Volume 29 Issue 8

HOH-LD-News
Vol. 29, Issue 8
November 25, 2006

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

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Table of Contents
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- Article 1: Breaking Through: Cochlear Implant Advances - Part Two

- Article 2: Thoughts on the Situation at Gallaudet

- Article 3: TV Station Fined for Emergency Captioning Violation

- 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:
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Second Premium Placement:
Holiday Gift Items on Sale at Harris Communications
Fourth Premium Placement:
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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: Breaking Through: Cochlear Implant Advances - Part Two
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This is a report on Tina Childress' presentation at ALDAcon 2006. For more coverage of this great convention, please point your browser to http://www.hearinglossweb.com/res/hlorg/alda/cn/2006/2006.htm

This is part two of two parts.

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Why is there such a difference in how well people enjoy music?
a. Different physiology - more nerve survival, etc.
b. Auditory memory of what music is like.
c. Musical background
d. Characteristics of music you listen to (full orchestra or just a couple of instruments or a voice)

Understanding various music terms

Rhythm - most people with hearing aids (HAs) or cochlear implants (CIs) do pretty well getting musical rhythm.

Timber - this is the sound quality, the difference in the sound of the same note played by different instruments. Most HA and CI users can tell the difference between 2 instruments. They may not be able to name the instruments, but can tell the difference.

Pitch - This is the frequency of the notes, and is the most difficult for CI users. Some HA users with good low freq hearing still do pretty well with pitch. People with a CI in one ear and a HA in the other seem to do pretty well, also.

Loudness or Intensity - This is the loudness of the music. If it's too loud, it will sound distorted.

Melody - Melody is a combination of all the others characteristics. If you don't do well in one or more of the above, you may have a problem with getting the melody.

What can you control?

Attitude and realistic expectations - It's important to have a good attitude and realistic expectations. If you weren't a music expert before implantation, a CI won't make you one. Also you may want to learn to enjoy new types of music, or enjoy it in a different way from how you did before your CI. It's important to practice. We suggest starting with a single instrument and adding complexity as your music listening improves. Also start with music you know, so your brain will help you hear the music.

Music quality - Use good recordings, don't play it too loud, listen in a quiet room with good acoustics

Choose your input - use the direct audio input (DAI) or the T-coil, or use headphones over the T-Mic. All of these methods will reduce or eliminate background noise.

Simply listen

Establish goals for individual practices - Perhaps you can focus on a male voice or a female voice.

Keep listening

Lyrics may be difficult. You can find them on the Internet and follow along. Again, start with songs you know.

There's a great group called the Association of Adult Musicians with Hearing Loss. You can find them online at http://www.aamhl.org

Nothing beats live music. The visual cues can help a lot, and the excitement of a live performance really contributes to the listening experience.

Use assistive listening devices (ALDs). Plan ahead. Can you get a suitable device at the performance, or should you bring your own?

User Panel

Deb Hollingsworth - CI user using HiRes120
I woke up deaf one morning at age 17. They think it was caused by antibiotics. Hearing aids didn't work for me, so I went 31 years with no hearing at all. When I got my CI, I got 60% discrimination pretty much right away. We were in clinical trials for three and a half years. Two years ago I tried the 120 channel program, and it's amazing! Music has changed tremendously!

Jim Allsip - bilateral HiRes120 user
I lost my hearing in 2 weeks due to autoimmune disorder, and I wore hearing aids for several years. In January 2004 the remaining 15% hearing in one ear started to fade. I got my first CI in July 2004, and my second CI in Jan 2006. I was pretty ambivalent about getting the second implant, because I didn't know how much it could improve my hearing. So I wasn't expecting much, but it made a huge difference; it improved sound quality a lot.

Q. I've had my CI about eight years, but not working well now and I'll be reimplanted next month. I'm wondering if I should get bilaterals, but my doctor is against it. So that makes me a bit nervous.
A. Deb - I had an early implant in 1985, and now I'm trying to get information about the implant I had and see what kind of electrodes it had to see how viable it is for me to have the bilateral.
A. Tina - We don't know your hearing history, so don't know why your doctor is not in favor of bilaterals, but I think you should find out the reason for his objection, and make sure you have open communications.

Q. My concerns are that they are always improving and that it may not work well for me. Do they have implants that do not require destroying the hair cells, because I'm scared of losing the hearing I have.
A. Tina - So your concern is that when you get a CI you'll lose your residual hearing. That is a very personal decision. I know there are a lot of people who hold on to the remaining hearing they have, and that's a very understandable thing to want to do. For some people like Jim and me, we had very little to lose, so it wasn't a big decision.

