Hearing Enhancement

Cues do you no good if you can’t hear them.  Hearing enhancement is available for dancers who need it at many, but not all, Cued Ballroom venues.  All venues who offer it use the same equipment and frequency – a Williams Sound transmitter at 72.9 MHz.  This is the standard frequency for Cued Ballroom (Round Dance / Choreographed Ballroom Dance) world-wide.

Receivers are widely available online.  Compatible models include:
Williams Sound PPA-R37  – The most popular model.  Costs about $100-$125.
Williams Sound PPA-R38  – Has a screen, but no better sound quality than the PPA-R37.  Costs about $150-$175

TIVDIO HRD-102.  Costs about $15.  Available on Amazon and Ebay.

Many clubs/cuers have a loaner receiver, if you’d like to try before you buy.

In any case, you should ask your instructor.  If they don’t already own the device, they may be able to buy or borrow one.

BTW, there’s no particular stigma attached to using these devices in Cued Ballroom.  Hearing is so important in our activity that lots of people use them.

For those with more severe, or complex, hearing loss, there are correspondingly more complex solutions.  Some of our dancers use “Phonak” hearing aids, which have a “streamer” device.  This device is connected to the standard HE receiver via an audio cable and broadcasts a signal wirelessly to the hearing aids.  This allows the hearing aids to do all sorts of signal processing magic to match the exact requirements of the dancer.

In any case, you shouldn’t let hearing issues prevent you from enjoying this wonderful activity.