Volume 25 Issue 5

HOH-LD-News
Vol. 25, Issue 5
October 29, 2005

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Table of Contents
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- Article 1: TV Captioning - Part 1

- Article 2: Reader Response to Hearing Aid Income Tax Credit Bill

- Article 3: Europe Adopts Stricter Noise Standards

- Article 4: 2006 Summer Information Technology Internships for College Students w/Disabilities

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: Do You Have a New Harris Communications Catalog?
Second Premium Placement: NADezine
Third Premium Placement: IHHD Online Educational Opportunities
Classified Section: One Education Opportunity, one Retreat and various Employment Opportunities

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Contact information and disclaimers are at the end of this newsletter.
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Do You Have a New Harris Communications Catalog?
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The new 2006 Harris Communications catalog has arrived. If you have not received yours, request a free copy today. Start shopping for the latest products, like a new Clarity amplified telephone, the ClearSounds Amplified Neckloop or the new Sonic Shaker alarm clock. Remember to go online for the latest product offerings and keep coming back for new product specials. For more information go to http://www.harriscomm.com/link/?www.harriscomm.com?sr=hlw or contact us at mailto:info@harriscomm.com

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- Article 1: TV Captioning - Part 1
By Cheryl Heppner
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Editor: TV Captioning has been a real boon to people with hearing loss. It wasn't too long ago that folks would select which program to watch based almost entirely on what was captioned! Thankfully we now generally have many captioned programs from which to choose.

The next captioning issue is quality. Some of it is great, and some of it is essentially worthless. The FCC is considering writing rules that would mandate minimum quality standards for television captioning, and they want YOUR comments.

NVRC presented a wonderful captioning workshop in late October, and Cheryl Heppner took the time to write up the workshop information and distribute it as widely as possible. Cheryl's article discusses the issues to be addressed and provides detailed instructions on how to file comments with the FCC. Because we can't get all of the information in a single issue, we've posted the article on our website and include links to the various article sections below.

Please note that the first deadline for posting comments in November 10, so you don't have a lot of time. Please take a few minutes, use the links below to learn about the issues and how to send your comments, and then let the FCC know what you think. Your comment could be the one that convinces these the folks at the FCC that they need to act to ensure quality captions!

Laws and Regulations
http://www.hearinglossweb.com/Issues/Access/Captioning/Television/nvrc.htm#law

The Challenges of the TV Captioning Laws and Regulations
http://www.hearinglossweb.com/Issues/Access/Captioning/Television/nvrc.htm#chal

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking Background Information
http://www.hearinglossweb.com/Issues/Access/Captioning/Television/nvrc.htm#bg

What to Comment About
http://www.hearinglossweb.com/Issues/Access/Captioning/Television/nvrc.htm#what

How to Submit Your Comments
http://www.hearinglossweb.com/Issues/Access/Captioning/Television/nvrc.htm#how

This is Part 1 of 3 parts.

Thanks to NVRC for permission to share this information with you. If you'd like to share this article, please be sure to credit NVRC. (See credit at the end of the article.)

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Laws and Regulations

1. The "Decoder Chip" Bill

This law passed by Congress requires that all TVs with screens 13 inches or larger must have a built-in chip that will decode closed captions. The 13 inches refers not to length or width of the screen but to its diagonal. The decoder chip has also been required in all digital TV (DTV) receivers since July 1, 2002.

2. Digital TV Captioning

The analog broadcasts we've had since the beginning of television were to stop in December 31, 2006, but Congress may extend the deadline. In 2007, all TVs 13 inches or larger will have DTV tuners built in. DTV offers a clear picture and surround sound that gives a more movie-like experience. More than 1,400 TV stations across the U.S. are already broadcasting digitally while they continue their analog broadcasts.

Old TVs will still be able to receive DTV signals with an antenna, but will need a converter unless the TV is "DTV-ready" or "plug and play". If you are a cable or satellite subscriber, you can also get DTV equipment from your provider. You will not have the full picture quality without a DTV, though.

The U.S. is moving to digital TV because it is much more efficient than analog. It will free up our airwaves for many other uses, including the needs of public safety personnel to communicate in emergencies, and it could make possible many new wireless services that we only dream about now. The spectrum used is also better able to penetrate obstacles and achieve wider coverage.

DTV captions can give us new captioning features. We will be able to choose some different sizes of captions, types of fonts, and color for the background. One man who switched to DTV really likes the ability to choose a clear background for captions; it blocks less of what is behind the captions and is great for viewing sports. Some manufacturers are also adding other features, such as the ability to move captions to different parts of the screen so they won't block something you want to see.

