Volume 28 Issue 6

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- Advertisers in this Issue
First Premium Placement:
Protect your hearing aids with Ear Gear from Sound Clarity
Second Premium Placement:
New Sonic Alert Clocks Coming to Harris Communications
Third Premium Placement:
IHHD Online Educational Opportunities
Fourth Premium Placement:
Switch to Sprint
Classified Section:
Two online stores and one employment opportunity

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Contact information and disclaimers are at the end of this newsletter.
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- Article 1: Access Board Information Meeting on Communication Access - Part 1
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Editor: There seems to be a growing awareness of the issues faced by people with hearing loss in life-threatening and emergency situations. Emerging awareness is not the same as implementation of effective systems, but it's certainly a start! Here's a report on Lise Hamlin's recent presentation to the Access Board.

This report is presented courtesy of NVRC. You are welcome to share this information, but please be sure to credit NVRC. (See full credit at the end of this article.)

This is part one of four parts.

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On July 25, 2006, the U.S. Access Board held a public meeting on Communication Access in Washington, DC.

Lise Hamlin, NVRC's Emergency Preparedness Specialist, gave a presentation on behalf of NVRC. Her presentation started with this statement:

"In March of 2005, two friends of mine, Blair and Anita Mazin, died in New York City because they were deaf. They came home late one night, and like many people with hearing loss have done, myself included, walked away from their car without realizing they had not turned the engine off. When I walk away from my car, it's parked outside, so it's little more than an embarrassing inconvenience, certainly not fatal. Blair and Anita's car was in a garage underneath their bedroom.

"People who can hear the low rumble of their car's engine at a distance have a hard time understanding how someone could unintentionally leave it running. They also rarely consider the impact of building a garage under a sleeping area that holds people with hearing loss. Blair and Anita's home was equipped with a carbon monoxide detector, but that detector gave only an audible alert. The next door neighbor heard it, but too late. Blair and Anita had already died from carbon monoxide poisoning.

"NVRC applauds the Access Board's efforts to look beyond the Code as it now exists to ensure safety of all our citizens. We support these efforts and wish to do everything possible to ensure that we never again hear that people died because they were deaf."

Here is a summary of some of Lise's other prepared remarks:

Alerts While Sleeping

- The experiences at the Boston and last year's Washington convention of HLAA illustrate the need to better safeguard people who are deaf or hard of hearing while sleeping.

-A study by Jacqueline DuBois from Combustion Science & Engineering which found that detectors with strobe lights are actually 53% less effective than the standard audible smoke detector for deaf and hard of hearing populations. A ranking of devices tested in that study is as follows: 100% for intermittent bed shaker, 91% for continuous bed shaker, 90% for low frequency audible alarm, 83% for standard audible alarm, and 33% for the strobe. It was also found that the only devices functionally equivalent to the audible detector for both deaf and hard of hearing people were the intermittent bed shakers.

- A stand-alone, plug-in-the-wall visual smoke detector will range in cost from $145 to $170; audible alerts are available for as little as $8.

- Visual alerts can only be counted on to wake people with hearing loss in the same room, unlike audible alarms that will alert hearing people in adjacent rooms. That means a hotel must consider installing alerts in each room or, better, installing an interconnected system, both of which increase the cost significantly.

- Hotel owners have been reluctant to re-wire the systems they have to accommodate people with a hearing loss, instead providing them with stand-alone devices that are hugely ineffective should a fire occur, unless the fire starts in the same room as the device.

- Combustion Science & Engineering developed a tactile alert that linked to a traditional audible alert. A prototype for that device was on display at the SHHH Washington DC convention in 2005. Combustion Science hoped to have that product ready for sale in early 2006 at a cost of approximately $50. They apparently were unable to locate funding for further development of the product.

- The Hearing Loss Association of American (HLAA, formerly SHHH) provided comments at the Access Board's ADA 15th Anniversary Forum on July 26, 2005. Commenting on audible alarms, they noted that "the majority of people with a hearing loss have much better hearing in the low frequencies than in the middle or high frequencies...Existing research regarding the waking effectiveness of smoke alarms demonstrates that many people, including people who are hard of hearing, wake up much more reliably and quickly to low frequency sounds ....[HLAA] believes there should be an upper limit placed on the frequency of audible alarms."

