Volume 27 Issue 4

HOH-LD-News
Vol. 27, Issue 4
April 22, 2006

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Table of Contents
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- Article 1: Deaf Geoff

- Article 2: ASHA Poll Exposes Troublesome Hearing Loss Trends - Part 1

- Article 3: YOU can Influence Hearing Loss Research

- Article 4: International Noise Awareness Day

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: Williams Sound TV Listening System from
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- Second Premium Placement: Sonic Alert Products on Sale at Harris
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- Third Premium Placement: IHHD Online Educational Opportunities
- Classified Section: Three online stores, one captioning company, and
      two employment opportunities

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Contact information and disclaimers are at the end of this newsletter.
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- Article 1: Deaf Geoff
By William LaRue
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Editor: What's that you say - a radio personality who calls himself deaf? Someone who gets on the air and is able to make light of the misunderstandings caused by his hearing loss? How cool is that?

This story was originally published in the Syracuse (NY) Post Standard on February 27, 2006.

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WWHT-FM (Hot 107.9) morning producer Geoff Herbert has trouble taking calls from listeners. Sometimes, he misunderstands what hosts Marty and Shannon are saying to him.

"Recently, Marty said something about Duke University and I thought he said something about Jewish people," Herbert says. "Sometimes, it's so off-base, it's funny."

Even if he didn't call himself "DeafGeoff" on the air, there would be little doubt that Herbert is bringing something quite exceptional to Syracuse morning radio.

Herbert, 21, was born with a hearing loss so severe that music often sounds to him like his head is under water. Some notes he can't hear at all.

And yet, despite a speech impediment caused by his severe hearing loss, he is finding early success in a broadcast profession that usually values people with a good ear for hit songs or with a clear voice for announcing.

Herbert has become a listener favorite on the Top-40 station's morning show, where he regularly joins the hosts in on-air banter and comedy bits. The station in the fall gave away 250 copies of a Christmas album, "Deaf the Halls," in which Herbert sang holiday tunes, including off-key versions of "Do You Hear What I Hear" and "Silent Night."

Allowing the hearing-loss humor to flow easily on the morning show is something Herbert says he encourages.

That, plus asking people to call him "DeafGeoff," are his ways to let others know he embraces his hearing loss and wants others to do the same.

"It's a good characterization of who I am. My name is Geoff and I'm partially deaf," Herbert says. "Of course, with the disability, being hearing-impaired, the least likely job is probably radio. But that's one of the things I love about it. It excites me to be able to do something people don't expect. And if I can do it well, people can kind of go, 'Wow!' "

He also embraces the local fame that goes with it.

A few weeks ago, at the drive-up window of a fast-food restaurant, some employees inside recognized his voice.

"They were like, 'Are you DeafGeoff?' And they go, 'Ah, man, I love the show. You're so awesome. You're so funny,' " Herbert says. "I've even been asked for my autograph."

Technically diagnosed as "hard of hearing," Herbert says, he was born with the ability to pick up only about 10 percent of what an average person hears. He uses lip-reading, two hearing aids and an eye for visual cues to understand most of the time what people are saying, although over the phone he often has to ask callers to repeat themselves.

Herbert began working at Hot 107.9 two years ago as an intern while he was studying communications at Syracuse University.

He performed so well as a volunteer that he was hired in fall 2004 to become Hot's morning producer. It's a job that involves getting to the station by 5 a.m. to edit audio clips and coordinate that day's music, comedy bits, contests, games and other content.

On a recent Tuesday morning, shortly after 8:30, Herbert is carrying on a long chat about TV with Marty, who, like Shannon, doesn't reveal his last name publicly.

Marty asks Herbert if he heard about "American Idol" auditions in Boston last summer, hinting that he should have considered trying out for the Fox talent series.

Herbert tells Marty he "heard about it plenty." Then he adds, "Let's be honest. My singing was not going to get me very far." They both laugh.

Marty and Shannon often make references to his hearing loss, Herbert says, although they draw the line at doing anything smacking of ridicule.

When one listener called up to ask why the show didn't "just get that retarded guy off the air," Herbert says, Marty and Shannon quickly "ripped into him."

"They are very protective," Herbert says with a smile.

Interviewed off the air, Marty says Herbert is a talented morning producer who does his job well.

"I think it's cool he puts his disability aside and says, 'I'm going to do this,' instead of being embarrassed by it," Marty says.

In addition to his part-time job at Hot, Herbert works nights and weekends at a Blockbuster video store, and is also a disc jockey for private parties and dances.

Herbert, who grew up in Acton, Mass., was manager of his high school radio station for 2 years. He was also general manager at WJPZ-FM (Z89), the student station at SU, where he already has met requirements to graduate in May with a bachelor's degree in radio, television and film.

He says his dream is to eventually get a job in radio in Boston or another big city.

For what he has done already, Herbert can be seen as an inspiration, especially by young people with a disability who worry some occupations are closed to them, says Anne Costa, director of communications for Aurora of Central New York, an organization that serves people with hearing and visual impairments.

