I recently read an article stating that NYC is the most accessible city in the United States for people with hearing loss, and that may be true, but every time I travel to London, I am blown away by the level of hearing access. Whether it is the ubiquitous looped taxis, the hearing loops at every museum counter and information booth or the variety of open captioned performances available, I see hearing loss access everywhere I go. Even my London Walks guide asked if anyone had trouble hearing him to please move to the front of the group or wave a hand at him to let him know. I did so with pleasure.
During my most recent visit to London, I was lucky to attend two open captioned performances — in the same week! One was at the National Theater (Sunset at the Villa Thalia) and one at Shakespeare’s Globe Theater (The Taming of the Shrew). Both would have been a non-starter for me without the captions given the actors’ accents and the complexity of the productions. The accommodation helped me to thoroughly enjoy both shows.
Coming from the U.S., I was not sure I would be eligible for the hearing access / open captions program in the U.K., but it was not an issue. I easily found the access form online (each theater had a different one), filled it out and emailed it in. Once the theater confirmed receipt, I was able to call to book and pay for my tickets in the open captioned area. I had wonderful seats with a clear view of the stage and the captions — and the tickets were even discounted!
The National Theater also emailed me a detailed synopsis of the show the day before the performance. I didn’t read it because I wanted to be surprised by the story, but it was useful afterwards to fill in any small details I might have missed.
Interestingly, when I asked the concierge at my hotel if he was aware of any open captioned performances available for the week I was visiting, he didn’t know what I was asking. This is a shame since I imagine many visitors to the hotel could have benefited from these types of performances. It goes to show how much education about hearing loss is still required everywhere.
If you plan to visit London, follow this link to find a list of upcoming open captioned performances. In New York City, check out Theater Development Fund’s TAP program to find open captioned performances. I recently attended two such performances on Broadway and enjoyed them both.
Readers, do you seek out open captioned performances when you travel?
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Reblogged this on O LADO ESCURO DA LUA.
We are going to Spain the end of the month. Have no idea what is available there. We will be on an escorted tour. I asked about accommodations from the tour operator and they said they have individual headsets for the tours. Have never used them before so I’m not sure how that will work out.
Individual headsets should mean that the tour guide uses an FM system. The tour guide will have a bodypack transmitter which will send a wireless signal to your personal receiver that the tour company will provide you with. This receiver will come with headphones for your to wear. If this is the case, you will “hear” better than anyone else in the group NOT using the system.
Also, if your hearing aids have a manual T-Coil and you have your own person neckloop; bring the neckloop with you as you may find that you can plug the neckloop into the receiver the tour company provides you with.
Thanks – didn’t think to bring my neckloop. I’ll definitely do that.
Not sure what you mean by the first paragraph. My hearing loss is too severe to use a headset without my aids. And sometimes you get feedback from using headphones with hearing aids.
Have a great trip! Be sure to ask around to see what might be captioned there too.
I find that personal neckloops don’t work for me – something about the orientation or strength of my T-coils.
1) There are similar devices called silhouettes that plug into the receiver’s earphone jack, and fit over your ear to bring the sound field closer to your T-coils.
2) A gentleman at one of my HAT presentations showed me a great pair of full, over-the-ear headphones that he takes on his travels. Apparently they cover so well there’s no feedback.
3) Personally, I use a streamer from phonak that lets me use a patch cord, (a double-ended cord — plugs on both ends.) I plug one end into the receiver’s jack and the other end into my streamer, which delivers the sound wirelessly through my HAs with the equalization I need.
4) My advice is to try these different things at home or around town well before your journey. That way you’ll know what works for you before you go.
Bon voyage!
My original reply was in 2016 so I’ve already been on the trip.
I think you’re referring to a Compilot. That is what I have and I took that with me and plugged that into their receiver. But it was difficult to make the connection. Sometimes it made the connection, but other times it took a lot of moving around of the cord to make it work. When it worked, it was heaven because I heard everything loud and clear. There seemed to be a sweet spot that you needed to find for the connection to work.
Thanks for the suggestions.
Great advice. Thanks for sharing.
I had NO idea about any of this. Especially NY shows. Thanks!!
Glad to share the info! Enjoy!
There are actually new devices in the NYC theaters. There is a device called I-Caption that I used this week. It’s provided by Sound Associates who do the sound for a lot of NYC productions. You need to reserve it ahead of time – here is a link explaining how it works. http://www.soundassociates.com/products/icaption/
But there is also another assisted device that I used this week – my smartphone. There is an app called Galapro that you download from Apple or Google. You sign into the WiFi network in the theater, and pick the show. The captions appear right there on your smartphone. No need to reserve anything ahead of time. I used an induction loop this week plus the captioning devices – for the first time in a long time, I knew what was going on on the stage. Pretty amazing stuff….
