NORTH PORT — The city is encouraging residents to fill out a questionnaire to gauge public interest in having an advanced audio hearing system installed in the North Port City Commission chambers at City Hall to aid the hearing-impaired.

The technology the city is considering, called a hearing loop or T-coil system, has been in use for decades in Europe and is now making its way into public venues in the U.S. The system wirelessly broadcasts audio directly to the wearer of a hearing aid or cochlear implant. All new hearing aids being sold are capable of receiving the audio, and about 80 percent of hearing aids now in use have the capability.