Assistive Listening Knowledge Base

QuestionPartly answered

How is an installed hearing loop checked against IEC 60118-4, and how often does it pass?

From https://assistivelisteningknowledgebase.org/questions/loop-verification/ · updated 14 October 2026

  • Affects installers, venues, specifiers
  • 37 sources
  • Updated
  • First published

Technologies: Hearing loops

In brief

Guides by makers and others say IEC 60118-4 asks a finished loop for a set field strength, a flat frequency response from 100 Hz to 5 kHz and low magnetic background noise over the listening area, measured at listening height, usually by the installer; they differ on the noise limit and on how many points to measure. No study has measured a representative sample of installed loops: a 2008 audit of Australia's Parliament House put 9 of 31 loop areas in its top grade, volunteer checks found many loops off or faulty, and estimates that over half or 90% fall short give no data.

Evidence at a glance

Selected findings with different methods and scopes; read each row’s limits.

  • Unnamed lecture hall

    Authors report loop field strength within +/-3 dB at all six tested seating locations.

    Six measurement locations; listener study had 12 participants initially and seven returning for session two.

    Method: meter.

    Check year: not reported; source year: 2015.

    Alfakir et al. 2015 · Independent36

    Method and limits

    Field strength at six seating locations

    Contacta Loop-FSM; six randomly chosen seating locations checked before the listener study. The Method describes locations measured from a reference point in the room centre.

    Checker: Alfakir and colleagues.

    Independent (University of Florida and University of Oklahoma; the authors report no financial support and no conflicts of interest; Contacta, a loop maker, lent the field strength meter)

    The Discussion places the hall at a retirement community centre; its name, country and measurement dates are not reported. No complete field map or frequency-response/noise results. Authors cite ANSI/ISA-62382-2012; that reference is not substituted with an assumed hearing-loop standard.

    Source location: Method, first two paragraphs and session counts; Discussion, opening paragraph; Acknowledgments and Funding

    Read the table row

  • Central Southampton shops

    39 of 295 locations (13%) had loops. The published total counts presence; no total of functioning loops is supplied.

    295 shops visited; 39 fitted with loops.

    Method: not reported.

    Check year: 2017; source year: 2018.

    Lets Loop Southampton and Healthwatch… 2018 · Independent37

    Method and limits

    Loop availability; operation included in audit questions

    Visits checked availability and operation and asked about power, training, signs and routine tests; receiver or meter not specified.

    Checker: Lets Loop Southampton trained volunteers.

    Independent (Lets Loop Southampton and Healthwatch Southampton volunteer audit; separate audit funding is not specified; the report describes a £4,000 GoSouthampton contribution for businesses to obtain loops)

    No field-strength measurements or equipment-level follow-up readings. Aggregate rows overlap the named examples; do not add their counts.

    Source location: Printed pp. 6-7, Methodology and Results

    Read the table row

  • UK businesses in RNID campaign reports

    Nearly half of 500 reports described a loop not working properly; nearly one in four described no loop. Other complaints included lack of training and loops switched off.

    500 reports covering 210 separate businesses since the start of 2009.

    Method: not reported.

    Check year: 2009; source year: 2009.

    Disability News Service 2009 · Nonprofit advocacy26

    Method and limits

    Operation; availability; staff training; switched-on status

    Equipment and procedure not reported.

    Checker: RNID campaigning volunteers, reported by Disability News Service.

    Nonprofit advocacy (reports gathered by campaign volunteers of the UK charity RNID and released for its Deaf Awareness Week campaign; reported by Disability News Service; labelled advocacy rather than an independent test because the reports were gathered for a campaign, with no test protocol described in the news report)

    Reports are not unique installations. Campaign sampling and test method not described; do not infer a meter or listening method or a population failure rate.

    Source location: Article opening three paragraphs

    Read the table row

Why it matters

A loop gives no sign of trouble to people who do not use it: staff can confirm that a loop is working, but they will not hear it as a telecoil or implant user does1. Users report loops left switched off, loops that buzz and loops with dead spots2,3. A US model standard requires loops, where provided, to meet IEC 60118-44, and a loop maker advises commissioning every loop against it after installation to find and fix faults5.

What the evidence shows

What the standard asks of a finished loop

IEC 60118-4 sets requirements for the magnetic field strength and the minimum frequency response of an installed loop, and says how to measure the field; amplifiers and microphones are left to a separate standard6. Its text is sold, so the figures below come from guides by makers and others, and have not been checked against it6.

