Convention Paper
Performance and Installation Criteria for Assistive Listening Systems
AES Convention 145 · Paper 10109 · October 2018
Abstract
Approximately 12–15% of the population has a noticeable hearing loss and would benefit from a hearing aid or some form of assistive listening system. However, it is not generally appreciated that hearing aids have a limited operating distance and so are often used in conjunction with an assistive listening system. In recent years, as disability legislation has strengthened, the number of Assistive Listening System installations has dramatically increased, yet there is little guidance or standards available concerning the electroacoustic performance that these systems should meet. The paper reports novel research findings into the acoustic effectiveness of both hearing aids and assistive listening systems, reviews current and upcoming technologies, and sets out a number of potential performance guidelines and criteria.
