Linda Hope, clockwise from top, manager of audience services at University Theatre; Larry Hovey, president of Friends of the Theatre, and patron Vicki Douglas display some of the new stethophones purchased by the theater to assist those with impaired hearing. Friends of the Theatre raised money to purchase about 25 of the stethophones.

Vicki Douglas has had trouble hearing for 25 years.

But that hasn’t kept her from religiously attending plays at the University Theatre.

In the past, Douglas says she had to read a play’s script before sitting in on a performance. She also had to sit near the stage and pay close attention to visual cues to make sense of the unfolding plot.

Not anymore.

Now, with the help of the University Theatre’s new hearing assistance system, Douglas can hear the actors’ voices and take in the natural sounds onstage.

“I was quite surprised to hear as well as I could after hearing essentially nothing,” Douglas says.

Kansas University’s FROTH, or Friends of the Theatre, purchased the Sennheiser system for University Theatre almost a year ago, but in recent weeks, more and more people have been putting the $18,000 system to use.

Katherine Pryor, associate director of theater, says the audience response has been incredible.

“I am amazed,” Pryor says. “Last week I was here for a Sunday performance, and there were only two devices left. There were 22 people using them. That’s a lot of people.”

Here’s how it works. The stage crew places wireless microphones on the actors or on various areas of the stage, depending on the play. Those microphones transmit a signal to the system, where it’s equalized, processed and compressed before the polished sound is sent to the headphones.

Currently, there are about 25 sets of headphones available for use.

Alex Weston, University Theatre stage manager, says that the new system outperforms the previous one by “leaps and bounds.”

The sound clarity, adjustable volume and the simplicity of the devices are all reasons that keep the devices in high demand, Weston adds.

Douglas says that since her hearing loss is moderate to severe, people with minor hearing problems will benefit even more than she does from the new devices.

And while still she admits to pre-show script skimming, the playgoing experience has a new meaning for Douglas.

“I will always use it and hope to hear as much as I can,” she says.