PARKERSBURG – A Parkersburg church is the first in the region to install a system aiding the hearing impaired, officials said.

The Loop System at the First Lutheran Church, 1701 19th St., works through the hearing aid and the T-coils most contain.

The technology, an induction loop system, is widely used in Northern Europe but has only been used in a few areas of the U.S. where 1 in 5 Americans has a hearing loss and 1 in 15 of those is a teenager.

“We wanted our church members and guests to be able to experience what listening to sound in a loop is like. With the loops now installed in our church, reactions have been very positive and some very emotional,” said Sr. Pastor Ian B. Reid. “In general, people state that they have never heard that well in church before.”

Doug Woolley headed the project and researched induction loop technology as an option to help the church members hear the sermons better.

Dale Van DeVelde and Andrea Brock, past president and president, respectively, coordinated a meeting and loop demonstration with GET LOOPED, an induction loop installation company from Akron. After hearing the demonstration, it became apparent that having the Loop System installed at First Lutheran would be a valuable assistance to members and guests needing hearing assistance.

“Even with a mild hearing loss and the best hearing aid technology, understanding speech clearly across a room or in a noisy area is difficult for many people,” said Debra Valatka, a hearing health care provider with GET LOOPED.

As soon as background noise is introduced, the ambient noise competes with speech understanding, she said. Hearing loops and Tele-Coil (T-Coil) equipped hearing aids change that and extend the performance and functionality of hearing aids by more than 100 percent, Valatka said.

“We are so excited to have the technology come to our area, and we are truly able to make such a difference with our members’ ability to hear clear, concise and customized sound that is broadcast through the loop system,” Reid said.

According to Mark Harshbarger, the general manager for GET LOOPED, induction loop systems use technology that has been in many hearing aids for years to help with hearing on the telephone.

The technology helps people hear in other applications, too, such as a small home system to the public systems for theaters, churches, teller windows, meeting rooms, hotels, schools, universities and auditoriums, Harshbarger said.

“I think that when people realize the difference that it makes, you will see more public venues having loops installed,” he said. “It just makes sense that people are going to a church or a theater or a pharmacy where they can hear clearly.”

First Lutheran holds regular worship services on Sundays at 8:30 a.m., 10:45 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. For more information, call 304/428-6174.