A technology company is looking to help students, faculty and staff at the Scranton School for Deaf & Hard-of-Hearing Children experience the feeling of music.
Brad Wells, managing director for Silent Sound System of Wilkes-Barre, has introduced its BASSpak to the school. The technology consists of a backpack with transducers that turn sound into vibrations the wearer feels in the backpack. A knob controls the intensity of the vibrations. The BASSpak, which the company has been selling for five years, has Bluetooth capability to sync with music playing on a smartphone.
Wells said BASSpak is an extension of Silent Disco — events where participants dance to music on wireless headphones.
Last week, Wells and employee Anne Krothe-Wolfe brought several BASSpaks and multiple headphone sets to the school and allowed students, faculty and staff to try them out. Students smiled as songs like “Wildflower” by Billie Eilish and “Golden,” a song from the Netflix movie “KPop Demon Hunters,” played through the headphones.
He initially reached out to the South Abington Twp. school a year ago to discuss the technology and brought the equipment to the school for the first time last spring. The first time students, faculty and staff were able to use it was in the fall for a concert the Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic put on at the school. Principal Sarah Briggs said the concert was the perfect opportunity for them to try the BASSpak.
“The kids loved it, the staff loved it,” she said. “It was a beautiful thing to watch.”
Silent Sound System later brought the technology for students and members of the public to use during a philharmonic concert of “The Snowman” in December at the F.M. Kirby Center in Wilkes-Barre.
“No pun intended, but it all snowballed,” Krothe-Wolfe said.
Wells said the school, and its students, have been receptive to the devices.
Silent Sound System Managing Director Brad Wells shows off the BASSpak and headphones the company has available at the Scranton School for Deaf & Hard of Hearing Children Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026. (Christine Lee/Staff Photo)
Scranton School for Deaf & Hard of Hearing student Nahsley Aquino, center, tries on headphones from Silent Sound System as classmates Winnifer Hernandez Mercedes, left, and Ainara De La Cruz, right, assist. (Christine Lee/Staff Photo)
Scranton School for Deaf & Hard of Hearing Children student Winnifer Hernandez Mercedes tries on the BASSpak and headphones from Silent Sound System as Hannah Hart, a sign language interpreter at the school, looks on Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026. (Christine Lee/Staff Photo)
Scranton School for Deaf & Hard of Hearing Children student Griceanlys Rodriguez-Carabello tries on headphones from Silent Sound System at the school Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026. (Christine Lee/Staff Photo)
Silent Sound System Managing Director Brad Wells shows a playlist on a smartphone that connects with the BASSpak Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026. The company has headphones and BASSpaks available and are partnering with the Scranton School for Deaf & Hard of Hearing Children to provide the devices to students, faculty and staff. (Christine Lee/Staff Photo)
Students at the Scranton School for Deaf & Hard of Hearing Children check out the BASSpak from Silent Sound System at the school Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026. (Christine Lee/Staff Photo)
Scranton School for Deaf & Hard of Hearing student Nathan Loar-Chestnut jams out in headphones from Silent Sound System as classmate Serenity Bielby looks on Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026. (Christine Lee/Staff Photo)
Brad Wells, managing director of Silent Sound System, shows the bone conduction headphones at the Scranton School for Deaf & Hard of Hearing Children Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026 as employee Anne Krothe-Wolfe looks on. (Christine Lee/Staff Photo)
Scranton School for Deaf & Hard of Hearing Children student Winnifer Hernandez Mercedes, left, shows off Silent Sound Systems’ BASSpak and headphones with fellow students Nahsley Aquino, center, and Ainara De La Cruz Canela, right. (Christine Lee/Staff Photo)
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Silent Sound System Managing Director Brad Wells shows off the BASSpak and headphones the company has available at the Scranton School for Deaf & Hard of Hearing Children Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026. (Christine Lee/Staff Photo)
“It seems like their overall well-being and mood is improved,” he said.
Briggs said the equipment allows students to participate in more activities. School officials hope to use the BASSpaks for an upcoming Valentine’s Day dance.
“This just … opens up more doors for them to be able to explore their environment and different things out in the world,” she said.
Elizabeth Nati, a first grade teacher at the school who is deaf, purchased a BASSpak herself after using it at the philharmonic’s performance at the school. She said it allows her to feel the music when her son Brandon Nati performs in his violin recitals.
“I’m super excited to try it and use it for whenever I want to experience the music going on,” she said through an American Sign Language interpreter. “For the last two years I haven’t been able to really participate in listening to him. I’ve just been watching him and just smiling because I’m proud of him, but not really being able to participate like the other parents are.”
The school currently borrows the BASSpaks and headphones from the company, but Briggs hopes to purchase more equipment for the school to use year-round. She is interested in connecting them with the school’s sister school, the Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf in Pittsburgh.
“They’ve been a really wonderful partner for us,” Briggs said. “We weren’t sure where this partnership was going to go when they reached out to us last year and it’s kind of blossomed into this beautiful thing for our kids.”
Krothe-Wolfe said the school is interested in using the system for relaxation, in addition to entertainment. She likes that the company has a relationship with them.
“We say that our technology is only limited by the creativity of the user, because you can kind of figure out a way to do almost anything with these things,” Krothe-Wolfe said.