This sounds interesting though is it possible to read the captions and look at the screen above? Hard to enjoy?
It is a bit of an up and down for the eyes but they are working on new holders that will help with that.
An opportunity just arose where I will be likely trying to use Galapro for the first time this coming September. I’ve downloaded the app but I do have some questions perhaps someone can help me with.
1) I understand that my phone would need to be in airplane mode. Does this prevent outside texts and calls?
2) Galapro says they need a dedicated wifi. Is this simply the wifi I have from my personal data or do they mean wifi from that particular theater?
3) I assume I can turn down or silence my phone volume. Is this correct? 4) Does the app require any type of connection through my HA?
Also, though a theater may accept Galapro, it’s possible other patrons would not understand and will simply think I’m using my phone during the show. In any case, I hope the app works when I need it to.
That is exciting! 1) Yes. 2) There will be a dedicated wi-wifi at the theater for GalaPro. You will need to login to it with the password they give you. Usually it is galapro1. 3) You should put your phone on silent. 4) There is no connection to the hearing aid. GalaPro only provides captions, no sound. 5) Before the show starts, I usually speak to the people seated next to me and behind me to explain I will be using my phone for captions during the show so there is no misunderstanding. They are always very accommodating. Good luck and let us know how it goes!
Thanks for your response. When you say login with the password they give you: Who’s ‘they’–theater or the GalaPro app? If it’s the theater who am I supposed to speak with? Putting the phone on silent is just turning off the ringer and lowering the volume or is it something else?
You need to first download the app on your phone and create a userid and password. Do that before you go to make yourself comfortable with it. Go through the screens on the app – there is a tutorial to explain how it works.
I usually go to the usher in the back of the theater that has headsets. I also get an induction loop device to connect with the tele coil in my hearing aid/CI. With the sound in my ears, plus the captioning on the Galapro, it’s really pretty good. They actually had a piece of paper at the last theater I went to that explained how the Galapro works and shows the password for the Wifi connection in that theater. Remember, you need to go into the Settings of your phone first to find the Wifi connection, then log into it with the password they give you. The Galapro website is informative, as well as the app itself.
Turn down the volume on your phone – however you do that. And put the phone in Airplane Mode. You will get no calls or texts. The screen is really not very bright – mine was pretty dark last time – took me a bit to find the brightness setting but even set at brighter, it’s really not very obtrusive.
https://www.galapro.com/
Thanks. I have the app on my phone already. Thanks for clarifying that I need to speak with a theater rep for the wifi password. I hope it’s as simple as it seems. I’m afraid of something going wrong but I guess that’s the risk.
Just returned from trip to Cape Cod. Arranged in advance for Holiday Inn Hyannis to provide smoke detector, vibrating alarm clock and door knocker for my room. Our tour guide for 4 days always made an effort to face me when talking. JFKennedy Museum provided print transcript of their video and Cape Cod Canal Museum put their captioned video on at my request.
We need to ask wherever we go to make places aware of the need for these services.
Great job advocating for what you needed! Well done!
Thank you for highlighting this, Shari.
At Let’s Loop Seattle, we track and promote hearing-accessible arts performances both on our website and social media. We share both captioned and looped performances (and sometimes those with FM or infrared, too.) https://loopwashington.org/home/upcoming-events/
That is great information! Thanks for sharing the link.
When traveling in foreign countries, it’s nice to have subtitles. And even in England, we can appreciate the translation, whether the captions are in English or in American….LOL.
Exactly! Thanks for your comment.
I had a tour guide who used an FM mic. But when she was done, there was a short video. She turned off the mic, because she was finished speaking. The video was captioned, but I like to read and hear – it’s easier and more enjoyable. So I had to fumble to quickly switch over from streamer to my BTEs. Afterward, as I was thanking my guide, I suggested that in the future she leave the mic on and place it near the TV speaker. She thanked me and 2 weeks later emailed me to say that subsequent guests have really enjoyed that. So we can help our guides to help us better.
Such a good idea. Good for you for letting the tour guide know how she could better support people with hearing loss.
Hi everyone, Nice to meet you, my name is Yonat and I am the CEO of GalaPro. Thank you all for using our app and providing each other with all the information.
If any other information or questions should come up, please feel free to contact me at yonat@galapro.com.
Just an FYI:
The wifi is always called Galapro (with show name) and the password is galapro1.
Happy to help if anything else is needed,
Thank you for using GalaPro.
Best,
Yonat
Thanks for stopping by the blog and sharing this information. If you are looking for testers, please let us know.
Yonat, toda raba (thank you very much)! Thanks for the clarification–now I’ll know the exact info before attending. I also emailed GalaPro directly with another question. Thanks!