Volume 28 Issue 9

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First Premium Placement:
     Sound Clarity, Inc.
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Fourth Premium Placement:
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Classified Section:
     Two online stores, one poker tournament, 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 4
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Editor: There seems to be a growing awareness of the issues faced by people with hearing loss in gaining communications access. I think it's a long ways from growing awareness to the implementation of effective systems, but awareness is 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 four 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.

- Strategies to overcome the problems of poor acoustics have included using "sound field" amplification systems for children with mild hearing loss. Those systems are essentially public address systems with the inclusion of a wireless microphone. Since their introduction some 20 years ago, numerous studies have shown the efficacy of allowing children to hear in the classroom. In their article, "Classroom Sound-Field Systems," Doctors Mark Ross and Harry Levitt note:

The rationale underlying these systems is very simple: how well children hear a teacher affects how well they learn. The more they can hear, and the less they have to strain and guess, the better chance they will have of learning their lessons.... Classroom sound-field systems are not intended for children with moderate hearing losses or greater, for whom a personal FM system would ordinarily be more appropriate. These children would still benefit more from a personal FM system than from a classroom system. The use of a classroom system also does not eliminate the need for appropriate acoustical treatment in classrooms. These systems do not work too well in noisy and reverberant environments."

- Drs. Ross and Levitt go on to report that over 50 studies have attested to the efficacy of sound field systems:

The "special" children in the amplified classrooms attain higher speech perception and spelling scores, attend to the teacher for longer periods of time, and score higher on academic achievement tests than children in non-amplified classrooms. Evidence is continuing to accumulate regarding their positive impact upon literacy, academic accomplishments, and classroom behavior. There is less "acting out" or "tuning out" problems. Classroom systems have been shown to be a cost-effective way of minimizing special education referrals and services. In one large school district, such referrals dropped to about half compared to what they were before the systems were introduced in most elementary classrooms....

As an additional bonus, the teachers' responses to the systems are almost uniformly positive. They appreciate being able to teach all day without straining their voices. This is not a trivial advantage. In one large scale study, it was found that 20% of the teachers suffered from some sort of active voice pathology, with 70% reporting voice problems in the past that caused them to miss work and/or that impaired their teaching effectiveness. In two laryngological practices, teachers were the most frequent occupation identified, representing proportions of 20% and 16% of the total caseload. So while classroom systems were designed to help "special needs" children, and there is much evidence to support this goal, it is apparent that the benefits to teachers should not be overlooked. (Mark Ross, Ph.D, and Harry Levitt, Ph.D. (2002) Classroom Sound-Field Systems. Available at: http://www.hearingresearch.org/Dr.Ross/classroom_sound_field_systems.htm)

- While it's clear that such strategy can help children with normal and mild hearing loss and that other technology, such as FM systems can help children with greater hearing losses, it seems more advantageous to create better acoustical environments when designing classrooms rather than retrofitting with sound field or renovating at greater expense after the classrooms have been built.

- The Access Board itself has been working for years on this issue, and has created informative and useful documents on acoustics and the voluntary standards developed with the Acoustical Society of America (ASA). Yet, despite the clear benefits of such standards, only four states and one city have adopted the ANSI standards, while only six other jurisdictions have adopted other classroom acoustics standards or directives.

- NVRC urges the Access Board to initiate a rulemaking on the issue of accessibility and classroom acoustics and to reference the standard in the ADA Accessibility Guide.

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(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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- Article 2: Couples must learn art, science of hearing loss
by Rett Murch
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Editor: What's the secret to a happy marriage? Does the presence of hearing loss alter your answer? Does it make a happy marriage more difficult to achieve? Here's Rett Murch with some thoughts on how to keep the peace when hearing loss enters the picture. This article was originally published in the Ft. Myers News-Press, and is reprinted with their kind permission.

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Technology helps with listening to partner

According to reliable sources, the most-used word in the English language is "the."

Apparently those reliable sources have not visited a retirement community. In a retirement community the word is "what?"

At least in my retirement house it is and I'm the one using it.

My common uses are "What did you say?" or "What did he say?" or "What did she say?" or "What noise? I didn't hear any noise."

After comparing notes with my neighbors, I find that diminished hearing is sort of an epidemic among older citizens.

It puts a bit of a strain on decades-long marriages.

There are frequent disagreements about who can't hear, who mumbles and who has selective hearing.

