HLAA Exhibits - Part Twelve
By Cheryl Heppner
Editor: One of the best things about the HLAA convention is the
opportunity to see all the latest and greatest technology. For those who
can't make it to the convention, Cheryl Heppner does an OUTSTANDING job of
reporting on the exhibits.
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- Harris Communications
- Fanstel
- MED-EL Corporation
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Harris Communications
Katie Casey of Harris Communications told me their accessories for cell
phones were getting a lot of interest. Among their products are the
Plantronics cellphone amplifier, an all-in-one stereo MP3/cellphone earset
with noise reduction, a Bluetooth cellphone neckloop, NoiZfree silhouette
and Beetle Bluetooth headset, Phonic Ear silhouette BTE inductor, and
HATIS headsets.
Also attracting a lot of attention are devices to improve TV listening.
A Sennheiser which uses radio frequency is really popular. Sennheiser has
products galore for TV listening. There are radio frequency and infrared
listening systems, with accessories that include headphones, headset
receivers, body pack receiver, external and TV microphones, neckloops.
There's even a stereo system and an external microphone to use for
listening to TVs with no audio output socket.
Hearing assistive technology is not all Harris sells. It also has a
line of products to help individuals cope with hearing loss. Of particular
interest to me was the discovery at this exhibit that "Sound Hearing" is
now available on CD. This has been one of the NVRC's most valuable tools
to educate hearing people about what it's like to have a hearing loss.
It's led to many "eureka moments" for our audiences. "Sound Hearing"
provides listening samples to illustrate sound, hearing and hearing loss.
Listeners will hear as impaired people might, listening to music, a story,
and taking a simple spelling test.
Katie has some personal favorites among the products, and she shared
two. She's a big fan of "On the Fence: The Hidden World of the Hard of
Hearing," an anthology by Mark Drolsbaugh, who grew up hard of hearing. A
group of 37 talented writers share their remarkable stories and poems.
Together, they shed light on the hard of hearing experience and what it
means to be on the fence-hovering somewhere between the deaf and hearing
worlds.
How could one resist this description: "Stereotypes are smashed as each
writer shares a unique perspective that may radically differ from the
others. You'll find an ASL advocate in one chapter, while in the next
there's a cochlear implant advocate. Don't let the diversity fool you;
while no one is exactly the same, deep down we all share one common goal.
Find it in this book."
Katie's other current favorite is "On the Job with Hearing Loss: Hidden
Challenges. Successful Solutions." She likes this examination of the
hidden challenges of hearing loss and the author's practical solutions to
overcome them, with solid action steps.
Products for deaf/hard of hearing individuals:
www.harriscomm.om
Products to help maintain independence at home or with care providers:
www.ezlivingaids.com
Wireless handheld devices and accessories
www.harris-wireless.com
~~~~~
Fanstel
Richard of Fanstel (now doesn't that have a nice King Arthurish ring to
it?) was exhibiting for the first time at HLAA. The company, located in
Scottsdale, Arizona, has been making Caller ID boxes, phones and business
phones for PBX manufacturers worldwide since 1990. They claim to have been
the first to offer one-line and two-line amplified business and consumer
speakerphones.
Fanstel's Model ST50 amplified speakerphone for consumer use can
digitally adjust frequency-specific volume levels, with a goal of being
especially helpful in extremely noisy environments. The phone is intended
to restore perception of the most difficult phonemic distinctions in
speech. It can amplify incoming voices up to 52 dB. When you adjust the
settings, they are saved for the next time you use the phone. A button
will recall your favorite volume and tone setting. This model also has
both a loud and visual ringer and many other desirable features. It's
hearing aid compatible.
Fanstel also offers business models of this amplified speakerphone, one
for 2-line use (ST250) and a second for one-line use (ST150). Both have
the ability to amplify up to 52 dB and are "conference grade"
speakerphones which are intended to be louder than other desktop
conference phones. All of these three phones also come in a model that can
give up to 47dB of amplification.
"Amplified Telephones for People with Hearing Loss" is a fact sheet put
out by Fanstel about age related and noise induced hearing loss and how
the typical hearing loss and its effect influenced their design for the
ideal amplified phone. They note that people with this kind of hearing
loss usually have little difficulty hearing low frequency sounds even if
higher frequency sounds are inaudible. The reason: "identifying traits of
certain common English consonants can only be found at higher
frequencies."The fact sheet says that, unlike Fanstel's phones, the
advertised amplification claimed by many manufacturers is usually over the
entire voice frequency range, rather than the range most important for
speech discrimination.
www.fanstel.com
~~~~~
MED-EL Corporation
At the MED-El exhibit, I was immediately approached by a very
enthusiastic young woman who recently had two MED-El implants. Now
available is the new Maestro, one of the world's thinnest and smallest
cochlear implants and with electronics that give battery life of 3-5 days
with the most current and powerful sound coding strategies. There's a
rechargeable battery system as an alternative to the zinc air batteries.
My bubbly MED-El tour guide gave me samples of the behind-the-ear
processors by MED-El's two competitors to compare the size and weight with
the new Maestro OPUS 2. The processor also has a new design to make it
more comfortable to wear. MED-El has four different electrode options to
fit the ear's cochlea. And there are six different rather dignified colors
for the processor's battery pack -- charcoal, beige, sienna brown, pacific
blue, bordeaux red, and nordic gray.
Unique with the OPUS 2 is the ability to change processor settings
through use of a small remote control instead of having to use the
controls on the processor itself. Also unique is the ability for those who
choose bilateral implants to use the remote control for adjustments to
both implant processors.
The OPUS 2 has a built-in telecoil and its FM Battery Pack Cover has a
standard input jack like those found on hearing aids. This can be used to
link directly with assistive listening systems and Bluetooth to access
mobile telephones, FM systems, MP3 players, TVs and more.
MED-El also offers the Vibrant Soundbridge, "the world's first
FDA-approved middle ear implant" which is designed for adults with
moderate to severe sensorineural hearing loss -- those who can't use other
hearing devices for medical reasons or are dissatisfied with regular
hearing aids. It works to vibrate the bones of the middle ear in a pattern
based on an individual's specific hearing loss. The audio processor i held
i place by magnets just like the headpiece for a cochlear implant.
www.medel.com
~~~~~
(c)2008 by Northern Virginia Resource Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing
Persons (NVRC), 3951 Pender Drive, Suite 130, Fairfax, VA 22030;
www.nvrc.org. 703-352-9055 V, 703-352-9056 TTY, 703-352-9058 Fax. You do
not need permission to share this information, but please be sure to
credit NVRC.
