Volume 25 Issue 1

HOH-LD-News
Vol. 25, Issue 1
October 1, 2005

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Table of Contents
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- Article 1: Sign Language as a Job Requirement to Work with DeafAndHardOfHearing

- Article 2: The Origins of Regenerated Hair Cells - Part 1

- Article 3: Is Passion Out the Window?

- Article 4: Coming Soon - Expanded Emergency Alert Capability

Our advertisers make it possible for us to provide HOH-LD-News as a free service. Please let them know you appreciate their support, and please mention that you saw their message in HOH-LD-News.

- Advertisers in this Issue
First Premium Placement: New TV Ears Pricing at Harris Communications
Second Premium Placement: NAD Members Only Area
Third Premium Placement: IHHD Online Educational Opportunities
Classified Section: One Call for Entries (Art) and one Senior Living Availability Announcement

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Contact information and disclaimers are at the end of this newsletter.
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New TV Ears Pricing at Harris Communications
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If you know someone who could benefit from a TV Listening Device, tell them about the new reduced price on TV Ears at Harris Communications. TV Ears is a wireless headset that allows users to both clarify and amplify sounds from the TV without disturbing others. TV Ears Single Headset system is now available for the low price of $149.00! For more information, check out www.ezlivingaids.com at Harris Communications or contact us at mailto:info@harriscomm.com
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- Article 1: Sign Language as a Job Requirement to Work with DeafAndHardOfHearing
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We've been having a very interesting discussion on the Oral Hearing Loss (OHL) Advocacy list about DeafAndHardOfHearing service agencies requiring the ability to sign as a condition of employment for all employees. Some agencies state that they require knowledge of basic sign language in order to make their work environment as barrier free as possible.

I want to share my response to that statement, but first I'll explain what OHL is and tell you how you can be part of these very interesting and important discussions.

We use the term Oral Hearing Loss (OHL) to indicate people with hearing loss who prefer spoken language as their primary means of communication, including those who may rely on hearing aids, ALDs, or CART. It includes the vast majority of people who consider themselves hard of hearing, late deafened, or oral deaf.

To find out more about OHL Advocacy please point your browser to http://www.hearinglossweb.com/Issues/Identity/ohl/nat/ohla/ohla.htm

To join the list, visit http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/ohladvocacy/

And now my thoughts on the requirement that all employees of DeafAndHardOfHearing service agencies know sign language.

With all respect, this requirement is one of the pillars of institutionalized discrimination; it allows DeafAndHardOfHearing agencies to continue to focus on the Deaf community, while claiming to serve the DeafAndHardOfHearing population.

Consider the following statement:

"We do require the ability to communicate in spoken English as a condition of employment in order to make our work environment as barrier free as possible."

It's the analog of the previous statement; I bet you've heard it before from employers trying to justify not hiring a deaf person. It's illegal and unethical when they do it; it may not be illegal when DeafAndHardOfHearing agencies make the analogous statement (because it may not be discrimination based on a disability), but it's certainly unethical.

One of the hallmarks of the OHL population is isolation and psychosocial issues directly related to their hearing loss. Difficulty in communication and its consequences are their biggest issues. By ensuring that an agency fails to experience any of that, the agency is GUARANTEEING that its employees don't understand the basic issues of the population they claim to be serving.

The second problem with this discrimination is that it perpetuates the myth that all people with hearing loss sign. When a member of the general public or a news reporter or a politician or whoever walks into a DeafAndHardOfHearing agency and sees everyone signing, it just reinforces their misperception that everyone with hearing loss signs. So when a hard of hearing person is looking for communications access, the only service that's ever offered is an interpreter. So the agency is preventing communications access for the folks it claims to serve.

A third issue is the inability of signing folks to really relate to the average OHL person. Again, the major issues of OHL folks are difficulty in communicating and the consequences of that difficulty. Signing folks who work in an agency where everyone signs experience none of those issues. The Culturally Hard of Hearing (audiologically hard of hearing, but immersed in Deaf culture, often from childhood) do not experience these kinds of issues, because they have communications access. (They are also generally not members of the OHL community, because they prefer sign to spoken language.) Those who lost their hearing later in life probably experienced those issues, but they may be nothing more than distant memories. HOH, LD, and oral deaf folks who are fluent in sign cannot and do not represent the normal OHL person. Many of them are also not members of the OHL community, because they also prefer sign to spoken language.