Although he's a rarity, Herbert isn't the only one with hearing loss working in Syracuse radio. Aurora in November presented an excellence award to WVOA-FM and WSIV-AM general manager Jim Wall, 68, who still does occasional on-air work, despite losing most of his hearing in the mid-1980s due to disease.

"I would certainly congratulate the young man," Wall says when asked about Herbert. "I encourage him 100 percent."

Costa says Herbert probably has strong support in the deaf community, although she says some might be offended if they thought on-air bits were making fun of him for his hearing loss.

Herbert says some aspects of living with his disability are funny. He says he's not afraid to share this or to show that, like anyone else, he excels at some things and struggles with others.

"I want to let people know my hearing disability is part of who I am. I'm comfortable with it and you should be as well," he says.

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- Article 2: ASHA Poll Exposes Troublesome Hearing Loss Trends - Part 1
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Editor: If you need any additional evidence to convince you (or your kids) that hearing loss is becoming epidemic among all population groups (including kids), this ASHA Survey should help!

This is part 1 of 2 parts.

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Hearing Loss Symptoms Reported In High School Age Students And Adults

Commissioned By American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, Survey Suggests Multi-Pronged Prevention Needed To Head Off Risk To Nation's Hearing Health

More than half of high school students surveyed report at least one symptom of hearing loss according to a poll commissioned by the American Speech-Language-Hearing-Association (ASHA) and conducted by Zogby International.

The poll looked at not only the usage habits of high school students and adults with respect to some popular technology that provides audio through earbuds or earphones-devices like Apple's iPod, other MP3 players, and portable DVD players--but it also probed the public's views about potential hearing loss from such devices, plus what they believe would be the most effective way to convey a hearing-loss prevention message.

The findings for high school students reflect a national telephone survey with a target sample of 301 interviews and a margin of error of +/- 5.8 percentage points. Margins of error are higher in sub-groups.

For adults, the results stem from a national telephone survey with a target sample of 1,000 interviews and a margin of error of +/-3.2 percentage points. Margins of error are higher in sub-groups.

The polling found that high school students are more likely than adults to say they have experienced three of the four symptoms of hearing loss: turning up the volume on their TV or radio (28% students vs. 26% adults); saying "what" or "huh" during normal conversation (29% students, 21% adults); and, having tinnitus or ringing in the ears (17% students, 12% adults).

More disturbing is that less than half of high students (49%) say they have experienced none of the symptoms, compared to 63% of adults who say this.

It is not clear from the poll what is causing the symptoms, though it found usage habits among both students and adults that are potentially detrimental to hearing health.

For example, two-fifths of students and adults set the volume at loud on their Apple iPods, with students twice as likely as adults to play it very loud (13% vs. 6%). Meanwhile, adults are more likely than students to use their MP3 players for longer periods of time. Combined, more than half of adults use them 1-4 hours (43%) or longer (9%) compared to fewer than one-third of students-a disparity that may reflect the time adults spend commuting to and from work.

"Louder and longer is definitely not the way to use these products," according to Brenda Lonsbury-Martin PhD, ASHA's Chief Staff Officer for Science and Research. "Eventually, that becomes a recipe for noise-induced hearing loss, which is permanent."

The release of the poll results were a key feature of "America: Tuned In Today . . . But Tuned Out Tomorrow?," a panel discussion held today by national lawmakers and leading experts whom ASHA convened at the National Press Club in Washington, DC.

They included: U.S. Rep. Mike Ferguson(R-NJ), Vice Chair, House Subcommittee On Health; U.S. Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Ranking Member, House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet; Lonsbury Martin; Brian Fligor, ScD, Children's Hospital, Boston; Dean Garstecki, PhD, Northwestern University; and, Anne Marie Tharpe, PhD, Vanderbilt University.

"Our poll tells us that we should take a close look at the potential impact of some popular technology on hearing health," according to ASHA President Alex Johnson, who moderated the panel discussion. "That is why ASHA believes in bringing experts together as we did today to discuss the issues involved."

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- Article 3: YOU can Influence Hearing Loss Research
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Editor: You may know the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) as the Federal organization that funds much of the research on deafness. In my opinion they don't fund enough research on issues important to hard of hearing and late-deafened folks, because we haven't been vocal about the needs for such research. Here's your opportunity to change that!

There will be a public meeting on May 23 in Washington, DC, and they want to hear YOUR input. Within the broad areas of disability and rehabilitation, what research areas would YOU like pursued?

If you, like this editor, can't attend the meeting, you can still make your case by forwarding your thoughts to someone who will attend. I'm guessing that most of the national leaders who reside in the Washington area will be there. One person I know will be there and is soliciting input is Terry Portis, Executive Director of the Hearing Loss Association of America (formerly SHHH). Please do take some time to think about this, and send your ideas to Terry at tportis@hearingloss.org

Here are portions of the press release announcing the meeting.

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Steven J. Tingus, Director of the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) in the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) at the U.S. Department of Education, and Chair of the Interagency Committee on Disability Research (ICDR) is pleased to provide you with notice of an ICDR public meeting and request for written comments with respect to the federal disability and rehabilitation research agenda.