They are working on electrodes that are less traumatic. Technology is always improving, and it's up to you to decide when you want to take the leap. For me, I wanted to hear my daughter, so I was ready for the CI.

C. Someone asked about being able to tell directions. I was recently driving a car, and the person giving me directions was directly behind me, and I was able to hear and follow directions while driving. I don't think that would have been possible if I didn't have bilateral CIs.

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- Article 2: Thoughts on the Situation at Gallaudet
by Steve Barber
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Editor: Those who spend much time online looking at hearing loss topics know Steve Barber. He always has a reasoned and well-articulated position on the important topics of the day. Here are his thoughts on the recent situation at Gallaudet.

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1) I don't believe Gallaudet was intended for people with hearing loss. When it was formed, and for most of its history, there were few if any options for people with hearing loss. Hearing Loss Association of America wasn't around ... hearing aids weren't around ... ALDs weren't around .... captions weren't around ... CIs weren't around. Of those, only hearing aids have been around more than a few years, and until a few years ago, even those were only marginally effective for serious losses.

2) I think the words "and hard of hearing" was added to many Deaf oriented things (DSDHH's, Accessibility, residential schools and Gallaudet) more recently ... possibly at the realization that Deaf numbers were very small (and shrinking) and HoH numbers were much larger (and growing) ... big numbers sound good when funding is needed.

3) Only a small percentage of people with hearing loss would consider Gallaudet as "for them" ... mostly that would be the hard of hearing who might be interested in ASL as a serious communication strategy, but as you know, most people with hearing loss aren't very interested in becoming fluent in ASL, since most people they know don't sign at all. Gallaudet has always been ASL based, and only recently (see 2, above) have attempts to broaden its focus been considered.

4) I believe the attempts to broaden the base of Gallaudet are seen by the protesters as a threat to its traditional ASL base ... with good reason. I believe (despite the many reasons put forward) that this broadening was the main impetus behind the protest. They are right; it IS a threat to its traditional ASL base. What they overlook is that Deaf Culture will be threatened by a number crunch that they cannot prevent. By insisting on a traditional and exclusive ASL base for Gallaudet, they are accepting a shrinking enrollment and eventually a diminishing funding that may jeopardize the entire institution.

5) Whether the protest has helped or hurt Gallaudet will be seen soon enough ... maybe much sooner than the protesters would like. I believe it will hurt. I believe that a broadened Gallaudet is the only way to protect it, but obviously the protesters disagree with me. It can't be good news for Gallaudet that the chair and a powerful US Senator have resigned from the board. The press throughout the protest can't have a long term positive effect on the willingness to pour massive funding into a diminishing and closed academic community.

6) Would they be better off broadening the base to save Gallaudet as an institution? That depends on whether they think it would be saved or destroyed by the broadening. They've made their choice and won the battle, but they may have lost the war.

7) But it's a valid question to ask ... "Is it best to change (broaden) a 'culture' in order to protect it, or does that very change also destroy it?" We had a threat to a "culture" with the American Indians. Were the Indians who opted to accept a "broadening" of their culture and to be more assimilated into the dominant culture better off than the ones who attempted to preserve the "purity" and their culture? Both lost a lot in the process, so even now it's not easy to say that either the assimilators or the protesters of Indian culture "won". If we can't figure that out 150 years later, then we can certainly understand how there could be differences of opinion about what's best for Gallaudet, today.

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- Article 3: TV Station Fined for Emergency Captioning Violation
By Cheryl Heppner
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Editor: Here's a story about another TV station being fined for failing to make emergency information available to people with hearing loss. This one is in the Washington DC area, and failed to provide visual information during a thunderstorm/tornado watch.

You are free to share this article, but please be sure to credit NVRC. See accreditation at the end of the article.

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Today the Federal Communications Commission's Enforcement Bureau announced that WTTG-TV (FOX Channel 5) was found in violation of its rules for making emergency information accessible to people with hearing disabilities. A Consent Decree calls for WTTG to pay a $12,000 fine within 30 days to the US Treasury.

The action is the result of a complaint for not providing visual information during a thunderstorm/tornado watch in the Washington, DC Metropolitan area on May 25, 2004. I was the person who filed the complaint after I experienced confusion and fear in trying to get information from WTTG's broadcast, and then talked to several other individuals who also reported the same experience during the storm. What information was provided visually did not tell how severe the storm was, the locations affected, and what should be done to remain safe.

In the Consent Decree, WTTG also agreed to these policies and practices:

- To close caption all emergency information broadcast outside a regularly scheduled newscast if the information is conveyed via the Station's audio.