Another issue is that by refusing to hire people who do not sign, an agency is blocking any possibility that it will truly come to serve the OHL community. We sometimes hear that DeafAndHardOfHearing agencies try to hire OHL folks, but none ever apply. Invariably a little digging reveals that one of the job requirements is the ability to sign. There are VERY FEW OHL folks who sign fluently. So the agencies typically hire Culturally HOH folks and trot them out as "proof" that they are serving the OHL community. I know of only a handful of true OHL people who work in the hearing loss "industry". This policy prevents OHL folks from gaining a toehold in what would seem to be a natural career path.

In my opinion people who trot out the tired argument that people have to sign to work in a DeafAndHardOfHearing agency are either uninformed or disingenuous, and are perpetuating institutionalized discrimination.

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NAD Members Only Area
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Are you looking for a website with insightful and
controversial columns on deaf and hard of hearing issues?

The NAD Members Only Area (MOA) columnists are writing for
you! Individuals from all walks of life share their
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Go to http://www.nad.org and click on "Members Only Area."

If you aren't a NAD member, join today!
http://www.nad.org/join.html
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- Article 2: The Origins of Regenerated Hair Cells - Part 1
by Cheryl Heppner
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Editor: The 2005 SHHH Convention's 12th Annual Research Symposium was on the Origins of Regenerated Hair Cells. Those who are following this research know that scientists are making substantial progress towards the day when they'll be able to regrow hair cells in humans; they also know that day is stills a ways off.

Here's Cheryl's report on this very interesting symposium. If you'd like to share this article, please be sure to credit NVRC. (See credit at the end of the article.)

This is Part 1 of 2 parts.

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Dr. Jeffrey T. Corwin
Department of Neuroscience, University of Virginia

- The number of hair cells in both the inner and outer ear declines as we age.

- Early research on fruit flies led to further research. In the 1970s Dr. Corwin was in the Central Pacific -- Enewetak Atoll -- studying how sharks could hear and locate sounds. In 1974 he found that a juvenile shark had 20,000 hair cells but a mature adult had 240,000 hair cells. In humans, nerve deafness is permanent and we don't regenerate hair cells.

- Sharks, bony fish and amphibians get new hair cells from cells that are regenerated when supporting cells divide.

- Doug Cotanche at the University of Hawaii did key research on hair cell regeneration. He was studying birds for technical reasons, and it was accidental that he exposed birds to loud sounds, then got them to sit for 10 days. He found that one preserved its cells immediately, and that stimulated interest. The newly regenerated hair and support cells contained new DNA.

- A laser was used to focus inside a hair cell nucleus, and a pulse was given to shoot and kill them. Time-lapse photography showed that support cells nearby divided and reproduced.

- In non-mammals, hair cell regeneration goes in stages. The support cells lose their specialty, divide and become two cells. The offspring can specialize as either a supporting cell or hair cell. The default fate is to become a hair cell unless the cell is inhibited from adapting that fate. Replacement hair cells form synapses and restore hearing and balance function.

- One graduate student liked to tell others that if they were at a rock concert, and stood next to a speaker for a certain amount of time with a chicken, the chicken's hair cells would grow back in 10 days but human hearing loss would be permanent. We're trying to become more like chickens.

- Can mammals regenerate hair cells? Tissue from a 52-year-old patient that would normally be discarded was brought back to the lab. They wanted to see if it had the machinery to regenerate. The result was encouraging. Replicated DNA showed new cells could form in hair cell organs in mature human ears.

- It showed the machinery can occur in older mammals, with hundreds of cells in a human. But in a bird you would have seen tens of thousands of hair cells.

- The question then becomes: Can we enhance the occurrence of cell divisions in mammal ears through supporting cells and wake up the regeneration machinery in the ear? Or as some scientists like to say, "a way to step on the gas pedal."

- In tissue culture we can now strongly enhance the proliferation of supporting cells in the mammalian ear with two drugs --forskolin and a biotech drug rhGGF2.

- So what are the limits of regeneration? One is the age of the animal. In examining tissue of a newborn, during the first couple of weeks of life, supporting cells were found to be becoming quiescent.

- Microsurgical cuts were made, and these excision wounds healed rapidly in ears from embryonic mammals.

- Persistent hearing and balance losses are all too common and result in the loss of one type of cell. That just one type of cell is responsible is very important to pharmaceutical and biotech companies. Whether it is a bird or fish, all lose hearing for the same reason.

