For Dan MacQuarrie, listening to live music was becoming difficult. Too much background noise.

Going to a doctor鈥檚 office or pharmacy was also problematic. For him to hear properly what the person on the other side of the counter was saying, they would have to raise their voice, telling the whole waiting room about his private information.

MacQuarrie provides these examples as they鈥檙e common problems for people who have hearing loss. Turning up a hearing aid to capture music at a concert, for instance, also raises the level of the background noise 鈥� papers rustling, feet shuffling.

Then came the Auris Hearing Loop. An induction hearing technology, the loop is installed in a building and then transmits directly to the telecoil in a hearing aid, a telecoil which about 70 per cent of hearing aids contain. Sound is then transmitted directly to a person鈥檚 hearing aid, with no extraneous noise.

Churches have been the first to take them on. In Salmon Arm, several churches are equipped with the Auris Loop, as is Shuswap Theatre, Salmon Arm City Hall鈥檚 council chambers and now the Uptown Askew鈥檚 as well as SASCU downtown. Farther afield, facilities such as the Vernon Performing Arts Centre, the Vernon library and 91大黄鸭 council chambers have the Loop.

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Dan MacQuarrie and the MacQuarrie Institute have been instrumental in promoting the technology, providing funds for Askew鈥檚 and SASCU to install it.

鈥淢y interest is raising awareness so society can communicate with one another,鈥� he says.

Becky Friesen is manager of member experience at SASCU. She chose a central teller wicket, rather than one off to the side.

鈥淚 didn鈥檛 want to isolate the person with the hearing impairment,鈥� she says, pointing out that hearing impairments affect people of all ages.

Darlene Ogilvie, pharmacy manager at the Uptown Askew鈥檚, appreciates the ability to speak quietly to customers.

鈥淐onfidentiality is a huge issue,鈥� she says. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 want to have to yell at people鈥︹��

MacQuarrie says all a person needs to do if they have a hearing aid is to go to their audiologist to have their T-coils turned on. Facilities which have the Auris Loop usually display a blue ear symbol marking its location.

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