RequirementWhat the guides giveHow it is measured
Field strength400 mA/m from a 1 kHz sine, within ±3 dB over the listening area5,7; a meter maker's note gives an average of 100 mA/m (-12 dB) and a maximum of 400 mA/m (0 dB)8A field strength meter reading the vertical field at listening height, 1.2 m seated and 1.7 m standing, at points across the area8,5
Frequency responseWithin ±3 dB of the 1 kHz level from 100 Hz to 5 kHz5,7,8Pink noise, read at several positions8
Background magnetic noiseA-weighted limits that differ between guides (see Where sources disagree)5,8With the loop off, before design and at commissioning, repeated with lighting on and off and dimmers at different settings; with the loop on and no input, noise should rise by no more than 3 dB8,9
CoverageThe covered area is where every requirement is met, shown on a plan beside the loop sign8; a loop maker asks for areas outside the standard, and spill where other loops are near, to be marked on a map5Readings over the area of use, defined before measuring5
Counters and other small systemsA field within ±6 dB over the defined zone, never more than 8 dB above, and at most -20 dB where other customers wait, in a summary of the 2014 edition9Over the defined listening zone9
Listening testA hearing aid user familiar with loops confirms an even, clear signal with little background noise, which two US advocacy groups say the standard requires as the final test10,1With talkers and other sources in their normal positions8

A summary of the 2014 edition says it made the measurement methods and test signals more specific, added a speech test signal and a combined sine and noise signal, allowed RMS and peak meters while no longer recommending peak meters, and added requirements on local systems, metal in the building and overspill9. Guides also ask for a test of the site before the loop is designed, with a temporary loop, to measure metal loss and background noise11,12,8.

Who checks

  • The installer, at commissioning. A loop maker says the installing engineer usually commissions the loop and records the results on what it calls a "Certificate of Test and Conformity"5. A UK industry code asks for a "certificate of compliance" after testing, with measurements at listening height that take account of a full room13. Bavaria's guidelines for state buildings treat a loop's quality as proven only when a measurement record shows every value the standard requires at six or more evenly spread points12. Switzerland's draft building standard asks for an acceptance report14, while a Swiss association notes that current law does not require one, although builders and authorities usually ask for it15.
  • A maker’s handover form. Williams AV (Manufacturer) asks for a floor plan with the centre and six typical listening positions, field-strength and frequency-response readings at those positions, and a final sound-quality check by the facility manager with a loop receiver before the technician and manager sign16.
  • Codes of practice. IEC TR 63079 gives guidance on designing, installing, testing, operating and maintaining loops, and a vendor listing shows the UK's BS 7594 replaced by its UK edition17. Its free preview shows a chain of documents: clauses on commissioning, documentation, certification, acceptance and verification, and model certificates for design, installation, commissioning, acceptance, optional verification, inspection and servicing, and modification; the recommendations themselves are in the paid text17.
  • Building rules. ICC A117.1 requires loops, where provided, to meet IEC 60118-44. Australia's standard has sections on loop field strength, background noise, frequency response and test reports, with the requirements in its paid text18, and its model building code specifies loop coverage of at least 80% of the floor area served by the amplification system, subject to adoption by the state or territory19. England's guidance names loops but sets no performance limits20. Minnesota's law requires loops in state-funded public gathering spaces that have a permanent amplification system, without naming a performance standard21. In New Zealand, two councils' form lists audio loops as a specified system on a building's compliance schedule, inspected every six months by an independent qualified person22.
  • Installer schemes. HLAA advises hiring an installer "trained and certified in International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) standard verification" and names Contacta and Williams Sound, two loop equipment companies, as offering hearing loop training and certification1. In the UK, the ISCVE keeps a register of members it accepts as competent to test and assess loops, on the strength of its training courses, installation references or service on standards committees23. In 2005, the Swiss hard of hearing association was "training and certifying professionals" to measure loops to the IEC standard24.

