The National Construction Code (NCC) requires that audio broadcast by devices such as TVs, projectors, and PA systems in schools be transmitted to receivers built into hearing aids and assistive listening devices worn by students, teachers, and visitors. This essential requirement ensures that everyone in the school environment can access audio content, regardless of their hearing ability.
However, a significant challenge arises from the NCC’s reference to T-Switch or induction technology as a means of achieving this hearing augmentation as a “deemed to satisfy” solution. This technology is only compatible with about a third of the assistive listening devices used by Australians and is not included in any hearing aids supplied to Australian students. This limitation highlights the need for a more adaptable and agile solution.
That’s why a certifiable performance-based hearing augmentation solution is crucial for new educational constructions. Hear and Learn’s UConnect family, including UConnect Mini and UConnect SoundHouse, provides agile and certifiable performance-based hearing augmentation solutions for schools. These solutions are cross-brand compatible, ensuring they work with any and all hearing aids now and in the future, meeting the evolving needs of learners and educators alike.
The NCC’s performance-based option focuses on achieving specific outcomes rather than rigidly prescribing methods, offering greater flexibility in design and construction. This ensures that minimum necessary standards of relevant amenity, inclusion, and sustainability objectives are met. Hear and Learn embraces this ethos, supplying solutions that are not one-size-fits-all but tailored to meet the diverse needs of today’s educational environments.
Hear and Learn’s UConnect hearing augmentation products can be supplied with reports demonstrating their readiness to be compliant performance-based solutions. These products anticipate the continued evolution of hearing aid transmission technologies, encouraging architects, electrical consultants, and educators to adopt a futuristic approach to addressing the challenges faced by the hard of hearing. This means moving away from static and outdated ideologies, ensuring that every learner has access to the audio they need to succeed.
At Hear and Learn, we believe in “All Audio to All Ears. Always.” This mantra drives our commitment to providing inclusive, future-proof hearing augmentation for schools across Australia.