State Rep. Lela Alston has difficulty hearing. Despite wearing hearing aids, and she had struggled to follow bill debates on the House floor, had been reluctant to participate.

Alston, D-Phoenix, said, "I wasn't sure what people were saying. You are hesitant to reply."

The Arizona Legislature has become only the second state capital to provide looping technology which directly broadcasts amplified sound for hearing aids and cochlear implants, this week. Most hearing aids include "telecoils" required to use the technology. Individuals can access it. This is accessible by just pushing a button on their device.

Alston was on hand Wednesday as the system had been activated in a House hearing room. As she had heard the clear sound broadcast by the system via her hearing aids, a huge smile spread across her face and she started crying.

She said, "Oh, wow!. They thought I talked a lot before. They better watch out now. I will be even bolder than I was before."

Alston said that more members of the public can participate in the process.

Twin brothers born in two different years

The technology, which has become common in Europe everywhere from taxi cabs to churches, has been gaining popularity in Arizona and throughout the U.S. At the Capitol, it will be available in the House and Senate chambers, as well as hearing rooms. It sounds to the user as if individuals speaking into the room's sound system are speaking directly and clearly into their ear once it is activated.

Elizabeth Booth, a board member with the Arizona Commission for the Deaf and the Hard of Hearing, said that Rhode Island has bet Arizona in installing the system by a day, "I hope other states will be following”.

Commission Executive Director Sherri Collins said that the commission gave the Legislature $250,000 to install the technology. The commission has been funded by the telecommunication-services excise tax.

Collins said, "It's well-spent tax dollars for the public," .

There will be portable headphone devices available for those without telecoils in their hearing aids, for free checkout from the House clerk and at the Senate security desk.

House Speaker J.D. Mesnard, R-Chandler, said that the technology opens the door to public input from a segment of the population that has not been heard.

By Prakriti Neogi