Volume 29 Issue 3

HOH-LD-News
Vol. 29, Issue 3
October 21, 2006

Copyright (C) 2006 Hearing Loss Web. All rights reserved.

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Table of Contents
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- Article 1: Greetings from ALDAcon!

- Article 2: Cultivating a Musical Bionic Ear: Teaching Wendy Cheng - Part 2

- Article 3: Reader Response to Article on Discrimination Testing

- Article 4: Short Takes

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:
Sound Clarity, Inc.
Second Premium Placement:
Bigger and Better Selection of Wireless Products at Harris Communications
Fourth Premium Placement:
Switch to Sprint
Classified Section:
Two Online Stores 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: Greetings from ALDAcon!
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We are fortunate again this year to be able to attend the ALDA national convention. This year's convention is being held in downtown St. Louis at the very classy Adams Mark Hotel, which is in the shadow of the St. Louis Arch!

The convention has so far been a flurry of hugs, workshops, exhibits, more hugs, old friends and new! I've been furiously taking notes at the workshops I'm attending, and reporter extraordinaire Cheryl Heppner has been doing the same! So we will be having lots of up-to-the-minute accounts of everything related to hearing loss over the next few issues!

And, as exciting as the conference has been, my two favorite events are still in the future! The infamous karaoke party is tonight, and the farewell brunch is tomorrow morning.

The karaoke party is simply amazing! Can you imagine a bunch of mature deafies on stage belting out songs that they haven't been able to hear since the sixties? It's truly awful ;-), and it's my very favorite hearing loss event EVER! In my opinion, an ALDAcon is worth attending for the Karaoke party alone. I still wear my "I Survived ALDAcon Karaoke" T-shirt, shabby and stained though it is.

A few short hours after the karaoke party ends, the farewell brunch begins. The two events are as different in mood as they are proximate in time. There isn't a dry eye in the house when people stand up and talk about how important ALDAcon is to them. For a few days each year, people have the opportunity to be in a totally accommodating environment where everyone understands and everyone does whatever it takes to make sure communication happens. I believe that the single most important thing a person with hearing loss can do is to become involved with a hearing loss group. And ALDAcon is the ultimate hearing loss group!

OK, time to go find my earplugs (Yes, I wear earplugs at the karaoke party. I may be crazy, but I'm not stupid! ;-) and head for karaoke!

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- Article 2: Cultivating a Musical Bionic Ear: Teaching Wendy Cheng - Part 2
by Dorée Huneven
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Editor: We've met Wendy Cheng on these pages a few times, most recently when she described her experiences playing her viola at the Hearing Loss Association of America national convention. She shared a bit about what it's like for a person who can't hear pitch to play a musical instrument. It almost makes you wonder what it would be like to teach a person who can't hear pitch to play a musical instrument!

Well wonder no longer! Here's Dorée Huneven, Wendy's viola teacher, with a few thoughts on teaching Wendy. This is part two of two parts.

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We proceed to her etude, which is currently in the Whistler "Introducing the Positions" Volume One for viola. She plays with fluency and flair, clearly the result of her home labors, and I compliment her. Although she still has problems with pitch, I quickly put in the little arrows, she gives her usual squeals of frustration, and I assign her a new etude. "I want to hear the old one again, but it's nearly there." How much nit-picking about pitch can a person stand? Wendy has had encouraging and supportive teachers all her life, for which she is extremely thankful, and I mean to keep the tradition going. I play the new etude for her, as I play any new material. She has told me that watching a performance gives her a better idea of where the notes are, particularly with unfamiliar music. It feels eerie to play for someone who can't discriminate pitch well, but her response is enthusiastic.

