How the technology and service for those with hearing loss has evolved over my four decades in Audiology.

By Eoin Roche M.D

The 1980's

In the summer of 1981, an era of

massive unemployment, I was lucky

enough to land a Job as a trainee

Audiologist with P.C Werth

Ireland Ltd.  After a year of

training, the firm was sold

on to Bonavox Ltd., and it

was from here that I worked

all things Audiology, but

especially Education

for the following 38 years.

My earliest involvement in this sector was helping install desk mounted amplifiers with headphones, worn by the Students, which were hard wired to a Master Amplifier controlled by the Teacher. 

The 1990's

Within a few years there was

a major technological

advancement with the

introduction of the first wireless

Radio Aid system. This allowed

those with hearing loss to attend

mainstream schools for the first

time. A body worn Receiver connected

to the Hearing Aids by way of a lead, was coupled to a body worn transmitter/microphone worn by the Teacher. The launch of the Radio Aid meant that we had to re-examine our service procedure and protocol. It was becoming increasingly evident that without the use of this System, Students with hearing loss would be left isolated as they could hear little of what was being said. Although there were advancements in the frequency selection, which allowed greater flexibility when setting up a system in a specialist Schools, we had to wait 17 years before we made our next big leap forward.

The Early 2000's

It was that time we witnessed

the first of the Micro Receivers,

to replace those previously worn

on the body.  While there

was no improvement in the

quality of the signal (indeed it

could be easily argued that

their introduction led to an

increase in the amount of white noise on the signal), there was a massive improvement in the aesthetic

of the Radio Aid. Younger children often struggled with the leads on the Body worn Receivers, while older Students openly rejected them, due to their size. The Micro Receiver placed on the base of the hearing aid/Cochlear Implant made life much easier for all concerned.

The Late 2000's

The end of the 2000's saw 

the Radio Aid finally catch

up with the Hearing Aid

and the launch of the first

digital signal. It was still run

on a single FM frequency, but for the first time the signal could be altered digitally to automatically increase and decrease the gain depending on the background noise. There was an immediate increase of about 30% in perception of speech in noise, over traditional analogue FM.

In 2009 Bonavox was sold to Widex, a multi-national Hearing Aid manufacturer.

The 2010's

In 2012 a decision was

made by Widex to

discontinue the service

to education. After

much discussion, the service was moved to

DeafHear (now Chime), a national charity for those with hearing loss. 

In 2014 Phonak, a Company specialising in hearing aid and remote microphone technology launched the Roger Platform which once again proved to be a ground-breaking technological advancement. Gone was the single frequency transmission. It was replaced by an intelligent Bluetooth type signal, which unlike the standard signal, automatically switched to a new frequency if the one being occupied experienced interference. Since then, the Roger Receiver has been integrated into the battery tray of the hearing aid/Cochlear Implant.

Along with the Receiver advancements there have been great improvements in the functionality of the Transmitters/Microphones used by Teachers. Recently many Manufacturers have launched products with internal software which, when activated allows the user to capture speech from

a remote microphone, without the addition of any hardware.

The 2020's

It doesn't need to be said

again but2020/21 was a

difficult time for everybody.

The pandemic, coupled with some challenging personal events,  clarified my vision. It was time for a change, a change for the good. So, after being a good servant to some of the best audiology companies in Ireland I decided to follow my passion, my own direction. Cloisim was born, and, with real clear vision.

Those who know me know I'm evangelical about my profession and the impact it can have. I love what I do and have witnessed first hand the profound difference audio equality in the classroom can make to families, students and educators. 

The Cloisim mission statement is my vision:

to affordably provide the best available technology together with service backed by the industry experience and knowledge.

The Future, Together.

Cloisim provides

proven and

trusted classroom

audio systems while

staying up to

speed on

emerging advances

in classroom 

sound delivery.

It's my belief that

the ever-improving

technology will

mean that the diagnosis of

hearing loss become less

and less of an impediment to

leading a full, happy, and productive life.

Call me anytime at + 353867755880 

to discuss your Classroom Audio

needs... This is my passion and

I'd  be delighted to talk.

Mise Le Meas,

Eoin

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