According to stats Canada, about ten percent of the population is affected by hearing loss, with only one in six of those suffering wearing hearing aids.

The introduction of hearing loops here in Alberta might change that.

Wednesday morning down at the Red Deer and District Chamber of Commerce, a demonstration was put on to introduce residents to the hearing loop, which is a system designed to help those with hearing aids hear more clearly in public environments.

The hearing loop requires an engineer to install copper wires around a room or small area, which connects to an audio source such as a TV or microphone.

The copper wire in the room transmits sound magnetically to a person’s hearing aid, connecting the sound to the copper T coil wiring located inside most hearing aids.

Once the T coil setting is turned on in the hearing aid, the wearer can now clearly hear the sound coming from the audio source, without affecting the quality of sound for people without hearing aids.

President of X-Cel Communications Duane Melchert explains how implementing these hearing loops can greatly assist people with hearing disabilities.

"Churches, theatres, the Michigan Wolverines put it into their arena, 17 thousand people, so with the announcer, they can hear him in their hearing aid. It also helps cancel out the background noise the hearing aid picks up when they have the mic on. The buzz of a florescent light, or air conditioning unit, that people who don't have hearing issues automatically tune out, the hearing aid picks up everything. So this system helps cancel out that noise, so they hear exactly what is being pumped through."

Melchert says hearing disabilities can have a negative effect on people's mental health, as they can start to alienate themselves from others, because they may have difficulty understanding what someone is saying if they can't hear them properly.

He says this is the case with his father, who is losing his hearing and starting to leave his home less and less, due to his frustration of being unable to hear clearly.

Melchert says this was a big motivating factor for him to get involved in hearing loops.

So far, there are only a handful of places in Canada that have hearing loops installed, including Rogers Place in Edmonton, the Walter Dale Theatre in Edmonton, the Innisfail Theatre, and the main government buildings in Yellowknife will have hearing loops installed this summer.

Melchert, along with Hearing Loops Canada, hope to add hearing loops to the Canadians with Disabilities Act, so that federal and provincial money can go into installing them across the country.

For more information you can visit http://hearingloopscanada.com/.