Dear Parishioners,

I am aware, for some of our parishioners, there remains a difficulty in hearing during the Mass.

Therefore, after a bit of research with other parish churches, Bill Andrea conducted a study of certain companies that provide hearing assistance for those with hearing aids and or cochlear implants.

In that research, Brown Audio Service, LLC was selected to provide IHM church building with a “HEARING LOOP”!

WHAT IS A “HEARING LOOP”?

Many people with hearing aids or cochlear implants have trouble hearing in large group settings despite the use of a good sound system. A “HEARING LOOP”, a coil (loop) wrapping around the perimeter of the church under the floor, connects to the sound system in the church building and broadcasts a signal that people with hearing aids or cochlear implants can receive directly.

IMPORTANT TO KNOW about hearing aids and cochlear implants is that they need to be equipped with a T-Switch (telecoil) to assist in your hearing at Mass with the hearing loop. Simply ask your audiologist to include this t-switch (telecoil) in the next hearing aid you buy. A t-switch may add a small amount to the cost of your hearing aid, but the benefits far outweigh the cost. If your present hearing aid already has a t-switch, please make sure it has been activated by your audiologist.

IMPORTANT TO KNOW IHM can afford at this time to equip only one section of the church building with the “hearing loop”: the largest section (or the center nave) of our church building, and where funerals and weddings take place. To take advantage of the “hearing loop” hearing assistance at Mass you will have to sit in this center section only. Parishioners have already commented on it as “amazing”!

IMPORTANT TO KNOW Parishioners that do not have a “T-switch” option on their hearing aid still can enjoy the “loop” hearing system with a “headset”. “Headsets” are available in the IHM church sacristy. Using the headset allows your hearing aid to connect with the loop, which connects to the church’s sound system, which aids in your hearing pleasure.

Many blessings,
Father Jim

(Re-printed from 2022)