What field checks found

  • One measured audit. In 2008, broadcast staff at Australia's Parliament House measured all 31 loop areas there against the Australian loop standard of the time, after first setting up each amplifier. Nine areas had a usable level over 80-100% of their area, three over 20-80% and three over less than 20%, and 16 had a low base level with excessive attenuation. The staff blamed the loop layouts; in the main committee room, readings fell from about 0 dB near the walls to about -24 to -30 dB in the middle. The audit read signal level and background noise, not frequency response25.
  • Volunteer and user checks. In about 500 reports by RNID campaign volunteers on 210 UK businesses in 2009, the loop was not working properly in nearly half and missing in nearly one in four; untrained staff and loops left switched off were other complaints26. At a Southampton hospital in 2017, two volunteers with hearing loss found the main reception and chapel loops working but only one of four reception loops in clinical areas, and the main reception loop had been re-installed after an incorrect first installation27. The hospital check judged performance by listening; the RNID news report gives no test method or field-strength measurements26,27.
  • Listener surveys. In a maker-funded convenience survey of 866 loop users, respondents named uneven signals, buzzing and loops left off2. A self-selected survey of 1,519 people with hearing loss by hearing-loss advocates, with funding unstated, included reports of loops with dead spots3; the authors of the first survey could not check loop quality2.
  • Estimates without data. A loop seller states that "in the US it is estimated that over 50% of Hearing Loop systems do not work when first installed", without saying whose estimate it is7. A Swiss advocate guessed in 2005 that 90% of installed loops did not meet the standard24. A German manufacturers' association says that in most cases a hearing aid user who switches to T in an existing loop hears little more28, and a UK institute says "Many surveys reveal that hearing loop systems are sometimes badly installed or maintained", naming none23.
  • Why loops fall short, by the sources' account. Perimeter loops that are too wide or sit over metal25,29,11; 100 V public-address amplifiers that lose high frequencies12,28; coverage figures that assume ideal rooms, so that an amplifier rated for 1,000 m² may serve about 80 m² to the standard12; and testing shortcuts, such as readings taken next to the wire or frequency response judged from a 1 kHz reading29. A loop seller names poor maintenance or operation as the most common cause of failure7.
  • No count of loops that pass. No source found measures a representative sample of installed loops against IEC 60118-4. Minnesota's commission, which reports to the legislature on the state's loop law, says it has no data about projects that followed it21.

Re-checks and maintenance

  • RNID recommends maintaining a loop every 12 months30, and asks venues to keep testing and maintaining their loops for at least five years, potentially nearer ten, while Auracast spreads31.
  • The New Zealand councils' form sets inspections every six months by an independent qualified person, re-measuring field strength and, where nearby equipment has changed, background noise, with a 24-month logbook on site and an annual report from the inspector22.
  • A US advocacy group advises staff to listen with a loop receiver weekly and before every event, and AV staff to check monthly with a loop tester32. Bavaria's guidelines ask a trained person to check loops at regular intervals and before use, without setting an interval12, and HLAA lists "periodic maintenance" without one1. A loop seller asks for regular checks, at minimum with a loop listener and a basic field strength reading7.
  • UnivoxAudio (Manufacturer, a loop distributor), in guidance describing the 2006 edition, recommends staff checks with a loop receiver monthly and before events, plus inspection and field-strength-meter testing33.
  • The ADA Title III rule requires accessible features to be kept in working order but names no equipment and no interval34. EFHOH reports that the European standard EN 17210 has an annex on management and maintenance35, and IEC TR 63079's contents list routine testing, inspection and servicing, a special inspection when a new maintenance organisation is appointed, and a responsible person and logbook, with no intervals visible in the preview17.

Where sources disagree

The background noise limit. A loop maker gives -32 dB (A-weighted) or better5, and a loop seller 32 dB below the reference level, ideally 47 dB7. A meter maker's note, written by a member of the IEC committee, gives -22 dB, with 47 dB below the reference as the best case8. The managing director of a loop maker gives -32 dB as the IEC figure but recommends -40 dB, because US listeners also use loop receivers with headphones29.

UnivoxAudio’s summary of the superseded 2006 edition prefers -47 dB(A), accepts -32 dB(A), and asks for investigation before installation between -32 and -22 dB33. Williams AV’s form measures noise A-weighted relative to 400 mA/m: it passes noise at or below -32 dB, calls for investigation between -32 and -20 dB, and strongly recommends fixing noise above -20 dB before commissioning16.

How the field strength target is stated. Guides give 400 mA/m from a 1 kHz sine within ±3 dB5,7, or an average of 100 mA/m with 400 mA/m as the maximum8. A German industry guide gives 100 mA/m as the recommended level, citing the 1999 edition28, and the Parliament House audit worked to its own target of 0 dB peak, down to -6 dB, under an Australian standard it lists as equivalent to the 2006 edition25.

