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AnonTechie writes:

As the lights dim, a low rumble can be heard advancing from the front of the theater to the back as the powerful bass speakers kick on. Theaters tune their sound systems to be physically felt by theatergoers to draw them into the experience, but for individuals with hearing loss this can be more alienating than inclusive.

For Dallas Summer Musicals ( http://www.dallassummermusicals.org ), this meant creating a new listening experience with some innovative thinking and an unusual combination of theater technicians, electrical engineers and two UT Dallas audiologists. Drs. Carol Cokely and Linda Thibodeau of the Callier Center for Communication Disorders collaborated with DSM to create the Hear Us Now program, which uses five different technologies to provide a wide range of options for accessing the theater's sound system outside of its normal speakers. Most theaters offer one point of access for those with hearing impairments via a headset.

"A longtime season-ticket holder said to me, 'You know I've been coming here for years, and I get the standard headset and I really can't understand much on them. I look around and when it's time to clap, I clap, and if I see people laughing, I laugh.' It really helped make me aware of the plight of those with severe hearing impairments," said Barry Epstein, a DSM executive board member and electrical engineer in charge of the Hear Us Now program.

http://phys.org/news/2015-01-audiologists-stage-theater.html

[Source]: http://www.utdallas.edu/news/2015/1/16-31343_Audiologists-Help-Set-the-Stage-for-Better-Theater_story-wide.html