement across the floor area served. It suits rooms where the audience sits in a defined area and the building will accept the cabling.

Infrared, where the room has to stay private

Infrared light does not pass through walls. That is a limitation in an open-plan space and a feature in a closed one. For a council chamber in confidential session, a courtroom, or a meeting room where the conversation must not be receivable from the corridor, infrared is the honest choice. Receivers are handed out and returned.

Radio frequency, and what that looked like at Kelmscott

Radio systems reach receivers across a wider area than infrared and need no loop in the floor. At Kelmscott Senior High School we delivered a ListenRF system covering the performing arts centre and the hall - transmitter, fifteen receivers, a charging bay, and a separate channel for each space - certified against AS 1428 and handed over with signage and documentation. It suited a venue with two rooms, casual operators and a full hire calendar.

Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and Auracast: the device already in their pocket

The newer methods stream to the phone the visitor brought with them, which removes both the receiver-handling burden and the hygiene questions that come with shared earpieces. Auracast, built on Bluetooth LE Audio, is where the industry is heading: one broadcast, no receiver limit, and hearing aids that join it the way they join any other audio source. We design and install across all of these, and for a new venue the right answer increasingly includes them.

Choosing between them

The questions that actually decide it: does the audience stay in one place or move through the building? must the audio stay inside the room? who hands out and charges receivers, and will they? what do your regular visitors actually wear? and what will still be supportable in ten years? A specifier who reaches for a loop by reflex has answered none of those.

Worth checking this month

If your venue amplifies speech and you cannot point to the system, the receivers, the signage or the certificate, ask your building certifier where you stand. Signage counts as much as the hardware, because a system nobody knows about serves nobody. Then discuss your venue with our team - the fix is usually simpler than the exposure.