How many points to measure. Bavaria asks for at least six points spread evenly over the area12 and a meter maker for randomly distributed points8, while a loop maker's managing director asks for readings taken while walking the whole area, including the point farthest from any wire29.

Who does the listening test. Two US advocacy groups say the standard requires a hearing aid user familiar with loops as the final test10,1; a loop seller says hearing aid users ideally, and otherwise someone from the service provider with a receiver7.

Whether loops need maintenance. A German manufacturers' association calls loops commissioned to the standard in practice largely maintenance-free28, while a loop seller names poor maintenance as the most common cause of failure7. The intervals other sources recommend run from weekly staff checks32 to inspections every six months22 and yearly maintenance30.

Who should vouch for a loop. HLAA names two equipment companies as offering installer training and certification1. The managing director of one of them proposes instead "an independently trained and qualified group that certifies hearing loop systems", or makers' own teams regularly testing their contractors' installations29. The UK register admits assessors on training, installation references or committee service, without describing a separate assessment test23.

How many loops fall short. Estimates run from over half of new US loops not working7 to a guess that 90% do not meet the standard24, and neither gives data. The one measured audit put 9 of 31 areas in its top grade after setting up the amplifiers25, and the RNID news report, which gives no test protocol, says volunteers found the loop not working properly in nearly half of their reports26.

What would settle it

A study that measures a representative sample of installed loops, across countries and venue types, against every IEC 60118-4 requirement as found, before any adjustment, and measures them again a year or more later. The sources show this is missing: the one measured audit covers one building, after set-up, without frequency response25; the hospital check used listening judgments and the RNID news report gives no test method26,27; and the failure estimates give no data7,24. Records kept under building rules could help, but the two New Zealand councils' form keeps inspection logbooks on the premises22 and Minnesota's commission collects no data on projects that follow its law21. Also missing from public sources: the standard's own noise limits and the code of practice's maintenance intervals, which are in paid text6,17.

Planning while it is open

  • Before the loop is designed, have the site tested for metal loss and magnetic background noise, with the readings recorded11,12,8.
  • In the specification, require the loop to meet IEC 60118-4 and the installer to hand over measured results with a certificate or measurement record7,1,12.
  • Ask for readings across the whole listening area at seated and standing heights (at least six points in Bavaria's guidelines), with a plan showing where every requirement is met12,8,29,5.
  • Ask for the frequency response to be measured at several positions; a 1 kHz reading at the centre of each loop can hide a response far outside tolerance29,8.
  • Have a hearing aid user familiar with loops listen before the installer leaves10,1.
  • Keep a loop receiver on site, keep the loop on whenever the public is present, and have staff listen weekly and before events12,32.
  • Plan professional maintenance at least once a year30; where the building's schedule follows the Palmerston North and Manawatu councils' form, arrange its six-monthly inspections and on-site logbook22.
  • Re-measure background noise when electrical equipment or lighting near the loop changes22,8.
  • Keep existing loops tested and maintained while Auracast spreads31.