DTV closed caption features were required in all receivers (with some restriction in size) and all DTR tuners, whether or not they are marketed with display screens, since July 1, 2002.

You can get some good DTV information at: www.dtv.gov. I typed in my zip code and immediately got a list of all the stations in my area which are broadcasting digitally. This website also has fact sheets and answers to frequently asked questions.

3. Closed Captioning of TV Programs

Regulations for the closed captioning of TV programs went into effect in 1997, giving an 8-year phase-in. On January 1, 2006, 100% of new TV programs, both digital and analog, must be captioned. There are also regulations for Spanish language programs that currently require 50% of new programs to be captioned, to be increased to 75% in January 2007.

There are, however, several exemptions from the closed-captioning rules:
For those of you who have contacted us to express your dismay that those old Bonanza, Little House on the Prairie or other programs aren't captioned, it may be because of the "pre-rule" exemption.

"Pre-rule" programs are ones that were first shown on TV before January 1, 1998 (when the closed captioning regulations took effect). For programs with digital captions, pre-rule programs are ones first shown on TV before July 1, 2002. For both these pre-rule programs, the regulations are:
- Until January 1, 2008 - 30% must be captioned
- After January 1, 2008 - 75% must be captioned

For pre-rule Spanish language programs:
- Until January 1, 2012 - 30% must be captioned
- After January 1, 2012 - 75% must be captioned

Other exemptions are:
- Most programs shown from 2 am to 6 am local time

- Locally-produced and distributed non-news programs with no repeat value, such as parades and school sports events

- Commercials of five minutes or less

- Instructional programs produced locally by public TV stations for use in grades K-12 or postsecondary schools

- Programs in languages other than Spanish and English

- Programs shown on new networks for the first four years of the network's operations

- Public service announcements and promotional ads of less than 10 minutes

- Programs by providers with an annual gross revenue under $3 million (but these programmers must still "pass through" the captions of any programs that already have them)

Special Requirements for News Programs
ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC and their affiliates must realtime caption their news in the "top 25" television markets. The country's top 25 markets are:
AZ: Phoenix
CA: Los Angeles, San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose, Sacramento/Stockton/Modesto, San Diego
CO: Denver
DC: Washington, DC
FL: Tampa/St.Petersburg/Sarasota, Miami/Ft. Lauderdale, Orlando/Daytona Beach/Melbourne
GA: Atlanta
IL: Chicago
MD: Baltimore
MA: Boston
MI: Detroit
MO: St. Louis
MN: Minneapolis/St. Paul
NY: New York City
OH: Cleveland
OR: Portland
PA: Pittsburgh, Philadelphia
TX: Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston
WA: Seattle

Non-broadcast networks (such as cable) which serve at least 50% of households subscribing to video program services must realtime caption their news.

All others may caption with electronic newsroom technique (ENT). This captioning is pre-scripted and as a result causes gaps when the program has live news updates, breaking news, ad libs, live interviews, sports and weather updates, and field reports.

News programs must follow the same captioning timeline as other programs, which means that 100% of news must be captioned after January 1, 2006.

4. Visual Presentation of Emergency Information

Visual presentation of emergency information is required of broadcast, cable, and satellite TV providers.

Emergency information is defined as any information that is intended to protect life, health, safety or property.

Some examples of things that qualify as an emergency are:
- Dangerous weather -- hurricane, tornado, flood, earthquake, tidal wave, icing conditions, heavy snow, widespread fire, warning and watch of impending change in weather
- Dangerous situations -- widespread power failure, discharge of toxic gas, industrial explosion, civil disorder, school closing, changes in school bus schedules resulting from conditions.

Information that must be presented visually if it is provided audibly:
- Specific details about the areas that will be affected by the emergency
- Evacuation orders, detailed descriptions of areas to be evacuated, specific evacuation routes
- Approved shelters or how to take shelter in one's home
- Instructions on how to secure personal property
- Road closures
- How to obtain relief assistance

Note that this requires visual information but not necessarily captioning. Theoretically any effective means of providing all this information could be used, including holding up signs.

5. Emergency Alert System

The Emergency Alert System is a nationwide broadcast system for use in national or large-scale disasters. It was designed for use by the President of the U.S. and has never been used, not even on 9/11. It can be used by national, state and local authorities. The EAS has the ability to send emergency information by broadcast, cable, and wireless cable systems. This system is required to carry national security broadcasts initiated by the President of the U.S, but is not required to carry alerts and messages initiated by state and local authorities. It basically is intended to take over the airwaves for important emergency information.

