I got this question from a customer and so sought answers from experienced masters rowers and coaches.
I am a board member with my local Masters club. This weekend, we held our annual open house to introduce members of the public to rowing and promote our upcoming learn to rowing program.
One attendee indicated she was hard of hearing (she has a cochlear implant). While I was able to work with her in the erg room by making sure to look at her while I spoke, she found that on the short row in the boat, she could not hear the coxswains over the speakers at all.
Generally, do you have any experience working with deaf or hard of hearing rowers? Specifically, do you know of any Bluetooth setups we might use to connect the cox box directly to the rower’s hearing aid or similar device?
Image credit: Press of Atlantic City – coxswain using sign language ASL
Hand signals for coxswains
One respondent told us
I coach a deaf swimming team and the swimmers expressed an interest in rowing so I developed a system to do it. However, they always had an excuse when it came time to erg/row so while the commands have been reviewed extensively, they have never been actually used. That’s why the PM rather than comment on your post.
Items in “quotes” refer to existing ASL signs. D-A-S-H words are fingerspelled with the ASL alphabet signs.
I personally wear Bluetooth hearing aids which are pretty decent if basic, provided by the NHS, they’re Oticon Engage, but I don’t have CIs, a friend of mine however does, so I’ll ask him. He has a couple of remote mics which he can ask a speaker to wear via a neck loop, but I’m assuming that might be a little dangerous when rowing, so I’ll ask who the main manufacturers are, they should have a remote mic for sporting scenarios. I’ve established that the company which manufactures my friend’s Bluetooth microphone which feeds o to his CI is Phonak, the Roger range. It might be worth contacting them to see if they have a water/splash proof range or one which isn’t worn round the neck so potentially a choking hazard if the boat capsizes or anything. I know their headquarters are in Sweden but pretty sure they’ll have reps or offices around the world as they’re one of the world’s best hearing aid manufacturers.
I am a hearing aid wearer 59 years old. Have always worn my HAs whilst rowing both pairs and quad. And I have just discovered that the sailing/cruising community use a hearing device. Have looked it up on the internet just now and seen these Sensear.Another helpful thing is to use hand signals such as arm and hand down if the starter count down is quiet. I also mainly row stroke. Hope these help.
A remote bluetooth microphone works fine though you would have to verify if you were in bow because it is a Bluetooth connection and not sure what max distance for the device. We have a junior rower with a CI and she has a remote microphone that coach or other crew members can wear. We found that when she sat at bow in a coxed quad, she couldn’t pick up the cox’s calls, even though the cox had the microphone. It usually works well when she’s closer, or in a double though. The other issue is the receiver falling in the water, which recently happened. Bluetooth is not a perfect solution. As to the we processor falling into the water that is sad. CI users have different answers including a headband and a different ear clip.
Hearing impairment and devices are on a huge spectrum so much of it depends on the specifics for the individual. I’m an experienced rower and wear hearing aids but try not to in the boat bc they’re expensive and don’t mix well with sweat and moisture. However, even with hearing aids I can have difficulty hearing the coxswain or coach bc the aids aren’t perfect and often just amplify wind etc. However, my hearing aids connect to my phone by Bluetooth to receive direct phone audio. So I have thought about experimenting with having the cox speak through a phone (like their phone to mine) to stream directly to my aids. The aids manufacturer sells an accessory that is a Bluetooth microphone the speaker can wear around their neck to stream to my aids but it is expensive. Another option I have considered is to mount my phone at my feet and use my LiveTranscribe app which converts speech to text like real-time captions. This should work for the cox or coach audio and would allow me to leave the hearing aids safe on dry land.
I have used voice to text apps (Otter, Live Transcribe) with an iphone paired with a Bluetooth wireless mic. The deaf/hoh rower places the phone where they can see it and the cox/coach speaks normally. It’s not perfect but gets the job done
Another fix is to sit stroke seat so I can watch the cox or get hand signals. But the cox then has to translate the coaching commands.
Whether I’m going with or without aids in the boat it’s a huge help if the coxswain commands are simple – extra chit chat or conversational-style commands can disguise the key words I’m trying to listen for.
When coaching and coxing an 8+ with an athlete with a cochlear implant, we had the individual sitting behind her repeat the calls. This isn’t a perfect solution but it helped.
My rowing partner is essentially deaf. He gives the cox a microphone that goes directly to his hearing aid. If we are rowing without a cox, the coach wears the microphone but needs to stay in range. I have not rowed without one or the other with him yet. We are on a busy intercoastal, need to stay safe. A remote microphone that works with the implant is best. They’re called HAT systems. https://wataugahearing.com/…/hearing-assistive…/
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