At first my wife accused me of selective hearing. She said I ignored simple phrases like "Please take out the garbage" or "Let's go out to eat tonight" or "How do you like my hair?"

Eventually she said, "I think you need your hearing checked."

"Just stop mumbling," I countered.

Then I began to notice that everyone was mumbling. Also, TV actors and every person under 30 were talking too fast.

My granddaughter was about 6 when she diagnosed a problem with my hearing and dealt with it very effectively. After about the third time she had to repeat something to me, she would ask, "Can I speak to Grandma?"

Here's a clue that it's time to have your hearing checked:

If everyone is mumbling ... Hello!

Think about it. What are the odds that every person in the world would simultaneously lapse into mumbling?

I had to face up to my inferior hearing. I have the bad test scores to prove it.

Interestingly enough, and I'm sorry guys but this is common, the test charts show my lost hearing is in the higher ranges. Coincidentally these are the ranges on which my wife's voice roams.

She has a lovely soprano voice when she sings with the Fort Myers Mastersingers. When she wants me to hear her, she has to lower it to about baritone level. If you call our house during a period in which she is talking to me and get a man's voice, it could be her.

Once I surrendered to a hearing aid, I learned about things I thought no longer existed.

As I walked out of the audiologist's office with my first hearing aid, I remarked, "I didn't know there were songbirds in Florida." I had seen a few, but I figured they were mute.

The other thing I wear to keep me among the hearing is a device called "TV Ears." It's a headset that provides personal volume so that I can hear a TV show, fast talkers and all. At the same time, my resident soprano can hear shows at a normal volume level. She says that this is highly preferable to watching TV with a splitting headache.

Her friend Betsy calls TV Ears the "marriage saver."

This whole husband and wife hearing thing cries out for solutions.

Here's one:

Joint hearing tests of couples to determine who can and who can't hear, followed by a session with an authentic mediator.

Authentic mediator:

"Walter, this test indicates that you're deafer than a post."

No answer.

"Can you hear me, Walter?"

"Sure, you said something about heifer on toast. You know I never tried that."

Mediator hands Walter a written sheet basically informing him "Your hearing is shot. Don't blame Mabel."

Then the mediator turns to Mabel:

"The tests show you are the normal hearing person in your marriage. Cut Walter some slack!"

We could also use a technological breakthrough.

How about hearing aids programmed precisely to our spouses' voices? In addition, the aids should include some sort of alert.

It would be patterned after a ship's general alarm announcement. The wearer would suddenly hear a loud clanging bell, followed by "Now hear this! Now hear this!

"Your wife (or husband) is speaking. Listen up!"

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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: ASU Pursues High Tech Hearing Loss Solutions
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Editor: Many hearing aid users really like the new open fitting hearing aids, and consider that design to be a major advancement in the hearing aid industry. But I think we all agree that it's an evolutionary change. The folks at Arizona State University (ASU) are pursuing revolutionary changes using MEMS technology. Don't know what MEMS is? You will after you read the following article, which contains portions of an ASU press release.

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The world could start sounding a lot clearer to people suffering from hearing loss if ASU researchers succeed in a new project to be funded by a recently awarded $200,000 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF).

An estimated 28 million Americans are experiencing hearing loss, according to the National Institute of Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, part of the National Institutes of Health.

Connection One, an NSF industry-university cooperative research center based at ASU, is developing a microscale digital hearing aid that would closely mimic the way natural hearing organs work.

"Our goal is to understand how the biological system operates [snip] and then mimic that system with the seamless integration of a digital hearing device," says Sayfe Kiaei, director of Connection One. "This type of research will enable us to come up with new materials and devices that could seamlessly integrate with biological systems. It could revolutionize the study of biomaterials and bioelectronics."

Kiaei, an electrical engineering professor, is joined on the research team by Bertan Bakkaloglu, an associate professor in electrical engineering, and Junseok Chae, an assistant professor in electrical engineering. Each has a dual role as a faculty member in the Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering at ASU and as a Connection One researcher.

Many hearing loss sufferers choose not to use hearing aids because of the large - and often uncomfortable - behind-the-ear (BTE) devices. Smaller in-the-ear (ITE) or in-the-canal (ITC) alternatives also present difficulties such as short battery life because of the small size of the batteries, and the inability of most children to wear the devices because their ear canals are constantly growing.

The Connection One team is investigating new techniques for improving the performance and comfort of hearing aids by decreasing their size, increasing the sound quality, making the devices more flexible and extending battery life.

