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ADA Before and After….

In September 2010, the government made changes that were very significant to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The specifications and verbiage related to assistive listening were modified to help both the public venues to become compliant and those who would need the accommodation for assistive listening. The major changes included the following:
1.      The 4% rule was eliminated and replaced with a table adopted from the International Building Code.
a.       2003 IBC
2.      The wording “fixed seating” was replaced with “capacity.”
3.      The addition of T-Loops was added.
a.       T-loops address the T-coil functionality on some hearing aids.
4.      The “less than 50 seat” rule was eliminated.
a.       All venues that have an audio source need to have an Assistive Listening System.

Table 219.3 from Section 706 outlines the quantity of assistive listening devices and neck loops that make it easier for large venues to be compliant. Before the changes, larger locations would have been required to have thousands of receivers on hand making it expensive and unrealistic to the number of people that needed to be accommodated…this has been reduced to hundreds. The table also addresses smaller venues as it requires them to provide assistive listening even if they have a capacity of less than 50.

The math around the new requirements can be a little confusing so we created an ADA Compliance Assistive Listening Calculator. All you have to do is plug in the capacity of your venue and it outputs how many assistive listening devices and how many neck loops you need to meet the standards.
listen-ada-calculatorYou can download the calculator by [clicking here].
The ADA Compliance Assistive Listening Calculator App is also available as a free app for iPhones and iPads at:
iTunes Media > App Store > Productivity > Listen Technologies Corp. (ADA Compliance Assistive Listening Calculator)
Knowing that it would take time to change, and time to institute the change, the government gave us a deadline of March 15, 2012 to bring all future projects into compliance. This date specifically addresses:
1.      New construction projects
2.      Remodel or retrofit projects
I recently kicked off Listen’s Quick Info Webinar series with “What You Need To Know About 2010 ADA Assistive Listening Changes & Compliance Deadline.” Watch this 24 minute webinar for details about what has changed, impacts to projects, understanding the math, enforcement, and the ADA compliance deadline.

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Accessibility Calculator

First, select the calculator type, USA (for Americans with Disabilities Act - ADA), California (for California Building Code), or Australia (for Australia's Disability Discrimination Act 1992). Enter the seating capacity and the number of minimum assistive listening devices required and the minimum number of neck loops will automatically populate based on the calculator type selected.

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