- NVRC urges the Access Board to set standards for safety in sleeping areas that include alternate alerts such as tactile alerts and pagers integrated into the building's fire alarm system as well as low frequency audible alerts.

,...............

(c)2006 by Northern Virginia Resource Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Persons (NVRC), 3951 Pender Drive, Suite 130, Fairfax, VA 22030; www.nvrc.org Items in this newsletter are provided for information purposes only; NVRC does not endorse products or services. You do not need permission to share this information, but please be sure to credit NVRC.

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New Sonic Alert Clocks Coming to Harris Communications
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Available soon! The Analog Clock and the Sweetheart Alarm Clock are two new unique clocks from Sonic Alert. The Analog Clock has a cool blue backlight and fast and easy alarm setting. The Sweetheart Alarm Clock comes in hot pink and features a multi-colored display. Both clocks have alarm lights and a powerful bed shaker. Clocks will be available by August 15th.

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 2: President, Congress Fail to Lead on ADA Restoration Act
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Editor: For years we've watched ADA protections being weakened by legislative and judicial action. The National Coalition for Disability Rights is fighting this trend and promoting passage of the ADA Restoration Act to reverse it. Despite what they interpret as positive circumstances, there appears to be very little Congressional support for passage of this legislation. Here's the press release from the National Coalition for Disability Rights.

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16th ADA Anniversary and the Unfulfilled Promise of Historic Disability Rights Law

WASHINGTON, July 26, 2006 - Today we acknowledge the 16th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and yet another year of inaction on ADA restoration proposals put forth by the President's own advisors.

In 2004, responding to years of court decisions that have significantly weakened the ADA, the National Council on Disability (NCD) whose 15 members were nominated by President Bush and confirmed by the Senate released comprehensive legislative recommendations for restoring civil rights protections for children and adults with physical, mental, cognitive and developmental disabilities.

Upon release of the NCD report, Cox News Service reporter, Andrew Mollison, predicted:

Since the council members are Bush appointees, their recommendation is expected to receive serious consideration by the Republican-controlled Congress. The president is also expected to sympathize, because he pushed hard in his first term for cheaper but better ways to get jobs for adults with disabilities, and the proposed revision of the ADA wouldn't require higher federal spending. Despite former and current Republican members of Congress crying foul in response to the weakening of the ADA Ohio Republican Senator Mike DeWine, for example, has said that he is "deeply troubled by the Court's lack of deference to Congress." no support has come from the White House or the Congressional leadership to advance NCD's blueprints for restoring the ADA.

Jim Ward, Founder and President of ADA Watch and the National Coalition for Disability Rights, explains that 16 years after passage of the ADA, more than 96% of employment case under the ADA are dismissed on summary judgment meaning that the facts of the alleged discrimination are never given a fair hearing. Furthermore, people with disabilities such as epilepsy, diabetes, mental illness and more are routinely denied justice and labeled not disabled enough by judges who narrowly interpret the intent of Congress in passing the ADA.

Despite widespread agreement that the courts are misinterpreting the Americans with Disabilities Act, neither the White House or Congress has responded to the urgent need to reverse the damage done. Neither the White House nor Congress has heeded NCD's recommendations for legislatively restoring the Americans with Disabilities Act. This shameful inaction and delay by the White House and Congressional leaders, leaves unfulfilled America's promise of equal justice and opportunity for citizens with disabilities.

ADA Watch/NCDR is an alliance of hundreds of disability, civil rights and social justice organizations united to defend and advance the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the human rights of children and adults with physical, mental, cognitive and developmental disabilities. More information can be found at www.adawatch.org

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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: Hearing Loss and Music: Enjoying Music with Cochlear Implants or Hearing Aids
By Wendy Cheng
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Editor: Here's another of Wendy's reports on the 2006 HLAA Convention. The workshop Wendy is reporting on has some great tips for increasing appreciation of music.

Wendy Cheng is a cochlear implant user who is also an amateur musician and viola student. Wendy also manages a website and listserv for musicians with hearing loss. Please visit http://www.aamhl.org to learn more about the Association of Adult Musicians with Hearing Loss or to join the listserv.

