Hearing loop testing in different locations in Maribor

In September 2024, as part of the DANOVA NEXT project, we successfully tested hearing loops in different public institutions in the city of Maribor. The aim was to check how accessible the services of these organisations are for the hearing impaired. The test was organised by the Association of Students with Disabilities of Slovenia and we visited three different locations: a bank, a health insurance company and a bus station in Maribor.

Four hearing-impaired people, both cochlear implant and hearing aid users, took part in the tests. They tested the hearing loops in place and the sound quality in the room. In some locations the loops worked well, but in others the settings had to be changed, and the sound levels increased. At the location of waiting areas in bus station, the sources of electromagnetic radiation currently present in the room and causing the strong humming should also be checked before the hearing loop itself is installed. The strong humming in a hearing aid or cochlear implant makes listening very difficult in hearing loop mode.

Participants also checked that the information boxes were properly labelled with a hearing loop sticker and that the label was also written in Slovenian. The users also made recommendations to the individual organisations, such as the recommendation that a directional sign should be placed in the premises to inform hearing loop users who are waiting in line which information desk which has hearing loop.

We concluded our testing with the conclusion that staff in the institutions did not know how to use the hearing loops properly, as in some places they were switched off and in others they were incorrectly configured. More staff awareness and training are needed. We also helped to raise awareness among staff by holding our testing event at a number of different locations, as staff were able to hear directly from users about the problems faced by hearing impaired people and the importance of using hearing loops correctly.