HLAA Convention Exhibit Floor - Part 13

By Cheryl Heppner

Featured: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), Silent Call, SoundAid

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA)

Each year when I visit the ASHA exhibit there are new or updated fact sheets. Although I'll single out just three of them here, there are dozens of other other fact sheets to choose from.

The first is an issue of Sound Connection with a feature article by Susan Boswell about a family who got cochlear implants together -- parents Todd and Sarah McBride and their daughter, Samantha, aged two. The issue also includes a list of resources and an article by Samuel R. Atcherson, a Ph.D. student in audiology at The University of Memphis, writing about his experience in getting a cochlear implant. Gail A. Linn has added information about changes in cochlear implant candidacy. These include dropping the age for children to be just 12 months of age or more and expanding the hearing loss range to 70-80 dB for adults and 90 dB for children.

The second fact sheet is "Music to the Impaired or Implanted Ear: Psychosocial Implications for Aural Rehabilitation" by Kate Gfeller and John F. Knutson. It discusses how well hearing aid and cochlear implant users perceive and enjoy music, social considerations, individual differences and individual preferences. There's a section on music activities to consider and a companion article by Susan Boswell about her personal perspective on music with a cochlear implant.

The third fact sheet is "Managing and Trouble Shooting Your Hearing Aid," by Gail Linn, MA. CCC-A. It's a good refresher on regular maintenance such as cleaning and battery use. There's also a trouble shooting guide and a glossary of terms such as earhook, MTO switch, and vent.
Info: http://www.asha.org

***************

Silent Call

George Elwell of Silent Call caught me up on the additions to the company's product line. Silent Call has now been in business for 19 years. George has a deaf brother-in-law who inspires some of the inventions.and George was giving out soft, squishable yellow light bulbs to encourage consumers to give him more ideas about products and features they'd like to see. Something new I learned about George: he once worked for GM's overseas operations as an engineer.

Silent Call has several products that are useful for emergency preparedness. There's a battery-powered smoke detector with a transmitter that will send a signal to any Silent Call receiver if the detector is set off ($109.95). The Costar 100-volt carbon monoxide detector with transmitter will send a signal to any Silent Call receiver up to 100 feet away ($169.95, with added strobe light $219.50). For receivers, there's the Shake Up with strobe light ($175) or the Shake Up with vibrator ($154).

A weather alert transmitter that plugs directly into any compatible weather radio can transmit to any Silent Call receiver, up to 100 feet ($60.55). A weather alert pillow vibrator can plug into a compatible weather radio ($44.83) A weather alert radio using NOAA technology paired with a strobe light costs $170.68.

George gave me peek at a new watch he's developing, to be available by early 2007. The watch face has icons for six different alerts, with an additional signal for a low battery. It also has a different vibration pattern for each alert. The range is 100 feet and there is a five year warranty. Silent Call will be first in the industry to introduce this technology.

Info: http://www.silentcall.com

***************

SoundAid

My first question for Dick Kaiser, SoundAid's President, was whether the company had set a price increase since last year. The answer was no. The company is still selling warranties for many brands and models of hearing aids, including bone-anchored ones, as well as cochlear implants, tinnitus instruments, and FM receivers. SoundAid is based in Mobile, Alabama and it also works with hearing instrument dispensers through a company called Discovery Hearing Aid Warranties.

SoundAid lets you choose from three types of warranty coverage: full comprehensive coverage, loss or damage, or damage and component failure. Each type of coverage also has a different rate for models less than 5 years of age and models over 5 years. There's are also different rates for analog hearing instruments, entry level digital sound processing instruments, mid-level digital sound processing instruments, and advanced high-technology digital sound processing instruments.

Comprehensive warranties cover anything that can happen to your hearing instrument. If lost, the instrument would be replaced with the same make, model and type of hearing aid if still available. If damaged, or the components fail, it will be repaired and brought back to manufacturer specifications. Loss and damage warranties also replace a lost instrument or repair any visible external damage or breakage to the shell or faceplate. There is no coverage for incidental failure of component parts or electronic failure for immersion in water, exposure to water or intrusion of any other substance. Damage & component failure coverage covers only external damage or failure of component parts, not loss or damage beyond repair. In those instances you would get a prorated refund.

As an example, a conventional analog hearing instrument would cost $92 per year for comprehensive coverage or $52 for damage and component failure only. After the instrument is five years of age, the cost goes up to $135 for comprehensive and $84 for damage/component failure. On the highest end of the scale, an Oticon Digifocus II Super Power or any cochlear implant processor would cost $240 per year for comprehensive coverage or $99 per year for damage and component failure. That jumps to $395 per year for comprehensive and $159 for damage/component failure for devices over 5 years of age.

Info: http://www.soundaid.com

-------------------------------------------------------------------------