Appleton International Airport will become the first commercial airport with hearing loops in the gate areas.
During the airport’s expansion, hearing loops were installed under the carpeting in the new concourse. As existing gates are remodeled in the original concourse, hearing loops will be added.
Individuals wearing hearing aids or cochlear implants can push a button on their hearing devices and the gate announcements transmit directly into their devices. A tiny, copper wire, called a telecoil inside a hearing device detects magnetic signals and converts them into clear, direct sound.
“Background noise in an airport can be a challenge if you’re hard of hearing,” said Airport Director Abe Weber. “It isn’t about making announcements louder; it’s about making them clearer. Before installation, we researched systems, consulted with the Hearing Loss Association of America, and searched for experts.”
That’s when the search led them to one of the nation’s top experts in the application of assistive listening technology who happened to be in the region.
Dr. Juliëtte Sterkens was an audiologist with clinics in Oshkosh, Ripon, Neenah, and Appleton. She retired to become the National Hearing Loop Advocate for the Hearing Loss Association of America. She presents at professional conferences and consumer events on the benefits and the use of hearing aids and hearing loops. Her efforts have leveraged over 1,000 induction hearing loops in Wisconsin and many more beyond.
“The Americans with Disabilities Act mandates where a PA system is in use, that an assistive listening system shall be installed, but it’s been a slow process in airports because of long lead times and most people don’t understand the real nature of hearing loss, the limitations of hearing aids and how effective these systems can be at airports,” Sterkens said. She said most airports provide little to no accommodations.
“I’ve seen patients for 40 years who think the answer is continually upgrading their hearing aids, but when they hear through a loop, it blows them away,” Sterkens said.
She was motivated to go into the speech pathology and audiology fields after her father lost significant hearing in high ranges after World War II. She said that kind of common hearing loss makes it very difficult to understand and even miss important announcements in airports such as gate changes.
“Our goal is always to make air travel accessible for all individuals,” Weber said. “Our new gate area features family restrooms, our connector area has a gradual incline eliminating the need for escalators, and we added a sensory support room for neurodivergent travelers who might be overwhelmed by a typical airport setting. Adding hearing loops to make travel easier for the hearing impaired was a logical addition to our expansion and continued renovations.”
At ATW the new terminal was designed with hearing loops at all the new gates.