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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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NADezine
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Have the news delivered directly to your email-box!
The NADezine is short, 2x a month, and contains broad
information about the work of the National Association
of the Deaf -- advocacy/lawsuits, NAD Conference
information, job market and more. Membership in the
NAD is not required.
http://www.nad.org/eNewsletters

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- Article 2: Reader Response to Hearing Aid Income Tax Credit Bill
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Editor: You know that we're always willing to express our opinion about various hearing loss topics. And we want everyone to know that we'd love to hear your opinions, as well. We'd like to think that we're encouraging you to think about some of these issues, and one way to do that is to present various perspectives on them.

Here with a response to last week's article on the Hearing Aid Income Tax Credit Bill is Warren Hanna of Hard of Hearing Advocates.

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Congressional Bill (S1060 and HR414) allows a tax income credit of $500 to the buyer when a hearing aid is purchased.

While this Bill will help offset the extremely high cost of hearing aids, it will not resolve the multitude of underlying problems consumers face when purchasing hearing aids.

Today¹s hearing aids are sold without pricing criterion, accountability, constraints, or even regulations. Current licensing standards offer little protection to the consumer.

Without any repercussions, a hearing aid dispenser (or audiologist) can sell hundreds of instruments which wind up unworn after short usage. Hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of good hearing aids lie unworn due to poor fitting practices. Sadly, the problem is often not the instrument itself, but the fitting process and lack of consumer input.

Consequently, the hearing aid industry suffers a poor image, and millions of hard-of-hearing people live silently without available technology because of outdated practices and protocols, and no governmental oversight.

Thus, as part of this Bill, it seems apropos to include specific additions such as:

(A) A clause regarding legal ramifications if hearing aid sellers profit unduly from the tax credit by padding the price of hearing instruments

(B) A requirement that the hearing aid industry/profession begin working with The National Consumer Law Center to establish a database reflecting hearing aid users¹ level of satisfaction. To accomplish this, the warranty package of each hearing aid purchase should include a questionnaire with questions about: consumer satisfaction, frequency of use, and the testing protocols used by the seller to determine measured hearing improvement in a variety of environments.

If this Bill is designed to assist consumers and spur hearing aid sales, inclusion of the above will elevate the industry while providing better satisfaction among the millions of current and potential hearing aid users.

With these vital revisions, the Bill would be worthy of support by hard-of-hearing people.

Warren Hanna, Executive Director
Hard of Hearing Advocates

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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: Europe Adopts Stricter Noise Standards
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Editor: The folks at the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) have long been setting noise standards for employees in the United States. The allowable maximum noise level varies with duration, with 90 db being the upper limit for an eight-hour exposure. (For additional information, please see www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=STANDARDS&p_id=9735 (Scroll down to Table G-16.)

The Europeans have recently lowered their standards to be considerably below this level. They now require hearing protection to be available if the noise level exceeds 80 db for an eight hour day, and they require hearing protection to be worn if the noise level exceeds 85 db.

With the epidemic of noise induced hearing loss (NIHL) in the US, perhaps OSHA should rethink its standards.

Here are portions of the press release from the IOSH.

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IOSH (Institute of Occupational Safety and Health), Europe's leading body for health and safety professionals, represents 28,000 members in over 50 countries. An independent, not-for-profit organisation, the Institution regulates and steers the profession, maintaining standards and providing impartial, authoritative guidance on health and safety issues.

Hearing aid for construction and manufacturing workers

An estimated 2.25 million people at risk from hearing damage within their workplace will receive protection under revised UK regulations that come into force next April.

The new statutory limits lower acceptable noise levels by five decibels, meaning that more than double the number of workers than at present will be protected. Employers will be required to take action to limit staff exposure to excessive noise and also provide adequate protection from hearing damage.

[snip]

Andrew Maxey, of the Health and Safety Executive's (HSE's) Injuries Reduction Programme, said: "Around 170,000 people in the UK suffer deafness, tinnitus or other ear conditions as a result of exposure to excessive noise at work. The revised regulations are an important step towards reducing this figure."

[snip]

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- Article 4: 2006 Summer Information Technology Internships for College Students w/Disabilities
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Administered by AAPD and sponsored by Microsoft Corporation, undergraduate students interested in pursuing careers in information technology are encouraged to apply. Accepted candidates will work in various agencies in the executive branch of the federal government. Roundtrip air travel and housing will be provided to interns, and each student will receive a stipend. Applications now available from www.AAPD.com. Apply by: DECEMBER 12, 2005 (5:00pm, Eastern).

