2002 SHHH Convention

The 2002 SHHH Convention was held in Seattle, WA from June 21 to June 24, 2002. Char and I were fortunate to attend, and some of the articles that follow were penned by yours truly. But Cheryl Heppner of NVRC beat me to the punch in writing up many of the sessions that we both attended, so many of her articles are included as well. Thank you, Cheryl.

Here's Cheryl's report on Friday night's Opening Session.

The Business Meeting  was very interesting, because of the discussion of the recent SHHH financial problems and the election of new board members.

If you want to know what's going on with hearing aid technology, the Exhibit Hall at the SHHH Convention is a great place to learn. It took Cheryl four articles to record all the information she gathered in her five hour visit!

Saturday morning kicked off with Dr. Edwin Rubel's Plenary Session on Hair Cell Regeneration. Dr. Rubel did a great job of explaining where we've been and where we're going with this promising technology.

One of the wonderful workshops at the convention was Mark Ross' workshop entitled "Review of Current Hearing Aid Research". Dr. Ross describes what's new and exciting in the world of hearing aids.

It's amazing to me how much a few dedicated people can accomplish with limited resources. How would you like to be responsible for providing hearing loss services in a state like Arizona. Read about how a couple of agencies tackled that situation.

One of the really interesting Saturday sessions was an "open mike" question and answer session with two M.D.s. Here's Chery'ls report on the questions they were asked and their answers.

Sunday's Plenary Session featured Dr. George Gates and Dr. Douglas Backous. Dr. Gates discussed Implantable Hearing Aids and Meniere's Disease and the Meniett. Dr. Backous discussed Bilateral Cochlear Implants.

We've been following David Myer's project to loop his hometown for awhile, and we were privileged to attend his workshop describing the current status of his effort. Davit's workshop was entitled "Let's Loop America".

We've been learning a lot about the impact of various drugs on hearing loss, but the information has been scattered and not very accessible. Dr. Neil Baumann's workshop entitled "Ototoxic Drugs Exposed" does a great job of explaining a complex and often confusing subject.

Three women with hearing loss presented a great discussion of hearing loss issues in the workplace. If you're having problems at work, you may want to check out some of their ideas.

What's going on with the ADA? Donna Sorkin, former SHHH president, presented a workshop entitled "The New ADA Guidelines and SHHH". This workshop focused specifically on the Access Board recommendations for the new ADA Guidelines.

Robbi Bishop of the Listen for Life Center at Virginia Mason Hospital presented a very informative workshop on Bilateral Cochlear Implants. Marcee Widland, one of the subjects of a recent bilateral CI study, was also onhand to answer questions.

One of the final events of the Convention was the Research Symposium. If you're interested in current research into issues affecting people with hearing loss, this is a must read.

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June 2002

Editor: Here's Cheryl Heppner's report on the SHHH award presentations. Peruse these listings for some of the movers and shakers in the hearing loss world.

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Awards presented at yesterday's SHHH Convention at the Chapter Awards Ceremony and Tea:

Keystone Award - George DeVilbiss, VA

Outstanding Young Adult - Mark Foster, OR

Spirit of SHHH Award - Inge Zeller, CA; Sandi Streeter, CA; Susan Kosiur, WA, Maurice Wilson, TX

Family Involvement Award - Ellen Batchelor, GA; Sharon Howard, OK

Outgoing State Coordinator Awards: Russell Green, NJ; Winnie Hargis and Ron Vickery, GA; Jeff and Trudy Green, OH; Tommie Wells, TX; Frank Abernathy, NC; Ann Pruitt, CO

Outgoing State Office Director: Mimi Clifford, NC

Professional Advisor Award: Deirdre Knight, MS, CCC-A, NY

Chapter Development Award: Southwestern Connecticut Chapter

Outreach Award: Quiet Corner (CT) Chapter

Advocacy Award: Ron Vickery, GA

Best Overall Newsletter, Chapter: SHHH News, Minnesota #1 Chapter, Editor Phyllis Nesset

Best Overall Newsletter, State: The SHHH Californian - Grace Tiessen, Editor and Raymond Blue, Layout

Best Overall Website, Chapter: Quiet Corner (CT)

Best Overall Website, State: Pennsylvania

Mildred Savell Memorial Scholarship: Frank Stocco, Sarasota, FL