- Animal models for damage that results in hearing and balance loss are truly representative of humans.

- Supporting cells are the source of the cells that specialize as hair replacement cells.

- What is reasonable to expect from research in regeneration? We could get a major breakthrough at any time. Often breakthroughs are just an accident when scientists are looking for something else. Research is moving faster and faster. Most people in research are optimists.

- Steps needed for hair cell regeneration:
1. Induce cell production
2. Suspend quiescence
3. Induce differentiation (specialization of new cells as replacement hair cells)

Q: Why did mammals lose the ability to regenerate hair cells?
A: There's no clear reason why it would be an advantage to lose hair cells. What's unique about our hair cells is that they have a single-file line, very structured. At no place else in the body do cells line up in such order. We don't know any reason why evolution would have caused that.

Q: We don't have a Nancy Reagan to support this research, and the deaf community opposes it. What should be done?
A: It's completely different for people born deaf than those who develop hearing and lose it. That point needs to get across. We now have only about 1/3 of the funding needed for this level of research and the proposed federal budget cuts this amount. Only about 2/3 of the work underway will continue to be funded if that amount is not increased.

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(c)2005 by Northern Virginia Resource Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Persons (NVRC), www.nvrc.org. When sharing this information, please ensure credit is given to NVRC.

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You're Career Oriented... Career Driven...and Hard of Hearing or Deaf
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The Institute for Persons Who Are Hard of Hearing or Deaf (IHHD) is a nonprofit Congressionally-funded agency dedicated to facilitating workplace and career advancement for aspiring professionals like you.

IHHD provides important online educational opportunities to share experiences, access top professional leaders, and develop crucial communication and business skills. Choose from a number of programs that cover all aspects of career growth - from starting a business to leadership and advocacy development.

These month-long courses are delivered online using National University's acclaimed state-of-the-art interactive learning system to provide optimal accessibility. Visit: http://cha.nu.edu/ec/formihhd-careerdev.html?ypd002
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- Article 3: Is Passion Out the Window?
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Editor: One of the best-kept secrets about hearing loss is the degree to which it influences both personal well-being and family relationships. Anything that helps the general public (as well as those affected by hearing loss) become better informed is a good thing. I can't recommend this book, because I haven't read it. But even the press release contains some pretty good information!

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Is Passion Out the Window Because You Resent Feeding Your Loved One's Hearing Loss?

8 Steps: How to Go From Resentment to Rekindling Passion

A new book by Clinical Audiologist Richard Carmen, Au.D., helps people find the eight steps that can rekindle passion and stop co-dependent resentment against a loved one's hearing loss. "How Hearing Loss Impacts Relationships, Motivating Your Loved One" is an Auricle Ink Publishers 2005 spring release.

Sedona, AZ -- Did you know that untreated hearing loss is a rising statistic in divorce? That there are more than 28,000,000 Americans with hearing loss, with only 20% seeking help? That 80% of those who are hard of hearing don't seek hearing aids or any other treatment? That issues surrounding hearing loss are a major contributor toward family friction and unhappiness?

Studies show that hard-of-hearing people who were fitted with hearing aids experienced a 36 percent reduction in depression. Not to mention isolation and a suppressed libido.

Coming to terms with your mission of no longer enabling your loved one by supporting his denial or feeding his hearing loss and instead helping him or her to get help will get back the good life you both once shared, according to Clinical Audiologist Richard Carmen, Au.D., Doctor of Audiology.

Carmen's new book, "How Hearing Loss Impacts Relationships, Motivating Your Loved One," provides fascinating insights into the psychological mechanisms behind resistance. Clarified is the essential role family members play in co-dependence, and what they can do to shift their loved one from "struggling to hear" to "hearing independence." It will inspire readers to make the necessary adjustments in their lives that can result in profound changes and a higher quality of life for everyone.

Are you one of those who are compelled to fill in the conversation blanks, talk louder, or interpret what was said? Then you are an enabler; you are co-dependent. Be aware that, so long as you continue on this path, you are pulling out the carpet of motivation from beneath your loved one, and incurring resentment within the both of you.

Resentment cancels out passion. Here are eight steps to beginning a new life and rekindling the passion your relationship once had.

1. Set new boundaries for yourself. Don't use your own fear of conflict with your loved one as an excuse to avoid making changes that will benefit you both.

2. Be truthful with yourself and your loved one. Speak from your heart, not from anger, on how this hearing problem impacts you.