Questions and submissions for I.T. program: aapdmsintern@aol.com.

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- Classifieds
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One Education Opportunity, one Retreat and various Employment Opportunities appear in this issue. (Ads appear after this brief table of contents.)

Ph.D. and Specialist Psychology Programs
Gallaudet University
Washington DC

JDSR Retreat
Rochester, NY (NTID)
December 2 - 4, 2005

Job Opportunities at GLAD
Various Positions
Various Southern California Locations

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Ph.D. and Specialist Psychology Programs
Gallaudet University
Washington DC
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Interested in pursuing graduate studies in psychology?

The Department of Psychology at Gallaudet University offers both an APA accredited Ph.D. program in Clinical Psychology, and a NASP/NCATE accredited Specialist degree program in School Psychology, both of which include specialized training for work with Deaf and Hard of Hearing people and their families.

The Ph.D. program requires four years of coursework plus a one year full-time internship. The School Psychology program requires two years of course work and a full-time, academic year internship. Limited financial support is available. Applicants should possess a bachelor's degree in psychology, or be in the process of completing their bachelor's degree, and have either a psychology major or substantial course work in psychology. Relevant work experience is desired, though not required. Deaf and hearing applications are encouraged. For more information, contact Patrick J. Brice, Ph.D., Clinical Program Director (patrick.brice@gallaudet.edu), or Lynne Blennerhassett, Ed.D., School Psychology Program Director (lynne.blennerhassett@gallaudet.edu).

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JDSR Retreat
Rochester, NY (NTID)
December 2 - 4, 2005
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First time Wolk Hillel (NTID) co-sponsoring with JDSR:
Fifth Annual Retreat on Campus!

Registration ends on Nov 23rd!
Sign up now for regular fee!
Special student rate!

Where: NTID, Rochester, New York

When: December 2-4, 2005 (start at night on December 1st, will have bus from NY/NJ)

For Whom: Jewish deaf and hard of hearing singles including widowed and divorced worldwide, in any level of Judaism and way of communication.

- FUN outings
- INFORMATIVE workshops
- STIMULATING activities

Meals are provided.

Hotel room reservation required before November 3, 2005
(within five minute walk to the campus, free shuttle to the airport)
Donations welcome.
Limited scholarships are available.

For more information and registration,
email: Landau9@optonline.net
fax at 908 352 7395
write to:
JDSR
PO Box 2005,
NY, NY 10159-2005

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Job Opportunities at GLAD
Various Positions
Various Southern California Locations
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GLAD is an Affirmative Action Employer with equal opportunity for men, women and people with disabilities. For more information on the following positions, go to: www.gladinc.org. The status of all positions is: Regular, Full-time, Non-Exempt, Full Fringe Benefits unless otherwise noted. All positions are open until filled.

PROGRAM ASSISTANT/INTERPRETER in Los Angeles
Brief summary: Under supervision of the Director of Health Education/Services, using the guidelines of the assigned scope of work provided by the California Department of Health Service's Community Challenge Grant, the Program Assistant/Interpreter will:

Work closely with the Community Health Educators on activities for GLAD's program including plan and participate in community events and educational workshops as stated in the project scope of work; Provide interpreting services for teleconferencing meetings, collaborative meetings, OFP regional meetings, FamilyPACT clinic meetings, and appointments or any other situations which may arise to facilitate communication for project staff; Make arrangements and schedule with schools, programs and clinics for project educational/prevention activities; Responsible to coordinate Deaf Youth Advocacy Presentation and Mentoring Program; Implement media including articles, publications and GLAD's website; Prepare Collaborative Alliance meeting minutes; Compile and distribute educational and promotional materials to project staff and community; Compile all documents for filing and prepare monthly progress reports; Clerical duties as well as such tasks and responsibilities as may be delegated

JOB DEVELOPER/INTERPRETER in West Covina, Pacoima
Brief summary: Employment services offered at GLAD assist deaf and hard of hearing individuals with job information, job training, job placement and accessibility for the deaf and hard of hearing individuals. Co-located at 5 Employment Development Department (EDD) Offices and at each local office. The programs under employment services are: Job Readiness Training, Workplace Accessibility, Job Development, Placement and Follow-up

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- Contact Information and Disclaimers
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