The Tidemark can now send the sound directly to your ears, using your hearing aids, earbuds or headphones. Here is how it happened and how you can use it.
By Martin Jurek, Campbell River Hearing Clinic
Over the years I've heard the same thing from a lot of our clients about going to a show. They love the Tidemark and the shows, but often they miss the words. The music comes through fine, the laughter around them comes through fine, and the one line that matters, the punchline or the quiet bit of dialogue, gets lost. By the end of the night they're tired from straining, and some of them just stop going.
I want to tell you how that's changing, because I'm really excited about it.
Years ago, we tried to solve that problem by donating a hearing assist system to the Tidemark Theatre and helping install it. It was an FM system, and it was a fun project, but it didn't get used much. It was cumbersome. Your hearing aid needed a particular feature, you had to pick up a receiver at the box office and hook it up, and even then the sound wasn't great. The Tidemark also didn't have a proper audio feed from the stage back then, so even when the sound reached your hearing aids, the source wasn't very good. Over the years hearing aids slowly lost the features that system needed, and I don't think it's been used much at all lately.
A new feature with nowhere to use it
About three or four years ago we started hearing about a new Bluetooth feature coming to hearing aids, called Auracast. It lets sound be broadcast straight to your hearing aids, whether it comes from a theatre, a TV, a church or almost anything else, and anyone with a compatible device can tune in, a bit like picking a radio station. It slowly trickled into new hearing aid models, and we've been fitting hearing aids with Auracast for about two years now.
So a lot of people in town were walking around with this feature in their ears, and there was nowhere to use it. We looked for equipment that venues could use, and it was pretty hit and miss. We even ordered a tiny, cheap Auracast transmitter to the office just to play with.
Then Ben walked in
While we were playing with it, Ben Burrow, the Tidemark's technical director, stopped by the clinic. He said, "Hey, do you guys know anything about Auracast? I'm thinking of trying something at the Tidemark, and I want to know how it works with hearing aids."
Finally. I'd wanted to bring something back to the Tidemark for a long time. I'd been looking into it, just not very hard. When Ben came asking, that was the nudge I needed: okay, let's look into this seriously.
After his visit I called a friend of mine, Andrea Bull. I've known Andrea for years from her time in a senior role at Oticon Canada, one of the hearing aid manufacturers we use regularly. She's now the CEO of the Wavefront Centre for Communication Accessibility in Vancouver. I asked her if she knew a good source for Auracast equipment that would work at our local theatre.
She said, "As it happens, we're a dealer for a really good brand. We've installed it in several venues, we have experience with it, and we support it." Then she put me in touch with JoAnn Bentley, Wavefront's Director of Accessibility Services.
By then I was really itching to get it done. JoAnn told me Wavefront works with The Slaight Family Foundation, which funds exactly this kind of project through its National Disability Initiative. She said, "Let me look into it." And she did. She secured funding for the whole system for the Tidemark, and Wavefront designed it around the theatre.
More than I was hoping for
Here's the part I didn't even know was possible.
Auracast is still new, and there are a huge number of hearing aids out there without it. But many of them are connected to people's phones and can stream sound from the phone. JoAnn told me about a system called Bettear that sends the theatre's sound over Wi-Fi to a free app on your phone, and from your phone into your hearing aids. Wavefront supplied that too, with its own dedicated Wi-Fi access point.
It also works with headphones: AirPods, or any earbuds or headphones connected to your phone or tablet.
When I heard that, I got super excited. All of a sudden this wasn't just for people with the newest hearing aids. It was for almost anyone with a phone.
Plug it in and it works
One of the things a system like this needs to work well is a good, clean audio source. The good news is that the Tidemark's sound system was significantly upgraded not too long ago, and Ben had a clean feed available straight from it.
It connected to hearing aids with Auracast. It connected to hearing aids without Auracast. It connected to headphones. We tried a few different brands, and it was so slick.
It was amazing. Next time I go to a show I'm bringing my headphones with me. Even with a good, big sound system, having the sound right in your ears makes it so much clearer. For some music it doesn't matter much, but for anything with one clear voice, like a musical, a play, or a monologue with music and effects behind it, it makes a big difference. And if someone near you is coughing or rustling a candy wrapper, you can turn down the room and just listen to the show. You're still sitting there with everyone else, sharing the night, with the sound going right into your ears.
How to use it
It isn't hard. You just want to be set up before the show.
- If your hearing aids or headphones have Auracast: you'll use your hearing aid's app on your phone to find the broadcast. At the Tidemark it's called Tidemark Theater.
- If your hearing aids don't have Auracast, or you're using earbuds or headphones: download the free Bettear app on your iPhone, Android phone or tablet, and make sure your hearing aids or headphones are connected to your phone.
Here's an easy test at home: play something on YouTube, Facebook or your music app. If you hear it from your phone through your hearing aids or headphones, you're ready. When you get to the Tidemark, connect through Auracast or the Bettear app, choose the show, and the sound goes right into your ears.
The full step-by-step guide is on our Tidemark page.
It took a community
I'm grateful Ben walked into our office and asked, because that started the whole thing. But it took a community to finish it.
Ben got it started. We made the calls. Andrea opened the door at Wavefront, JoAnn found the funding, and The Slaight Family Foundation paid for it. Porson set the whole system up properly before it ever left their office. He really knows this technology, and it showed on install day. And Kirsten Soder, the Tidemark's Managing Director, has been organizing the announcements, the marketing and all the administrative work behind it, which is a lot of work nobody sees.
What struck me was that every person along the way was passionate about what they do. Ben about getting the sound right. Kirsten about the Tidemark and its patrons. Wavefront about access for people who struggle to hear. Us about helping people hear every word. When people like that, who are also good at what they do, pull in the same direction, great things happen. I'm just so happy to be part of it.
Come and try it
The system goes live on Tuesday, September 29, opening night of the Campbell River Festival of Film. The film starts at 7, so come early: from 6 to 7 pm, Michael, Jana and I will be at the Tidemark to help you get hooked up. After that, every Tidemark patron can use it at every show.
Our team at Campbell River Hearing Clinic: the people who'll help you connect, at the clinic or at the Tidemark.
My recommendation: come see us at the clinic a few days before the show. Bring your hearing aids, earbuds or headphones and your phone, and we'll check that they work with the system and get you set up, free. Then on the night, all you have to do is sit down and listen. You don't need to be our client.
Beyond the Tidemark
We have a lot of clients who go to churches and other centres with a public address system, and they often struggle to hear the speaker. This is going to be a big game changer for them.
So together with the Tidemark, we'll host a small event to show it off, for anyone who wants to try it and for the people who run venues around town. Keep an eye out for it: follow us on Facebook or check back here on our website.
My team and I are committed to helping any venue that wants this: sourcing the equipment, installing it, setting it up, and teaching people how to use it.
And if you're one of the people who stopped going to shows because you kept missing the words, I'd love to see you back in a seat. Come find us on the 29th.
Martin
Campbell River Hearing Clinic · 250-914-3200 · tohear.ca
Thank you to Ben Burrow, Kirsten Soder and the Tidemark Theatre; Andrea Bull, JoAnn Bentley, Porson Lee and the Wavefront Centre for Communication Accessibility; and The Slaight Family Foundation for making this possible.
