Deputy Truscott: A Word in His Ear

Deputy Truscott: A Word in His Ear and a Commendation. 

I came across this video of a public meeting attended by Deputy Graham Truscott, in which he is seen to refuse to use a microphone, saying he would prefer to “project” over a protest by Mike Dun, who points out that one in 6 people has a hearing impairment (it's now one in 5). The caption for the video is Deputy Truscott, Assistant Minister at Social Security "ignoring the deaf".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0s5l5yIjBw

I showed it to a friend who is deaf and uses a hearing aid, and she was quite shocked when she saw it.

In my email to Deputy Truscott, I explained that the problem with “projecting your voice” rather than using a microphone is that in a busy hall, the acoustics make it hard for a person with a hearing impairment to hear.

Modern microphones, like the one used in the clip, and the one used in the hustings, are designed enable people to hear better, not only because it amplifies the sound better in all frequencies, Projecting a voice, however well it is done, cannot do whole audio spectrum amplification. It is a matter of physics.

So I decided to contact Deputy Truscott to find out whether he would commit to use a microphone in future in a public space, and it turned out the truth of the matter was not quite as it appears.

Deputy Truscott explained the microphone used at Communicare is well known for being faulty from time to time. He said:

“The microphone at Communicare is renowned for ‘drop out’. John Le Fondre that night abandoned using it during his speech because of the ‘drop out’ issue. If you check the recording, you will hear that I asked the small audience if they could all hear me before continuing. I have been a supporter of the Deaf Society over many years – supplying computer equipment and services at reduced rates through my business.”

“I do regret repeating what Mike Dunn uttered to me - if I did offend anyone I do apologise and have taken note of your experts advice.”

So I asked Deputy Truscott:

1) Provided the microphone works, can you confirm you will use it in preference to “projecting” at public events?

2) Will you look into the issue of the microphone at Communicare in your capacity as Parish Deputy?

And he replied:

“I do always use a microphone out of preference – it’s just the Communicare microphone is renowned for drop out. I will check with the manager if the system has changed – certainly at the Senatorial hustings the microphone behaved itself.”

I think Deputy Truscott is to be commended, both for apologising for his somewhat curt response to Mike Dun, and for engaging with me regarding that clip, as well as going to look into whether the microphone at Communicare is fixed or still “flakey”. We can all make mistakes, but when a politician owns up to one, they always go up in my estimation.

Meanwhile, while researching this, I noted that the forthcoming Deputy Hustings is to be held at St Bernadette’s Church Hall.

Now one great advantage of a microphone is that it goes directly to a hearing loop system if one is in place..

A hearing loop (sometimes called an audio induction loop) is a special type of sound system for use by people with hearing aids. The hearing loop provides a magnetic, wireless signal that is picked up by the hearing aid when it is set to the ‘T’ (Telecoil) setting. For those with impaired hearing, loops sound systems must be now included in plans for new public buildings.

This is great because it is like having the speaker directly by your ear with no acoustic interference. The Chamber of Commerce also makes sure people asking questions have a “roving microphone” so that everyone can hear – and it can be picked up on a loop system.

Sadly those choosing Hustings locations have neglected to see if this is the case, and while Communicare and the Parish Hall (St Brelade and all Parish Halls) have loop systems, I have since discovered that St Bernardette’s Hall does not.

Hopefully by the next election, with the Disability Discrimination law being enacted, more thought will be given to hustings locations with loop systems.

Loop systems in the Jersey are listed at:
http://www.holidays-jersey.com/jersey/tourist-information/disabled-information/loop-system

 
This may not be a fully comprehensive list. If you know of any others, please let me know.

Postscript

My correspondent Alan Gardiner, has a bit more information on problems with the Communicare microphone.

The Communicare microphone does not just ‘drop-out’. It’s largely  the way people hold it.

"The on/off slider  actually has three positions. Off, Standby and On. For ‘On' there is a definite ‘click’, but if you depress the slider through gripping the microphone too tightly, it it goes into standby - effectively ‘Off’. It;s a quick method of stunning the mic should you need. Similarly to avoid feedback (that high pitched squeal you sometimes get) the mic is uni-directional which means that if you don’t talk directly into it or hold in close enough proximity to your mouth, it may not pick up a signal."

"The desk-top mics they use at the hustings are omni-directional so will pick up the signal so long as you are close enough, and will filter out anything with a weaker sound signal."

"However, in his defence I might add, that no-one gets any instruction in ‘microphone technique’, or advised of any standby feature. I believe the ‘roving mic' at Communicare was updated some time back and switch is now located in the base. It nonetheless still requires that you hold it correctly to your mouth to pick up the signal."