Sources

  1. Best Practices for Hearing Loop Installation. Hearing Loss Association of America (contact: Juliëtte Sterkens, HLAA hearing loop advocate). Hearing Loss Association of America (Get in the Hearing Loop), 28 October 2021. Nonprofit advocacy (Hearing Loss Association of America, a US consumer organisation; guidance from its hearing loop programme) ↩︎ https://www.hearingloss.org/wp-content/uploads/best-practices-for-hearing-loop-installation.pdf
  2. Consumer Perceptions of the Impact of Inductively Looped Venues on the Utility of Their Hearing Devices. Kochkin S, Sterkens J, Compton-Conley C, Beck DL, Taylor B, Kricos P, Caccavo M, Holmes A, Powers TA. Hearing Review (October 2014 issue), 24 September 2014. Manufacturer (paid for by grants from Etymotic Research, Contacta, Listen Technologies, IntriCon and Univox by Edin, which the acknowledgments describe as including two hearing loop makers, an assistive listening company and two hearing-device technology makers; co-author Juliëtte Sterkens runs the Loop Wisconsin advocacy blog, one of the recruitment channels. The article prints no affiliations; from other sources, co-author Douglas L. Beck worked for the hearing-aid maker Oticon, joining as director of professional relations in 2005 (AudiologyOnline, 20 August 2005) and named director of academic sciences in 2016 (Hearing Review, 6 April 2016), and co-author Thomas A. Powers was vice-president of audiology at the hearing-aid maker Siemens Hearing Instruments (Hearing Review, 19 September 2013) and later a vice-president of its successor, Sivantos (Better Hearing Institute biography)) ↩︎ https://hearingreview.com/hearing-products/implants-bone-conduction/cochlear-implants/consumer-perceptions-impact-inductively-looped-venues-utility-hearing-devices
  3. Consumer use of and preferences for assistive communication technology in public places. Committee for Communication Access in America (Frazier SO, Bailey A, Cadwell B, Clifford C, Liebe K, Myers D, Sterkens J). Committee for Communication Access in America, 8 January 2024. Nonprofit advocacy (an ad hoc committee of hearing-loss advocates, chaired by Stephen O. Frazier (Loop New Mexico; a founding member of HLAA's Get in the Hearing Loop initiative), the report's correspondence author; funding not stated; data collected and analysed by the Frost Center for Data and Social Research at Hope College. The committee's site lists David Myers (founder of hearingloop.org) and Juliette Sterkens (HLAA hearing loop advocate) among its members, with Abram Bailey (founder of HearingTracker), Blake Cadwell (founder and CEO of Soundly), Kevin Liebe (hearinghealthmatters.org) and Carol Clifford (audiologist, former ReSound training director)) ↩︎ https://www.ccaa.name/Report_Final_1-12-24.pdf
  4. ICC A117.1-2017 Accessible and Usable Buildings and Facilities, Section 706 Assistive Listening Systems. International Code Council. International Code Council (ICC Digital Codes), 2017. Standards body (International Code Council) ↩︎ https://codes.iccsafe.org/content/icca117-12017/chapter-7-communication-elements-and-features
  5. Commissioning an Induction Loop System. Ampetronic. Ampetronic (learning zone web page), undated (read 9 October 2026). Manufacturer (Ampetronic, which makes hearing loop drivers and loop test equipment and sells installer training) ↩︎ https://www.ampetronic.com/info-centre/learning-zone/testing-and-maintaining/commissioning/
  6. IEC 60118-4:2014 Electroacoustics - Hearing aids - Part 4: Induction-loop systems for hearing aid purposes - System performance requirements. IEC TC 29 (Electroacoustics). International Electrotechnical Commission, 11 December 2014. Standards body (International Electrotechnical Commission; the full text is sold, and only the abstract is public) ↩︎ https://webstore.iec.ch/en/publication/798
  7. New Requirements for Hearing Loop Systems: Are You Meeting the Standard?. Listen Technologies, 22 May 2013. Manufacturer (Listen Technologies, which sold hearing loop drivers and field strength meters; the footer reads "2013 Ampetronic Listen Technologies Corporation", also naming the loop maker Ampetronic) ↩︎ https://www.listentech.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/listen_technologies_new_requirements_for_hearing_loop_systems.pdf
  8. Application Note: Induction Loop Systems with XL2 Analyzer (AFILS). Norman DI (for NTi Audio). NTi Audio, 12 January 2021. Manufacturer (NTi Audio, which sells the analyzer and signal generator the note is written for; the author, David Ian Norman, is described in the note as a member of the IEC committee for these systems) ↩︎ https://www.nti-audio.com/wp-content/uploads/NTi-Audio-AppNote-AFILS-with-XL2.pdf
