Holland-Zeeland Loop Initiative-Letter to Audiologists and Hearing Aid Dispensers

Please feel free to adapt this sample letter to audiologists and hearing aid dispensers for your use.

Dear [Audiologist or hearing aid dispenser],

I write you and other local hearing specialists to give you the heads up on an exciting new initiative. I am launching an effort to support Holland-Zeeland churches, senior citizen centers, schools, and other nonprofit institutions in installing induction loop systems.

At present, people whom you equip with telecoils enjoy no opportunities to use them, apart from phone use. By the end of next year, that should change dramatically. Next week I will be inviting local institutions to an informational meeting on loop systems, with associated publicity in the [local newspaper(s)]. With additional support from the world’s leading manufacturer, our aim is to create a model looped community, and then to welcome regional and national publicity for our success. Success will, however, require support from you and your colleagues as you outfit your future clients.

From my experience with loop systems in my TV room and in various UK venues (which now include selected grocery check-out lanes, bank teller counters, drive-up windows, and virtually all churches, cathedrals, and theaters), I can understand why loop systems are mandated by the UK Disability Discrimination Act, which decrees that by the end of 2004, “Any business or organisation providing a product or service to the general public must have an Induction Loop System fitted wherever information is verbally provided.”

I trust this is good news for you, because if we succeed (and we’ve already got a number of churches and organizations asking when our effort will launch), you should have new customers—people who will be motivated to get hearing aids or to replace older model hearing aids with T-coil equipped aids. If you will henceforth include T-coils in hearing aids sold by your office, I will do everything I can to ensure that your clients will find them useful in most churches and in most Holland area public venues with PA systems.

For further information, I include an article appearing in the Church Herald, and also a shorter synopsis that you are welcome to duplicate for your clients.

Please mark your calenders to join us at an informational meeting at [time] at [location]. In the meantime, if you have any advice please feel free to contact me at [e-mail address or postal address].

With thanks for your support of the hard of hearing,

P.S. There is something you can do now to support this initiative. If you plan to start encouraging your patients to get T-coils, let me know so that we can include this as part of our loop system promotion (“Several local audiologists have begun selling loop-compatible hearing aids, so a growing number of your parishoners will have use for a loop system”). Also I’d appreciate your confirming that you can join us on [date].