If you’ve ever missed a gate change or flight delay, become disoriented in a new city, misunderstood an airline staff’s instructions, or struggled through your jet lag and sleep deprivation to understand a flight attendant, you can understand why airports need hearing loops.

Traveling can be stressful for anyone, regardless of our ability to hear. For people with hearing loss, airport challenges can be magnified. Airports are often poor acoustic environments, with high ceilings, reverberation, phones ringing, luggage wheels rattling, dozens of people talking, and hard surfaces that send sounds everywhere.

Recently, several airports have invested in loops. In Rochester, New York, the loops are part of a large renovation project and are located throughout the terminal.

According to New Mexico hearing loop advocate Steve Frazier, several airports are installing or expanding their loops this year:

Hartsfield-Jackson in Atlanta, GA
Austin-Bergstrom, Austin, TX
Memphis, TN
Phoenix Sky Harbor
and Rochester International in Rochester, NY

“For any who are so inclined, now would be an opportune time to approach the decision makers at your local airport with a request that they consider making their terminal more accessible to those with hearing loss through the use of induction loop technology,” said Frasier.

If you’d like presentation examples, articles, and other airport loop information, send Steve Frasier an email (hlanm@juno.com). These documents can help you make the case to airport officials that loops are a winning, ADA-compliant way to serve travelers, visitors, and staff alike.

Other airports are looped as well, including London’s Heathrow; Gerald R. Ford International Airport in Grand Rapids, Michigan; South Bend International Airport, South Bend, Indiana; Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam; and Detroit Metropolitan Airport.