The cochlear implant researchers have put most of their efforts into making speech as natural as possible, and have largely neglected the area of pitch perception. According to Wendy, someone in Australia actually designed a program dealing with pitch perception, and it's being tested in only a few locations. At any rate, she can't use the device: it's made by another company, and it's questionable whether or not it would work. Insurance companies are guaranteed to nix another $50,000 re-implant just to try it out. Wendy says, "The problem is that the hearing health care profession tends to think that speech is essential to survival and music is not." She believes that attitudes can be changed, especially since there are more deaf musicians than one would imagine. Wendy runs a group called "Association of Adult Musicians with Hearing Loss, with almost eighty people on the mailing list. Only four are string players, and the rest are pianists or woodwind players. There are a couple of audiologists as well. Wendy does all she can to promote her cause, and she frequently performs her latest polished piece at audiology conferences. We are both hoping for technological breakthroughs. At present, she is looking at getting a second implant in her left ear.

The Telemann Concerto in G has been a big challenge for both of us, and we have spent many months on both the first and the second movements. There was learning the notes, the pitches, the shifts, the intonation, the rhythm. Then came dynamics, phrasing, tone production, tricky bowings---it was a case of the child's toy with the pegs and the hammer: when we pounded at one problem, another one popped up. And then another. It's not just that Wendy can't discriminate pitch. She also doesn't discriminate tone or dynamics very well. Before I describe how we deal with these problems, I have to say that Wendy is a fabulously musical person. Her sense of rhythm is sturdy, her stance and presentation are excellent and compelling, and she has great ability to shape phrases. She clearly feels music at a deep level.

But for dynamics, she must depend on bow pressure and length ---concentrating especially on the visual aspects. "Paul [her husband] says I play loud all the time. He's probably right." It's really not true, because the visual does help, and we get in some dynamic contrasts.

However, tone production is harder. Even for those of us who hear normally, making a beautiful tone on our string instruments is work of a lifetime. In my two years of study with Shinichi Suzuki in Japan, we worked almost exclusively on tone at every lesson. An original work of calligraphy by Suzuki hanging above where I practice reminds me in Japanese, "A tone has a living soul." When my bow touches a string, it's the first thing I consider. So with Wendy, there is a truly musical existential problem to deal with: if she can't hear the living soul of music, then why bother? Why, indeed? We bother because Wendy wants to play, and the existential problem is mine alone.

So, in the Telemann, I face tone production in the same way I do everything else: try anything that seems to work. Visually, there is the contact point and keeping the bow parallel to the bridge. The feel of bow weight, speed and articulation are used constantly. Then there is feedback, feedback, feedback. I ask her to play the entire movement, and then we work phrase by phrase. Wendy is scheduled to perform at an Academy recital in May, followed by juries, and finally for the ASTA Certificate Performance Exam on June 11th. The first practice performance I arrange is an impromptu play-through done during her lesson time. I go out into the hallway, and convince a delightful mother from India to come in to "make my student nervous." She sits through Wendy's performance, claps, gives compliments, and leaves. I escort her out, and can't help myself: "I have to tell you that Wendy is deaf. She can't hear the exact pitches of what she is playing." The mother is flabbergasted. "Unbelievable," she says repeatedly. It's become one of my surreptitious goals with Wendy: to keep any audience completely unaware of her hearing loss. Wendy brushes it off: it's not her goal. She considers herself an ordinary person, and refuses any special treatment. However, she is famous at the Academy for her determination. At the recital, she is applauded enthusiastically and her jury comments are also extremely favorable. We go on to this year's ASTA exam, and she flies with her many "V's." Now we've got to get to Level 5 for next year!

I asked Wendy what her ultimate goals are. "I still want to get a music degree one day. I don't know why, but I think it's because I'm very big on music education." Music education for adults with and without disabilities would be her primary focus.

"The experience of playing a string instrument---I cherish every moment I can play. It's heavenly. Every time I can come close to a semblance of creating heavenly music, I'm very happy. It's a form of self-expression I'm completely at home with."