  9. Induktive Höranlagen – internationale Trends und aktuelle Normung (Induction loop systems: international trends and current standards). Seidler H. Fortschritte der Akustik – DAGA 2014 (annual conference of the German Acoustical Society, Oldenburg), pages 294-295, March 2014. Independent (Hannes Seidler, ENT clinic of the medical faculty, TU Dresden; funding not stated) ↩︎ https://pub.dega-akustik.de/DAGA_2014/data/articles/000138.pdf
  10. Hearing Loops: Installations. Center for Hearing Access (The John G. Shedd Institute). Center for Hearing Access, undated (read 13 October 2026). Nonprofit advocacy (Center for Hearing Access, a 501(c)(3) advocacy and education initiative of The John G. Shedd Institute for the Arts, founded in 2024, whose website succeeded hearingloop.org; it states that it accepts no donations from hearing-related vendors) ↩︎ https://centerforhearingaccess.org/biz-hearing-loop-installation/
  11. HLS-2D Metal Loss Test Procedure (document UP17940-4). Ampetronic, undated (read 9 October 2026). Manufacturer (Ampetronic; the procedure is written for its own HLS-2D test driver, field strength meters, design software and loop drivers) ↩︎ https://www.ampetronic.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/UP17940-4-HLS-2D_Metal_Loss_Test_Procedure.pdf
  12. Induktive Höranlagen beim Freistaat Bayern: Planungsrichtlinien, Stand 01.01.2019 (Hearing loops in Bavarian state buildings: planning guidelines). Bavarian State Ministry for Housing, Building and Transport; text by Ertl F (Government of the Upper Palatinate) and Jaggo T (Landesverband Bayern der Schwerhörigen und Ertaubten). Bayerisches Staatsministerium für Wohnen, Bau und Verkehr, 1 January 2019. Government (Bavarian State Ministry for Housing, Building and Transport, for state building projects; written with the technical officer of the Bavarian association of hard-of-hearing and deafened people, a hearing-loss organisation, and including a comparison table used with the permission of an engineer from the German hard-of-hearing association) ↩︎ https://mobilitaet.bayern.de/assets/stmi/min/181217-induktive-hoeranlagen.pdf
  13. Code of Practice for the Design and Operation of Assistive Listening Systems, Issue 1. Audio Industries Committee on Assistive Listening Systems. Audio Industries Committee on Assistive Listening Systems; distributed by the Institute of Sound, Communications and Visual Engineers (UK), December 2023. Trade body (Audio Industries Committee on Assistive Listening Systems, an audio industry committee; distributed by the Institute of Sound, Communications and Visual Engineers; the code names no funder) ↩︎ https://iscve.org.uk/standards/assistive-listening-guide-and-code-of-practice/
  14. prSIA 500:2025-07 Hindernisfreie Bauten (obstacle-free buildings), consultation draft. SIA (Swiss Society of Engineers and Architects). SIA; consultation copy with highlights published by Pro Audito Schweiz (in German), July 2025. Standards body (SIA) ↩︎ https://pro-audito.ch/wp-content/uploads/prSIA500_Vernehmlassungsentwurf-mit-Hervorhebungen.pdf
  15. Can Bluetooth Auracast be used as an assistive listening system?. Pro Audito Schweiz. Pro Audito Schweiz (in German), 17 February 2025. Nonprofit advocacy (Pro Audito Schweiz, Swiss hearing-loss association) ↩︎ https://pro-audito.ch/news/kann-bluetooth-auracast-als-hoeranlage-eingesetzt-werden/
  16. Induction Loop Certification. Williams AV, 2021. Manufacturer (Williams AV, for commissioning its loop amplifiers using its PC Mixer App) ↩︎ https://williamsav.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/frm_720_loop_certification_SIMP_2021.pdf
  17. IEC TR 63079:2017 Code of practice for hearing-loop systems (HLS). IEC TC 29 (Electroacoustics). International Electrotechnical Commission, 10 April 2017. Standards body (International Electrotechnical Commission; the full text is sold, and only the abstract and a preview of the opening pages are public) ↩︎ https://webstore.iec.ch/en/publication/32554
  18. AS 1428.5:2021 Design for access and mobility, Part 5: Communication for people who are deaf or hearing impaired. Standards Australia. Standards Australia (Standards Store), 3 September 2021. Standards body (Standards Australia) ↩︎ https://store.standards.org.au/product/as-1428-5-2021
  19. National Construction Code 2025, Volume One, Part D4: D4D7 Signage and D4D8 Hearing augmentation. Australian Building Codes Board. Australian Building Codes Board (NCC online), 1 May 2026. Government (Australian Building Codes Board) ↩︎ https://ncc.abcb.gov.au/editions/ncc-2025/adopted/volume-one/d-access-and-egress/part-d4-access-people-disability
  20. Approved Document M, Volume 2: buildings other than dwellings (2015 edition incorporating 2020 and 2024 amendments). UK Government. Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (GOV.UK), 30 September 2024. Government (UK Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government) ↩︎ https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/66f6c5eec71e42688b65ee11/ADM__V2_with_2024_amendments.pdf