- To make the critical details of the emergency information accessible by other visual means, such as crawls, scrolls, or handwriting on a blackboard, whiteboard, or other display and will continue to do so until captioning begins If captioning services are not immediately available or if caption services cannot be immediately secured. Emergency information will include any information relating to an imminent or ongoing emergency, intended to protect life, health, or property.

- To distribute, at least every six months, the Station's Emergency Visual Presentation Policy to all employees.

- To incorporate the Station's Emergency Visual Presentation Policy into the Station's regular news employee training session.

- To promptly begin captioning, or contact its captioning service, before or contemporaneously with any broadcast coverage of a pending or imminent emergency that endangers viewers and make its best reasonable efforts to ensure that coverage of the emergency is captioned as soon as possible.

- To caption the newscast or breaking news report, make the critical details of the emergency information accessible by other visual means, such as crawls, scrolls, or handwriting on a blackboard, whiteboard or other display during any time that captioning is not immediately available.

- To maintain a dedicated captioning computer that is remotely accessible by the News Desk that has direct internet access to all of its captioning service's captioners nationwide so that Master Control Operators and personnel at any News Desk computer can: (1) initiate emergency captioning by pressing one key, (2) order future captioning by accessing and clicking on an icon on the computer, (3) verify that captioning has come on line and (4) converse with captioners via internet.

- To maintain visible postings on television monitors in the Station's newsroom that remind employees to promptly contact the Station's captioning service during emergency events, and giving the phone number for that service.

- To provide special weather text graphics, as circumstances warrant, in addition to captioning, for hearing disabled viewers to receive shelter-at-home tips during coverage of tornado, severe thunderstorm, flash flooding or other weather emergencies. This is in addition to providing emergency information in an accessible format while waiting for captioning to commence.

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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 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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Pretty Good Cochlear Implant Primer

But they benefited from an implant that makes it possible for profoundly deaf people to hear and learn to interpret speech and other sounds. Perhaps as many as 1 million people in the United States could benefit from a cochlear implant. For children born deaf or who lose their hearing before they are verbal, the implants enable them to learn to talk. The surgery cannot create normal hearing; people who receive it can hear but might be described as having mild or moderate hearing loss. That fact has rendered cochlear implants the subject of intense controversy. Many in the deaf community say these less-than-perfect devices can turn a healthy deaf person - who learned to communicate using sign language, lip reading or both - into someone with a hearing handicap whose self-image may be undermined.

http://preview.tinyurl.com/y72sbn

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Acoustic Shock Threatens Call Centre Staff

Acoustic shocks are defined as "any temporary or permanent disturbance of the functioning of the ear, or of the nervous system, which may be caused to the user of a telephone earphone by a sudden sharp rise in the acoustic pressure produced by it". The sound could be a whistle, a bleep - or any unexpected noise. . . . Dr Mark Downs, executive director of technology and enterprise for the Royal National Institute for the Deaf, said: "Acoustic shock is not the same as noise-induced hearing loss and is believed to occur at sound pressure levels below those which present an immediate risk to hearing damage. "It is still a relatively un-researched condition and RNID welcomes public debate on the issue."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6157350.stm

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Hearing Assistive Technology and Audiologic Rehabilitation

The folks at ASHA have published a really good primer on various types of assistive technology for people with hearing loss. It also has sections that consider the special needs of children and seniors, as well as a discussion of audiologic rehabilitation. You can download it from:

http://preview.tinyurl.com/tdsfr

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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.
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Potomac Technology. Everything You Need Under One Roof!
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Employment Opportunity 1
Various Positions
GLAD
Los Angeles

Employment Opportunity 2
Superintendent
Illinois School for the Deaf
Jacksonville, IL

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Employment Opportunity 1
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.

* 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
* Grant Writer - Los Angeles, CA
* Accounts Receivable Specialist - Los Angeles, CA
* Program Assistant/Interpreter - 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
Superintendent
Illinois School for the Deaf
Jacksonville, IL
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The Illinois School for the Deaf, announces a vacancy for the SUPERINTENDENT position. Applications are due by January 15, 2007, with a start date of July 1, 2007.

Founded in 1839 and located on a beautiful 50 acre campus in Jacksonville, Illinois School for the Deaf is a residential state school for the education of children who are deaf and hard of hearing in Illinois. The school is operated by the State Department of Human Services/Division of Rehabilitation Services with the objective of preparing students for productive, well-adjusted and responsible adult lives.

Marjorie Olson
400 West Lawrence
Springfield IL 62794-9429
217-524-1379 (Voice/TTY)

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- Contact Information and Disclaimers
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