3. Be Strong. Don't fall back into a cycle of "hearing for your loved one" just because he or she expects it, and you can't bear to see them struggle.

4. Put yourself in their shoes. The need to retain one's self-image or vanity is often times more important than a need to hear. Try understanding. Remove demands, threats and consequences. Instead, offer choices, options and helpful alternatives.

5. Stop being the messenger. Refuse to do the "he said - she said" dance for your loved one. He or she needs to be aware what they are missing or they will stay complacent, unmotivated to do anything.

6. Stop raising your voice, then complaining you're hoarse. This results in a stressed throat, injured vocal chords, and your diminished well-being, all leading straight to resentment.

7. Eliminate your need to be right. Dig deep and find a sensitive, compassionate way to broach the topic of seeking treatment.

8. Seek out support. Ask for testimonials from friends and colleagues whose relationships were rekindled when they sought a way to return to the hearing world.

Dr. Richard Carmen's new book, "How Hearing Loss Impacts Relationships, Motivating Your Loved One," is available in softcover (107 pages) at most online and brick and mortar bookstores for $15.95.

Other books on the subject by Auricle Ink Publishers:
* "The Consumer Handbook on Hearing Loss and Hearing Aids," edited by Clinical Audiologist Richard Carmen, Au.D., Doctor of Audiology
* "The Consumer Handbook on Dizziness & Vertigo, by Dennis Poe, MD, Editor

Sample chapters of all three books are available at www.hearingproblems.com

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- Article 4: Coming Soon - Expanded Emergency Alert Capability
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The recent hurricane emergencies have put the spotlight on all sorts of emergency planning and preparation issues, including how to notify people that an emergency is imminent. Such notification has traditionally been done by television and radio; "Broadcasting & Cable" is reporting that the Feds are designing an expanded system (called IPAWS - Integrated Public Alert Warning System) that can transmit emergency alerts to cell phones, PDAs, and computers.

Officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and other government offices plan to have the system backbone in place by fall of 2006, but are unwilling to predict when the system would be fully operational.

The FCC is currently studying whether changes to existing telecommunications rules will be required before the system is implemented. They are also debating the extent to which participation in IPAWS should be mandatory.

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- Classifieds
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One Call for Entries (Art) and one Senior Housing Availability Announcement appear in this issue. (Ads appear after this brief table of contents.)

Art Competition and Exhibit Call for Entries
2nd Annual National Juried De'VIA Competition and Exhibit
Nashville, TN
Entry Deadline: October 14, 2005

Water Tower View Senior Housing Applications Available
Greenfield, Wisconsin

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Art Competition and Exhibit Call for Entries
2nd Annual National Juried De'VIA Competition and Exhibit
Nashville, TN
Entry Deadline: October 14, 2005
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Reminder - "2nd Annual National Juried De'VIA Competition and Exhibit" - Call for Entries - Entry Deadline: October 14, 2005. Open to artists who are Deaf, or Hard of Hearing, or who have a strong connection with the Deaf community. Sponsored by Tennessee Relay Service; exhibit host Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Department of Cultural Enrichment, Nashville, Tennessee. Exhibit January - April 2006. Cash awards totaling $6,000.00. Juror panel - Maurice Blik, Nichole Pietrantoni, and Dr. Deborah Meranski Sonnenstrahl. For more information and the prospectus: www.leagueforthedeaf.com; call 615-248-8828 (v/tty); or email the event co-chair at karibeyond1@yahoo.com

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Water Tower View Senior Housing Applications Available
Greenfield, Wisconsin
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Water Tower View senior housing for the Deaf, Hard of Hearing and Deaf-Blind is welcoming applications. This senior housing has been designed with a variety of amenities and is sponsored and supported by the Southeastern Wisconsin Deaf Senior Citizens, Inc. Cardinal Capital Management, Inc. is the developer.

Applicants for this affordable housing must meet certain qualifications, specifically:

- At least one member of the household must be a minimum of 55 years of age
- The household income must not exceed the limit set by the IRS Section 42 tax credit program
- The household must be able to show a good credit rating

Location:
3983 S. Prairie Hill Lane,
Greenfield, Wisconsin
(87th & Howard Avenue in Woodland Ridge)

For more information, and to order an application, please contact:
- Katie Voss at mailto:kvoss@cardinalcapital.us or call VP/TTY 888-532-4135, or
- Carol Comp at ccomp@cardinalcapital.us or call VP/TTY 888-532-4107

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