  21. Biennial exemptions report: Accommodation for hard-of-hearing in state-funded capital projects. Minnesota Commission of the Deaf, DeafBlind & Hard of Hearing. Minnesota Commission of the Deaf, DeafBlind & Hard of Hearing (report to the Minnesota Legislature, held by the Legislative Reference Library), 30 January 2024. Government (Minnesota Commission of the Deaf, DeafBlind & Hard of Hearing, a state commission) ↩︎ https://www.lrl.mn.gov/docs/2024/mandated/240302.pdf
  22. SS 12/1 Audio loops: compliance schedule details for a building consent application (Form 2). Palmerston North City Council; Manawatu District Council. Palmerston North City Council and Manawatu District Council, Building Services (New Zealand), undated (read 9 October 2026). Government (two New Zealand district councils acting as building consent authorities) ↩︎ https://www.pncc.govt.nz/files/assets/public/v/2/documents/building-amp-property/specified-systems-forms/ss-12.1.pdf
  23. Hearing Loop Assessment Scheme. ISCVE (Institute of Sound, Communications and Visual Engineers). Institute of Sound, Communications and Visual Engineers (UK), 14 January 2020. Trade body (Institute of Sound, Communications and Visual Engineers, a UK membership body for engineers in the sound, communications and visual systems industry, which runs the scheme and its hearing loop training courses) ↩︎ https://iscve.org.uk/hearing-loop-assessment-scheme/
  24. Only quality controlled loops are fit for the future: the new international standard IEC 60118-4 for Audio-Frequency Induction Loop Systems. Karg S. European Federation of Hard of Hearing People (text of a talk at the 20th International Congress on the Education of the Deaf, Maastricht), 18 July 2005. Nonprofit advocacy (Siegfried Karg, then vice president of the European Federation of Hard of Hearing People and president of Pro Audito Winterthur, a Swiss hearing-loss association; the text is hosted on EFHOH's website) ↩︎ https://efhoh.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Maastricht-Hearing-Loops-Presentation.pdf
  25. Audio Frequency Induction Loops Audit in Parliament House, for the Purpose of OH&S Compliance (version 0.1). Ciolek M, Covington J (Broadcasting Infrastructure and Support, Department of Parliamentary Services). Parliament of Australia, Department of Parliamentary Services (published with the Senate Finance and Public Administration committee's 2011-12 Budget Estimates documents for the parliamentary departments), December 2008. Government (an in-house audit by the Australian Parliament's Department of Parliamentary Services of the hearing loops it maintains in Parliament House, carried out by its own broadcasting support staff) ↩︎ https://aph.gov.au/~/media/Estimates/Live/fapa_ctte/estimates/bud_1112/parliamentary/p21d.ashx
  26. RNID calls for businesses to do better on induction loops. Disability News Service, 23 May 2009. Nonprofit advocacy (reports gathered by campaign volunteers of the UK charity RNID and released for its Deaf Awareness Week campaign; reported by Disability News Service; labelled advocacy rather than an independent test because the reports were gathered for a campaign, with no test protocol described in the news report) ↩︎ https://www.disabilitynewsservice.com/rnid-calls-for-businesses-to-do-better-on-induction-loops/
  27. Hearing Loops at UHS FT: Audit of Hearing Loops. Dymond HF, for the sensory loss group and Healthwatch Southampton. Healthwatch Southampton (reports library of Healthwatch England), May 2017. Government (Healthwatch Southampton, the city's statutory health and social care watchdog, funded through the local authority; the audit was done by two of its volunteers with hearing loss, as members of University Hospital Southampton's sensory loss group) ↩︎ https://nds.healthwatch.co.uk/sites/default/files/reports_library/20170502_Southampton__Hearing-Loops-at-UHS-FT-Report.pdf
  28. Induktive Höranlagen: Barrierefreies Planen und Bauen für Hörgeschädigte (Induction loop systems: accessible planning and building for people with hearing loss). ZVEI (German Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers' Association), sound systems working group. ZVEI (Zentralverband Elektrotechnik- und Elektronikindustrie), January 2013. Trade body (ZVEI, the German electrical and electronic manufacturers' association, through the sound systems working group of its security division; the PDF metadata names Claus-Peter Sterling as author) ↩︎ https://www.zvei.org/fileadmin/user_upload/Verband/Fachverbaende/Sicherheit/Fachkreis_Beschallungstechnik/LGB-Induktive-Hoeranlagen.pdf