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Presenter: Kathy Allen, MA, Cochlear Corporation

Kathy Allen started the workshop by introducing the following quote by British novelist George Eliot (1819-1880):

I think I should have no other mortal wants, if I could always have plenty of music. It seems to infuse strength into my limbs and ideas into my brain. Life seems to go on without effort, when I am filled with music.

Kathy works at Cochlear Corporation and wears two Nucleus Freedom 3G cochlear implants. In elementary school, she joined the school band and was first placed in the oboe section. However, the music teacher realized that she could not hear the high tones of the oboe and moved her to saxophone. Even so, Kathy was not able to tell the difference between flat notes and sharp notes in the saxophone. In the end, she finally was moved to the drum/percussion section and remained there for several years. As a result of this experience, she grew up with a life-long love of listening to music.

Many hearing aid and cochlear implant users often wonder why listening to music is so challenging. A common question is: "I can hear speech, why not music?" Part of the reason is that unlike speech, music is made up of rhythm, timbre and pitch (e.g. low and high notes). Music is a complicated mixture of sounds so, in the beginning, it can be difficult for the brain to organize the sounds in a meaningful way.

How can hearing-impaired persons develop music listening skills? There are many factors that influences the development of a person's music listening skills: audiological history, previous experience with music, length of severe/profound deafness and motivation. Kathy also discussed the 4 "P"s in developing music listening skills: Patience, persistence, practice, and positive attitude.

The following tips helped Kathy to face the challenge of listening to music. First, understanding music will take time and effort. Second, accept that music may never sound the way you remember. Third, keep a journal of your progress. Last, if you have heard music before, use one musical selection as a way of focusing your ability to understand a piece of music. When Kathy was first activated with her Nucleus cochlear implants, one of the first pieces she wanted to hear was Tony Orlando and Dawn's "Tie a Ribbon Around the Old Oak Tree". She used that piece as a focal point for developing her ability to understand music with the cochlear implant.

If you have no experience with listening to music, try listening to simple children's songs, or very simple tunes to start with. Cochlear Corporation has developed an aural rehabilitation kit called "Sound and Beyond". Sound and Beyond has a music appreciation module that contain sounds clips of various musical instruments. At present, Sound and Beyond is only available for computers with Windows platforms.

If you are listening to vocal music, have the lyrics in front of you. You can use Google.com to find lyrics of popular music. For example typing "Kokomo lyrics" in Google will generate a list of web sites where you can find the lyrics for the piece "Kokomo" written and sung by the Beach Boys.

Kathy suggests setting aside a daily time to listen to music. She prefers doing it in the morning when the mind is clear and refreshed. Dance to the music to get a sense of the musical rhythm.

What devices are available for hearing aid and cochlear implant users to listen to music? Kathy recommends 3 devices for hearing aid users: HATIS (Hearing Aid Telephone Interconnect System), NoiseFree and the ClearSounds neckloop.

HATIS is an abbreviation for Hearing Aid Telephone Interconnect System. It consists a silhouette of a behind the ear hearing aids that has an electromagnet coil. You place the silhouette over your aided ear and between your head and hearing aid. The other end of the cable goes into the headphone jack of your audio device (CD player or Ipod). The electromagnetic coil is activated when the t-switch (or telephone switch) of the hearing aid is turned on. HATIS generally retails for $149 and is hands-free. A bilateral version with two silhouettes (for individuals with two hearing aids) is also is available. NoizFree is a smaller version of HATIS and retails for $39. It is smaller than the HATIS, but the sound quality is not as good as the HATIS.

For users of cochlear implants without telecoil capability, direct connect/direct audio input is recommended. Cochlear Corporation has a TV/Hi-Fi adapter cable for Nucleus Freedom users. CI users should turn sensitivity down and volume up when listening to music.

Resources on the web:

HATIS: http://www.hatis.com/

Noizfree: http://www.harriscomm.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=18702

ClearSounds neckloop: http://www.harriscomm.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=18332

Sound and Beyond auditory rehabilation kit and CD: http://www.cochlearamericas.com/Support/169.asp
Note: Sound and Beyond will work in a Windows environment only. A member of the audience commented that it would not run on her Macintosh computer and Kathy conceded that was indeed the case.