The researchers hope to achieve such advancements by using micromachined MEMS (microelectromechanical systems) technologies. MEMS technology integrates mechanical elements, sensors, actuators and electronics onto a thin synthetic membrane to place on a silicon chip. The synthetic material is flexible, similar to a human membrane.

This technique can be used to produce a more comfortable device that will expand in growing ear canals, allowing children to wear the hearing aid. The microscale devices will integrate an entire electronic system - including microphone and speakers - onto a 1-millimeter-by-1-millimeter surface.

The initial $200,000 grant will allow the team to develop a prototype of the digital hearing aid. If the prototype succeeds, the NSF could provide additional funding to expand the project. The group could get a $500,000 grant to work with an industrial partner to further develop and test the device. An additional $650,000 grant would allow the research team and a commercial partner to develop a marketable product.

[snip]

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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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High cost of hearing

Go to a cellphone store and you can walk out with a handheld device that's a telephone, music player, digital camera and Global Positioning System mapper, all for a couple of hundred bucks. But go to buy a hearing aid that has one job -- making things louder and clearer -- and you'll be set back $1,500 or more, and that's not counting the cost of the audiologist who fits it. In the age of $30 DVD players, why does a good hearing aid still cost as much as a half-decent used car? And why, to add insult to injury, will Medicare and insurance companies pay for eyeglasses, contact lenses, wheelchairs and electric scooters, but not hearing aids?

http://www.roanoke.com/business/technology/wb/wb/xp-78885

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How to Avoid the Din when Dining Out

Hip and trendy restaurants encourage buzz. Loud conversation and music are considered mood enhancers, and young customers, especially, equate din with good times. Sometimes that is exactly what you want. But when the buzz becomes a roar and you have to yell at your table mates, then there's a problem. Think about your last restaurant experience. Did you have to raise your voice to carry on a conversation? Did background noise make you repeat and repeat what you said? Will you ever go back?

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06232/714372-51.stm

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Cochlear implant success is music to the ears

Rhonan Scowcroft will soon hear his parents' voices and his sisters' giggles for the first time after he became the youngest Australian to receive a Cochlear implant. The 3 month-old boy is also one of the youngest people in the world to have a bionic ear, which will be switched on by an audiologist in a few weeks. His mother Tammie said last night after arriving home from the Sydney Cochlear Implant Centre that Rhonan was 10 hours old when his hearing problem was picked up through the newborn screening program at Canberra Hospital. Two subsequent tests confirmed Rhonan was profoundly deaf.

http://tinyurl.com/lkfg3 or
http://canberra.yourguide.com.au/detail.asp?class=news&subclass=general
&story_id=503965&category=General&m=8&y=2006

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- Classifieds
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Two online stores, one poker tournament, 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

Las Vegas World Deaf Poker Tournament
October 11, 2006
www.poker.deaflasvegas.com

Employment Opportunity
Various Positions
GLAD
Los Angeles

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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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Las Vegas World Deaf Poker Tournament
October 11, 2006
www.poker.deaflasvegas.com
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2nd Annual Las Vegas World Deaf Poker Tournament

When? October 11, 2006; 6 PM; Door opens at 12 noon.

Where? Palms Casino and Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada.

Event? No Limit-Texas Hold'Em/ All in. For all deaf and hard of hearing people who wish to participate. Must be 21 years or older to play.

Prizes? Based on 300 entries, 1st place winner will receive $27,000.

Cost? $300 entry fee per player.

Hosts? Southern Nevada Silver Knights and Southern Nevada Coalition of Organizations of and for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. Both are non-profit organizations and the net proceeds will be donated to worthy deaf community charities.

Comments? Last year the 1st annual tournament was a complete success. Many local deaf poker tournaments were held across the country because of this success. So far none of them have not met the magnitude of this one. It has the "major league" status. The "big one". Since Las Vegas is the poker capital of the world, no wonder it is so popular here.

Web Site? Go to www.poker.deaflasvegas.com. This will give you all the information needed, such as tournament entry form and Orleans Hotel room reservation form.

E-Mail? Need to e-mail for additional information? Email lvdeafpoker1@earthlink.Net.

From the Committee: We are anxious to treat all of you to the unique and exciting experience in the world poker. Come to Las Vegas, the city of awe and thunder. It is your chance to come as a winner. See you all in "Viva Las Vegas".

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Employment Opportunity
Various Positions
GLAD
Los Angeles
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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.

* DEPUTY 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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