Information, Communications, Goods and Services: Accessibility and Equity

An edited version of the discussion: 

From Elise Johnson:

I’ve had some excellent conversations with both an audiologist at Hearing Institute (Bridgewater, where I bought my mum a small table top mic for meetings that channels to her hearing aids) and with Janine Verge …  AuD, Aud (C). Doctor of Audiology,  President - Accessible Hearing Solutions

www.accessyourhearing.com info@accessyourhearing.com … from whom we have purchased a few different systems (some counter top for cashier/info set up & another for a large space), both mobile, and will have installed in a few weeks.

These were  paid for primarily from our Community AccessAbility grant (thanks NS!)

I'd say best thing is to reach out to audiologists who interact with hearing impaired.

Elise

Elise Johnston (She/Her/Hers)

Accessibility & Inclusion Coordinator

Region of Queens Municipality

Hi Folks - 

Great question, Stephanie - thanks for sharing it with us, and welcome! 

I reached out for insight on this question to Amanda Hendrie, Program Coordinator at Nova Scotia League for Equal Opportunities (NSLEO/The League)

| www.nsleo.com | www.aawns.ca | www.oneaction.ca | .  

Amanda uses a personal audio device, and she shared the following to assist us:

Questions to consider: Is the person's need for more amplification in the room when people are talking? Or does audio need to be transmitted to their own personal audio devices. Some people need more amplification of sounds (like conversation) and limitation of the background noises. Some people have personal devices with systems that connect audio to their devices, like myself, who has an FM system that blocks all background noises and provides better audio quality overall.

The biggest indicator is the size of the committee (number of people in the discussion) and how audio needs to be provided and processed for the person. If the the person does not have FM systems or any personal devices, Owl technology can be beneficial if the size of the committee is small and the technology can pick up sound from where everyone is. The speaker quality must be good and the person near it. 

Owl also has the dual purpose of hybrid functionality which can be useful long term. It can be an option to play pass the microphone, controlling the conversation with the microphone in the venue, and ensuring good audio quality.

If there are equipment rentals or A/V companies in your community, you could also reach out to them to see how they would set up your room for your needs.

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Thanks to Amanda for providing some guidance on this for us - I'd love to hear what others are also doing to address audio needs in their Committees, and community events and meetings. 

Great topic for more learning sessions too!

Julie

Good morning everyone,

I'm wondering if any of you have recommendations for an accommodation request I've gotten. Someone in my committee requires microphones if attending in-person. 

I'm imagining a series of microphones that each attendee would wear so she can hear not only me, 1 microphone-wearer, but everyone who may speak in the meeting. The venue I booked the meeting at doesn't have this tech yet (neither do we), they just have a handheld mic like at a music event or lecture-style presentation. So far online I've only seen single headset mics that are recommended for video conferencing, but it doesn't seem like that's the right fit for the situation I described. I'm not a tech person!

Also, hello! I'm the new accessibility coordinator (+ all other things EDI) for the Municipality of Cumberland up near New Brunswick. Looking forward to chatting with all of you as we navigate our plans, actions, etc.

Thank you for your thoughts and experience.

Best,

Stephanie Keilhack (Kyle-hack) she/he

Community Engagement Coordinator

www.cumberlandcounty.ns.ca

Hi everyone,

I received a request at one of the municipal units I work for as Accessibility Coordinator, regarding contacts for workplace assessments focused on accommodating an employee with hearing loss.

Julie Glaser looped me into an Accessibility Leads email thread that happened soon before I started my position (I’m new. Hello!), and it was very helpful. Several of you in the thread mentioned reaching out to audiologists who interact with those with hearing issues, specifically Janine Verge (AuD, Aud (C). Doctor of Audiology) at Accessible Hearing Solutions. I did reach out to her, and she was also very helpful.

Website: http://www.accessyourhearing.com/

Contact: Info@accessyourhearing.com

Accessible Hearing Solutions offers two services to municipalities that I wanted to share with you in case you were unaware, especially as one is free:

1. Municipal assessments where they schedule a time to come and look at your municipality site(s) and tell you what they would suggest to reduce barriers for people living with hearing loss. This service is free. (Although some recommendations they suggest might not be free, of course). These assessments sound like they mainly focus on counter service, meeting rooms and community spaces in municipal facilities.
2. Individual workplace assessments/reports focused on accommodating an employee. This service has a fee.

Michelle Vacon - Accessibility Coordinator

Municipality of Shelburne/Town of Shelburne/Town of Lockeport

michelle.vacon@municipalityofshelburne.ca | t. 902-874-0006