Cochlear's TV/Hi-Fi adapter cable: http://www.cochlearamericas.com/Storefront/detail.asp
?product_id=Z60829#

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- Article 4: Short Takes
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Editor: Here are our picks of some additional stories that you may find interesting. For more, please point your browser to: http://www.hearinglossweb.com/news/curr.htm

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Telecoils are about more than telephones

When Sam Lybarger labeled the small induction coil he used to access the magnetic leakage from telephones a "telecoil," he could not have foreseen that the ramifications of that decision would be bedeviling us some 60 years later. In 1947, his decision made perfect sense and, when used with telephones, the term "telecoil" still makes perfect sense. But, as can be seen from the two companion articles relating to telecoils in this issue (by David Myers and William Diles), these little structures can provide auditory access to much more than telephones. As these articles demonstrate, telecoils are being employed to hear auditory signals in a wide variety of situations.

http://tinyurl.com/r7f3p
or
http://www.audiologyonline.com/management/uploads/articles/
HJ2006_05_pg24-28.pdf

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In a looped America, hearing aids would be twice as valuable

"Imagine a future where hearing aids serve not only as sophisticated microphone amplifiers, but also as customized, in-the-ear loudspeakers for the binaural broadcast of television, a PA system, and telephone sound. In the United Kingdom, and now in part of Michigan, this imagined future is fast becoming reality. "Might the combined efforts of hearing professionals, the hearing industry, and people with hearing loss enable hearing id-compatible assistive listening to spread across this nation- to the betterment of hard-of-hearing consumers and those who serve them?"

http://tinyurl.com/r4nrs
or
http://www.audiologyonline.com/management/uploads/articles/
HJ2006_05_pg17-23.pdf

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'Hearing' with your eyes; the art of lip reading

After the World Cup final this month, speculation swirled around the head butt France's Zinedine Zidane delivered to the chest of Italian Marco Materazzi. Various groups have hired lip readers to view the tape to decipher the words between the two athletes.

http://tinyurl.com/oghqq
or
http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article
?AID=/20060731/BUSINESS/607310309/1003

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- Classifieds
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Two online stores and one employment opportunity appear in this issue. (Ads appear after this brief table of contents.)

WCI. Providing Solutions for People with Hearing Loss.
Save 15% on Products for Home and School
http://www.weitbrecht.com

Potomac Technology - Everything You Need Under One Roof!
NOW MORE CHOICES THAT EVER
POTOMAC TECHNOLOGY'S NEW CATALOG!
http://www.potomactech.com

Employment Opportunity 1
LIFESIGNS Director - Los Angeles
GLAD
Various Southern California Locations

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WCI. Providing Solutions for People with Hearing Loss.
Save 15% on Products for Home and School
http://www.weitbrecht.com
-------------------

Save 15% on Products for Home and School

It's back to school and WCI is ready to help with 15% off several items including the Portable Compact/C (from Ultratec). It's small enough to fit in a backpack or pocket for that person on the go! Connect to a compatible digital cell phone or use it with any traditional phone. Or, Take 15% off all Simplicity products! Get the perfect signaler to fit your college dorm room, apartment, or house. With 15% off either the Wake Assure or Big Time alarm clocks, you'll make it to class on time. Wake Assure's buzzer will shake you out of bed or it flashes when connected to a lamp. The Big Time features a strong bed shaker and a large red easy-to-read display. It runs on batteries in case of a power outage.

Call us now at 1-800-233-9130 (V/TTY) or visit us online at http://www.weitbrecht.com (use code WCIH08 when ordering).

WCI. Providing Solutions for People with Hearing Loss.

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Potomac Technology - Everything You Need Under One Roof!
NOW MORE CHOICES THAT EVER
POTOMAC TECHNOLOGY'S NEW CATALOG!
http://www.potomactech.com
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NOW MORE CHOICES THAT EVER
POTOMAC TECHNOLOGY'S NEW CATALOG!

Our new product catalog is filled with all the items you need from Amplified Phones and Alerting Systems to Books, Specialty Items and more! During August, save 10% off your first order from the new catalog. Just in time for all those back to school purchases. Save on top brands & latest models. Call us now at 1-800-433-2838 (V/TTY) or visit online at http://potomactech.com (use code PTECH806 when ordering).

Potomac Technology. Everything You Need Under One Roof.

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Employment Opportunity 1
Various Opportunities
GLAD
Los Angeles, CA
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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, 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.

* LIFESIGNS Director - Los Angeles

* Community Advocate – 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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