Transportation

Airports

Gerald R. Ford International Airport Concourse with hearing loop sign on wall
Eugene OR ticket counter. The front of the service desk displays the blue hearing loop sign.

Gerald R. Ford International Airport
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Hearing loops at both concourses and all gate areas. See press release (PDF)

Hear the Difference a Hearing Loop Makes: Airport Boarding Call (video, 20 seconds)

Hearing Loop Systems/Parkway Electric

Eugene Oregon gate service counter

The front of the service desk displays the blue hearing loop sign.

Rail Cars, Subways

Inside of BART car with hearing loop logo
New York City subway ticket counter with hearing loop

San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) train car. 755 new BART cars have hearing loops. 

Hear the Difference a Hearing Loop Makes: Subway information booth  (video, 2 minutes)

New York City subway ticket counter with hearing loop

Travel is fun!  It broadens our world and exposes us to people, cultures, and environments we may not see in our own back yard. For the hard of hearing, though, travel can also be extremely stressful. Background noises, cavernous rooms, and competing announcements makes it difficult to hear clearly. Missing gate announcements, not hearing your desired train stop, misunderstanding the boarding gate number, not being able to hear the tour guide on the bus – all of these things happen routinely when we travel. If you hear well, travelers adapt and cope with unpredictable changes. However, if you don’t hear well, it adds to the inherent stresses of travel and can turn joyful anticipation into frustration and fear. Assistive listening systems work – and can help to take some of the worry and stress out of travel and replacing it with reassurance and comfort.

Possible Assistive Listening System Locations

In such transient settings, as in other transient venues, alternative listening systems are impractical. One just isn’t going to check out an infrared receiver and headphones at Detroit Metro Airport’s Gate C27. But with a hearing loop, all a person needs to do is to click a button on their hearing aid or cochlear implant and instantly be able to hear more clearly!

  • Airport departure gate waiting areas
  • Airport service desks (baggage claim, customer service, departure gate service counters, ticketing counters, visitor information)
  • Airport waiting rooms
  • Buses and service desks
  • Ferries and service desks
  • Rail (light rail, subways, trains): platforms and ticket counters

Resources