We are pleased to inform you that the ICDR, authorized by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, is holding a meeting to seek comments from the public with respect to the federal disability and rehabilitation research agenda. This dialogue with the public is of critical importance, and we are encouraging individuals with disabilities, persons who represent service providers, service provider organizations, disability and rehabilitation research and policy groups and representatives of advocacy organizations with specialized knowledge and experience, to suggest specific ways to improve future research for individuals with disabilities. The ICDR is also interested in hearing from individuals concerning how well the existing federal research programs are responding to the changing needs of individuals with disabilities.

The meeting will take place May 23, 2006, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Capital Hilton Hotel, 1001 16th Street N.W., Washington DC, 20036. Telephone: (202) 393-1000.

The meeting will be open and accessible to the general public. Public comments will be analyzed, along with other sources of information, to make recommendations for future research directions and to coordinate the federal research effort in disability; however, the ICDR cannot respond individually to comments.

All individuals planning to attend the public meeting, including those presenting comments, must make reservations by May 9, 2006, by contacting Robert Jaeger, using the contact information below. Individuals who wish to present comments must request time on the agenda, which will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. Participants will be allowed approximately five minutes to present their comments.

Prior to the meeting, participants must submit written copies of their comments, along with any other written or electronic versions of supporting information, such as agency or organization policy statements, recommendations, research findings and research literature. Walk-ins must bring two written copies of their comments. Individuals who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call (202) 205-4475. Individuals who need accommodations for a disability in order to attend or participate at the meeting (i.e., interpreting services, assistive listening devices, material in alternative format) should notify ROBERT JAEGER [at Robert.Jaeger@ed.gov] by May 9, 2006.

[snip]

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- Article 4: International Noise Awareness Day
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Editor: International Noise Awareness Day is almost here! And I bet you didn't even know it was coming! Sadly, I didn't either, until I saw this notice from the League for the Hard of Hearing (LHH).

With increasing focus on the dangers of noise exposure, hopefully this event will become better known in the future. Here's the notice from LHH.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Noise is all around us and more and more people are affected by the constant noise in the home, at work, at school and in the streets. The annual International Noise Awareness Day brings the noise and the problems associated with it into focus.

"It is time to address the threat that noise poses to hearing, health, learning and behavior," says Amy Boyle, Director of the Noise Center of the League for the Hard of Hearing.

The International Noise Awareness Day this year will be held on Wednesday, 26th of April.

Many events are planned throughout the day. In one of them the public will be asked to observe the Quiet Diet. The Quiet Diet, one minute of quiet from 2:15 to 2:16 regardless of your location, will tie the events together across the globe.

Once again, the League for the Hard of Hearing will sponsor this annual event.

To learn more: http://www.lhh.org/noise

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- Classifieds
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Three online stores, one captioning company, and two employment opportunities appear in this issue. (Ads appear after this brief table of contents.)

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Sawyer Court Reporting
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hearingimpaired.net
Hearing Loss Accessories and Signage
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Employment Opportunity 1
Various Opportunities
GLAD
Various Southern California Locations

Employment Opportunity 2
Various Positions
Kansas School for the Deaf
Olathe, KS

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Employment Opportunity 1
Various Opportunities
GLAD
Various Southern California Locations
-------------------

GLAD is an Affirmative Action Employer with equal opportunity for men, women and people with disabilities. For more information on the following positions, please 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.

* Community Advocate- Los Angeles
* LIFESIGNS Clerk- Los Angeles
* Job Developer/Interpreter - Norwalk
* LIFESIGNS Director - Los Angeles

If interested for any of these positions then please submit resume and application to:

Jeff Fetterman
Human Resources Specialist
Greater Los Angeles Agency on Deafness, Inc.
2222 Laverna Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90041
V/TDD: (323) 550-4207
Fax #: (323)550-4204
E-mail: jfetterman@gladinc.org

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Employment Opportunity 2
Various Positions
Kansas School for the Deaf
Olathe, KS
-------------------

The Kansas School for the Deaf, 450 East Park St., Olathe, KS 66061, is currently seeking qualified individuals for the following positions for the 2006- 2007 school year:

Secondary Principal **Immediate Opening**
Elementary Teacher
Secondary Mathematics Teacher
Secondary English Teacher
Anticipating Full Time Dormitory Teachers
Substitute Teacher, Para and Dormitory

Placement made within agency guidelines on salary schedule depending upon professional background and experience. KSD offers excellent benefits. Applicants will be screened and the most highly qualified applicants will be invited for an interview session. Positions are open until filled. KSD is located in the Heartland of the USA, part of the Kansas City metropolitan area. For area info on excellent schools and affordable housing check out: www.kcmo.org/ and www.olatheks.org/.

For an application and a job announcement on each of these positions, please refer to our website at www.ksdeaf.org or contact Teresa Chandler, Human Resources Office, at (913) 791-0501 (V/TTY) for further details on the positions. E-mail: tchandler@ksd.state.ks.us Fax #: 913/780-6563

An Equal Employment/Educational Opportunities Agency
Tobacco Free Campus

"KSD Embraces Diversity"

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