Pan-Oston, Bowling Green, Ky, offers Shop Hear and Service Hear upgrade kits, which help retailers, health care providers, airlines, hotels, libraries, businesses, and government/private service organizations unobtrusively and directly assist hearing aid wearers, according to the company.

The kits combine electronic induction loop circuitry along with the amplifier, microphone(s), power and connecting cables, and signage to convert service and checkout counters to a friendly point of communication for people who are hearing-impaired.

The induction loop technology works with T-Coil technology, which is already built into the majority of hearing aids, says the company.

Users identify the service positions marked with the internationally recognized symbol for T-Coil technology, and by switching their hearing aids to the “T” position, they have direct, clear, and confidential one-on-one personal communication without the interference of background noise or music, according to the company.

Some 28 million people in the United States report a self-described hearing difficulty and at least 5 million Americans wear hearing aids, says the company. The number of people with hearing difficulty is expected to rise with the aging of the baby-boomer generation because the percentage of individuals with hearing difficulty is greatest among those 65 years and above, the company says.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s recent ADA publication helps to advance the goals of the New Freedom Initiative, a strategy for the full integration of people with disabilities into all aspects of American life, says the company, adding that the Initiative seeks to promote greater access to technology, education, employment opportunities, and community life for people with disabilities.

A CrossRoads/IGA grocery in Bowling Green, Ky, is the first store in the nation to provide Shop Hear service to its customers, says the company.

Pan-Oston, a majority owned subsidiary of Houchens Industries Inc, specializes in the design and manufacture of retail checkout products.

[Source: Pan-Oston]