  29. Best Practices to Install a Hearing Loop System that Meets the IEC Standard. McKinley R. Hearing Loss Association of America (reprinted with permission), 30 September 2021. Manufacturer (written by Richard McKinley, managing director of Contacta Inc., a hearing loop maker that offers installer training and certification; reprinted by the Hearing Loss Association of America's hearing loop programme) ↩︎ https://www.hearingloss.org/wp-content/uploads/best-practices-to-install-a-hearing-loop-system-that-meets-the-iec-standard.pdf
  30. Providing a hearing loop in your venue or business. RNID. RNID (Royal National Institute for Deaf People), 26 May 2026. Nonprofit advocacy (RNID, UK charity; the page refers businesses to its installation partner Contacta Systems, a hearing loop maker and installer, and states that RNID receives a 5% donation for every assistive listening system Contacta installs through its dedicated email address) ↩︎ https://rnid.org.uk/employers-and-professionals/providing-communication-support/hearing-loops/
  31. Auracast: a revolution in audio accessibility (RNID Auracast report). RNID (Royal National Institute for Deaf People). RNID, 11 February 2025. Nonprofit advocacy (RNID, UK charity) ↩︎ https://rnid.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Final-Auracast-Report-110225.pdf
  32. Hearing Loops: Basic Troubleshooting. Center for Hearing Access (The John G. Shedd Institute). Center for Hearing Access, undated (read 13 October 2026). Nonprofit advocacy (Center for Hearing Access, an advocacy and education initiative of The John G. Shedd Institute for the Arts) ↩︎ https://centerforhearingaccess.org/hearing-loops-troubleshooting/
  33. Loop Performance Standard IEC 60118-4:2006. UnivoxAudio Ltd. UnivoxAudio (knowledge centre wiki), undated (read 13 October 2026). Manufacturer (UnivoxAudio Ltd, the UK and Ireland distributor of the Swedish loop maker Bo Edin's Univox loop amplifiers) ↩︎ https://www.univoxaudio.co.uk/knowledge-centre-wiki/standards-legislation-and-best-practice/standard-iec-60118-4-2006
  34. 28 CFR 36.211: maintenance of accessible features (ADA Title III regulation). US Department of Justice. eCFR, 15 September 2010. Government (US Department of Justice) ↩︎ https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-28/section-36.211
  35. EU standard for hearing access in the built environment. European Federation of Hard of Hearing People (EFHOH). EFHOH, 14 March 2024. Nonprofit advocacy (European federation of hard of hearing people's organisations; its site states that its 2024-2026 publications are co-funded by the EU CERV programme) ↩︎ https://efhoh.org/2024/03/eu-standard-for-hearing-access-in-the-built-environment/
  36. Evaluation of Speech Perception via the Use of Hearing Loops and Telecoils. Alfakir R, Holmes AE, Kricos PB, Gaeta L, Martin S. Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine 1:2333721415591935 (SAGE), 8 July 2015. Independent (University of Florida and University of Oklahoma; the authors report no financial support and no conflicts of interest; Contacta, a loop maker, lent the field strength meter) ↩︎ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5119799/
  37. Hearing Loops in Central Southampton: Auditing hearing loops in shops and restaurants across central Southampton. Lets Loop Southampton and Healthwatch Southampton. Lets Loop Southampton, 2018. Independent (Lets Loop Southampton and Healthwatch Southampton volunteer audit; separate audit funding is not specified; the report describes a £4,000 GoSouthampton contribution for businesses to obtain loops) ↩︎ https://letsloopsouthampton.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Hearing-Loops-in-Central-Southampton-Report.pdf

Change log

  • Published with 33 sources.
  • Clarified test methods, measurement guidance and the scope of building rules; added survey context.
  • Added Williams AV’s commissioning form and Univox’s existing guidance on staff checks and background noise; now cites 35 sources.
  • Audited the added guidance; specified Williams AV’s noise weighting and reference level and Univox’s timing for noise investigation.
  • Prepared a table-linked evidence block for owner review; the block remains unpublished.
  • Audited the unpublished evidence block; corrected the lecture-hall location limit against the study discussion.
  • Added Evidence at a glance, drawn from the data tables.

Cite this question

Equal Access Audio. “How is an installed hearing loop checked against IEC 60118-4, and how often does it pass?” Assistive Listening Knowledge Base. Updated 14 October 2026. https://assistivelisteningknowledgebase.org/questions/loop-verification/ (accessed the date you read it).

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