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For further reading, check out the following web sites:

Wendy's journal of getting an implant: http://www.geocities.com/pstauffer/wendy/silence.htm

How cochlear implants work: http://www.bionicear.com/tour/how_implants_work.asp

Association of Adult Musicians with Hearing Loss: http://www.aamhl.org

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- Article 3: Reader Response to Article on Discrimination Testing
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Editor: In the last two issues we carried a two-part article on Discrimination Testing, an audiological test that determines how well a person can hear what is spoken. Robert Anderegg (anderegg@cotas.com.bo) acknowledged the great information in the article, but took exception to the following statement:

"Even with today's improved technology, a hearing aid will never be able to give one with hearing problems a better level of discrimination than was achieved in his or her hearing test."

Here are his thoughts.

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I disagree strongly for two reasons.

1. As any audiologist knows, the appropriate amplification of the specific frequencies that have higher loss (in general high frequencies) indeed improves often instantly the perception of these same frequencies and therefore discrimination. Why is this so? There exists a phenomenon called "masking" which impedes complete compensation of the loss of perception of specific frequencies by simply amplifying all frequencies by the same amount (as is done in discrimination testing!). Modern hearing aids amplify in very specific ways and yes, a hearing aid may often give a better level of discrimination than was achieved in the hearing test!

2. Of course in many cases this improvement of discrimination by hearing aids does not arrive instantly after an individual adapts an appropriate hearing aid, because hearing (and especially discrimination of speech) is a function of the brain as well as the ear. Often after years of slowly advancing hearing loss, the retraining of the brain requires from three months to one year of regular use of the hearing aid.

But after this aural rehabilitation period, modern hearing aids may very well give a better level of discrimination than was achieved in the hearing test!

For studies and articles that support this contention, please see, e.g.:
http://tinyurl.com/y83du9
http://tinyurl.com/y6qb5f
http://www.merck.com/mmhe/sec19/ch218/ch218a.html

Finally I would like to share the procedures we use in our practice to get better discrimination levels with hearing aids (and therefore to improve understanding of speech:
1) Correct evaluation of the actual hearing and of the needs of our client
2) Selection of the appropriate hearing aid technology
3) Correct hearing aid adaptation with instruction of the client
4) Aural rehabilitation (at minimum, asking for patience if the improvement is not immediate, and planning repeated check-ups to assure regular use of the hearing aid).

Now we don't assure that hearing aids always solve hearing problems satisfactorily, but certainly today's technologies can improve the clients hearing in more than 90% of all cases, and yes, hearing aids can, in many cases, improve speech discrimination over the scores recorded in the hearing test.

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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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Backbone for the Board

Gallaudet's trustees should not surrender their principles.

TRUSTEES AT Gallaudet University knew they weren't making the most popular decision when they selected Jane K. Fernandes to be the school's next president. But they believed she was the best choice to lead the renowned school for the deaf. If the trustees are to take seriously their obligation to the university, they must not surrender their principles to mob rule. Weeks of unruly protests that have disrupted the university, a faculty vote of no confidence and unrelenting bad publicity appear to be weakening the resolve of some members of the board of trustees.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/
article/2006/10/19/AR2006101901644.html

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Military Vets Suffer Dramatic Increase in Tinnitus and Other Hearing Damage

Veterans Administration figures showed 339,573 veterans with tinnitus-related disabilities in 2005, up from 144,243 in 2000. The amount paid to veterans with tinnitus climbed to $418 million in 2005 from $150 million in 2000. This indicates that military veterans are suffering a dramatic increase in tinnitus and other hearing damage, and deserve much more research funding to find a cure, according to the American Tinnitus Association (ATA), Portland, Ore. "We will have to spend more on veterans' disability compensation for tinnitus and other hearing damage over the coming years than for any other medical injuries from the Iraq and Afghan wars," says David Fagerlie, the association's CEO.

http://www.hearingreview.com/newsletters.php
?week=2006-10-12&idnews=1861

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Las Vegas World Deaf Poker Tournament Results

The top three winners of the 2nd annual Las Vegas World Deaf Poker Tournament which was held on October 11, 2006 at the Palms Casino / Resorts are as follows;

1-Hubert Ruessman, Michigan $15,977
2-Edwin O. White, California $7,990
3-Julio Rouco, Canada $3,105

Southern Nevada Silver Knights congratulate the winners and also those who have participated in this tournament. There were 183 participates. This charitable event will benefit the deaf community in need. The 3rd annual Las Vegas World Deaf Poker Tournament will be on Saturday, October 13, 2007 in Las Vegas.

