In the summer of 1981, during a period of high unemployment, I was fortunate enough to
land a job as a trainee Audiologist with P.C Werth Ireland Ltd. After a year of training,
the Company was acquired by Bonavox Ltd. and I was transferred to their Head Office in Dublin 1. It was here that I gained my first exposure to educational technology
My earliest memories in this sector were of travelling to specialist Schools and installing desk-mounted amplifiers with headphones connected to a teacher-controlled master amplifier.
In the mid 1980s the first wireless Radio Aid system was launched. This represented a breakthrough as it enabled students with hearing loss to attend mainstream schools for the first time. The Radio Aid consisted of a body-worn receiver connected by a lead to the hearing aids. The Receiver was wirelessly paired to a body-worn transmitter and microphone used by the teacher.
Although there were some minor developments with this technology, it would be 17 year before we would see a dramatic change in the technology.
In the early 2000s, the first Micro Receivers arrived, replacing the Students body-worn units. While there was no improvement in the quality of the signal (indeed it could be easily argued that their introduction led to an increase in the amount of white noise on the signal), there was a massive improvement in the aesthetic of the Radio Aid. Younger children often struggled with the leads on the Body worn Receivers, while older Students openly rejected them, due to their size. The Micro Receiver placed on the base of the hearing aid/Cochlear Implant made life much easier for all concerned.
By the end of the 2000s, the Radio Aid finally caught up with Hearing Aid technology
with the launch of the first digital signal. It was still run on a single FM frequency, but for the first time the signal could be altered digitally to automatically increase and decrease the gain depending on the background noise. There was an immediate increase of about 30% in perception of speech in noise, over traditional analogue FM.
                                                             
In 2009, Bonavox Ltd. was sold to Widex, a multinational hearing aid manufacturer. In
2012, Widex decided to discontinue the service to education. After much discussion,
the service was moved to DeafHear (now Chime), a national charity for those with
hearing loss. 
                      
In 2014, Phonak, a company specialising in hearing aid and remote microphone
technology, launched the Roger Platform. It proved to be another groundbreaking
advance, replacing single-frequency transmission with an intelligent Bluetooth-type
signal that could automatically switch frequency when interference occurred. Soon
afterward, the standard Roger X receiver was replaced by an integrated version,
greatly improving system reliability.

In 2020 the whole world witnessed the onset of Covid.
The pandemic, together with some challenging personal events, brought my vision
into focus. It was time for a radical change. After many years working with some of
Ireland’s leading audiology companies, I chose to follow my passion and set my own
direction. Cloisim was born with a clear sense of purpose.
Over the following four years, the company grew rapidly and became a market
leader, recognised for its distinctive level of service and expertise. During that time,
there was another major technological advancement with the arrival of the first
Roger software receiver, removing the need for additional hardware on hearing aids.
However, there was a dark cloud on the horizon, one which loomed larger with each
passing year. Department of Education procurement policy required that each
school submit three quotations when seeking funding for equipment. Unfortunately,
this created a price war that drove prices down to a level where Cloisim could no
longer remain viable.
In December 2024, Cloisim closed its doors for the final time.
Since then, I have remained in regular contact with schools, fellow professionals,
and parents, discussing the issues they continue to face. After a conversation earlier
in the year with my accountant, the idea of dipping my toe back in the water was discussed. This idea was developed and I am now delighted to announce the
launch of Classroom Audio Technology Ltd.
It is my sincerest hope that I will be able to pick up where I left off in 2024 and
continue providing the essential service that is so critical to those who need it most.