How much does a hearing loop installation cost in the UK?

A hearing loop installation costs around £300 to £900 for a counter or reception loop, £1,500 to £4,000 for a small meeting room or classroom perimeter loop and £4,000 to £12,000 for a large room, hall or place of worship, installed and commissioned to BS EN 60118-4. Phased-array loops for metal-framed buildings, auditoria or where overspill between rooms must be controlled run £10,000 to £25,000+, and portable loops cost £150 to £400 supply only.

From the floor. The hearing loop quote that goes wrong is the one priced without a metal check. A raised-access floor or a steel-deck ceiling can halve the field strength of a simple perimeter loop, and the fix is a phased array with two drivers and far more cable. Ten minutes with a loop tester on the survey tells you which system you are buying. (David Corker, Technical Sales Director)

Hearing loop cost by space

Space	Loop type	Typical installed cost (UK)	Notes
Reception desk, counter, ticket window	Counter loop	£300 to £900	Self-contained unit with built-in microphone or a feed from the intercom; signage included
Interview room, pop-up counter, temporary use	Portable loop	£150 to £400 (supply only)	Battery unit, no installation, still needs an annual check
Small meeting room or classroom	Perimeter loop	£1,500 to £4,000	One loop driver, cable around the room perimeter, feed from the room audio or a dedicated microphone
Large room, hall, place of worship	Perimeter loop	£4,000 to £12,000	Higher-power driver, longer cable runs, often listed-building constraints on fixing routes
Metal-framed building, auditorium, adjacent rooms needing privacy	Phased-array loop	£10,000 to £25,000+	Two drivers, figure-of-eight cable arrays under the floor, overspill control

What the price includes

Loop driver (amplifier) sized to the room area and the metal loss measured on survey.
Loop cable and installation: flat copper tape or cable under the floor covering, around the skirting or in the ceiling, with containment where needed.
Audio feed from the room's microphones, DSP or video conferencing bar, or a dedicated microphone at a counter.
Commissioning to BS EN 60118-4 with a field strength meter, and a certificate recording the measured field strength, frequency response and background noise.
Signage: the standard ear symbol at the entrance and the counter.

What pushes the price up

Metal in the structure: raised-access floors, steel-deck ceilings and reinforced slabs absorb the magnetic field and push a room from a perimeter loop to a phased array.
Listed buildings, where cable routes and fixings have to be agreed with the conservation officer.
Overspill control, where confidential conversations in one room must not be audible on hearing aids next door.
Infrared, RF or Wi-Fi alternatives where a loop is impractical, which add receivers and neck loops for users.

An annual check with a field strength meter is recommended and is usually folded into an existing AV support visit. Design and commissioning are described on the hearing loop systems page, and loops are normally specified alongside the room's audio system so the feed is taken from the same DSP. The legal position is covered in the Equality Act hearing loop requirements FAQ.

Quick reference: counter loop £300-£900, meeting room or classroom £1.5k-£4k, hall or place of worship £4k-£12k, phased array £10k-£25k+, portable £150-£400 supply only; includes driver, cable, audio feed, BS EN 60118-4 commissioning certificate and signage.