For additional information, including a complete list of winners, please point your browser to http://www.hearinglossweb.com/evnt/poker.htm

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

WCI. Providing Solutions for People with Hearing Loss.
15% Savings on "Treats" in October!
http://www.weitbrecht.com

Potomac Technology. Everything You Need Under One Roof.
FREE SHIPPING! A SONIC ALERT SWEEPSTAKES!
http://www.potomactech.com

Employment Opportunity 1
Various Positions
GLAD
Los Angeles

Employment Opportunity 2
Executive Director
California Center for Law and the Deaf
San Leandro, CA

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WCI. Providing Solutions for People with Hearing Loss.
15% Savings on "Treats" in October!
http://www.weitbrecht.com
-------------------

15% Savings on "Treats" in October!

WCI makes it easy to be ready for the ghosts, goblins and all the other Trick-or-Treaters at your door this Halloween! Take 15% off any of our doorbell signalers during the month of October. Choose from several signalers that will let you know when someone is at your door from the Boogeyman to Superman! Call us now at 1-800-233-9130 (V/TTY) or visit us online at http://www.weitbrecht.com (use code WCIH1006 when ordering).

To receive a copy of our WCI catalog, email sales@weitbrecht.com to request it.

WCI. Providing Solutions for People with Hearing Loss.

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Potomac Technology. Everything You Need Under One Roof.
FREE SHIPPING! A SONIC ALERT SWEEPSTAKES!
http://www.potomactech.com
-------------------

FREE SHIPPING!

A SONIC ALERT SWEEPSTAKES!

Skip the candy at Halloween this year and get your "treats" from Potomac Technology! During October you'll get FREE SHIPPING with any purchase of $100.00 or more AND your name will automatically be entered for a chance to win a Sonic Shaker SPB100 from Sonic Alert (retail value $29.95).

Call us toll free at 1-800-433-2838 (V/TTY) or visit us online at http://www.potomactech.com for details. (use code PTECH1006 for free shipping).

And to request our catalog just email us at info@potomactech.com

Potomac Technology. Everything You Need Under One Roof!

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Employment Opportunity 1
Various Positions
GLAD
Los Angeles
-------------------

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.

* Director of Human Services - Los Angeles, CA
* Community Interpreter - Riverside, CA
* Job Developer/Interpreter - Crenshaw, Norwalk and West Covina, CA
* Community Health Educator-Los Angeles, CA
* LIFESIGNS Dispatcher - Riverside, CA
* Field Coordinator - Los Angeles, CA
* Community Relations - Los Angeles, CA
* Accounts Receivable Specialist - Los Angeles, CA

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
Executive Director
California Center for Law and the Deaf
San Leandro, CA
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The California Center for Law and the Deaf seeks candidates for Executive Director. The position will be open as of July 1, 2007.

CalCLAD was established in 1978 and is the first and only non-profit full-service legal services corporation in America devoted exclusively to serving deaf and hard-of-hearing people. Its mission is to protect and advance their legal rights to enable them to live independent, productive lives, with full access to the rights, privileges, entitlements, services, educational and employment opportunities available to others. CalCLAD is located in San Leandro, CA, and provides services statewide.

For more information about duties, qualifications, and how to apply, please go to www.deaflaw.org or submit an inquiry to calclad@deaflaw.org.

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- Contact Information and Disclaimers
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Copyright (C) 2006 Hearing Loss Web. All rights reserved.