Volume 41 Issue 1

HOH-LD-News
Vol. 41, Issue 1
October 3, 2009

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Table of Contents
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- Article 1: Microsoft's Accessibility Efforts, Part 2

- Article 2: Scripps Research Scientists Identify Genetic Cause for Type of Deafness

- Article 3: Philadelphia Hospital Offers Noninvasive Tinnitus Treatment

- Article 4: Short Takes

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Classified Section:
One Online Store 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: Microsoft's Accessibility Efforts, Part 2
By Cheryl Heppner
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Editor: I have a real love-hate relationship with Microsoft. I love some of the stuff they do and hate some of the other stuff they do. Putting a lot of effort into accessibility is definitely in the former category.

Here's Cheryl Heppner with her report on those efforts. This is part two of two parts.

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It's Not Really Technical Issues

While this is all very complicated, Sean said that none of the issues are really technical issues. He refers to the real issues as part of shaping the product environment. Creating standards helps. The timed text that Sean mentioned is like HTML with timing information in it to style the text so that the text displays at the right time. This has been around for a while, with a definition that stabilized in late 2006. Since then Microsoft has been working on integrating interoperability and implementation with entities such as WGBH. Sean believes that by the end of September the recommendations for this definition should be out as a W3C final recommendation.

The Society for Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) sets the rule book on how things are done for broadcast. The are now addressing the rule for how internet delivery will be done and grappling with the captioning format is a priority. Should this body approve, there will be a formal technical standard for the exchange of captions.

This will be about more than getting the captions from the broadcaster to your TV set. It will address how the captions travel beyond television - their creation, sale, management of the rights, and keeping the caption data with the associated with the audio and video.

Features from Microsoft's Accessibility Group

Microsoft has been working on these issues for 22 years since Bill Gates set up a dedicated accessibility group. The group is now comprised of hundreds of people around the world with access as their core function or only function. Most company product groups will have one or two dedicated accessibility contacts who basically try to be sure their product meets laws like Section 508. Microsoft's group goes beyond that to do outreach and work on standards and policy. They also fund research.

Sean demonstrated some of the accessibility features that Microsoft incorporated. These include a new magnifier feature in Windows 7. Most PCs have a button with the Windows logo and if you hit it with the plus sign you can turn on a magnifier. This enables you to zoom in and magnify over 700%. There are also changes with the on screen keyboard that enable virtual use of the keyboard, through a scanning mode where you can get to any key with a single press. Old access features such as the sticky key are still available. Microsoft has many other activities related to access, such as a grant given to a university for augmented communication for children with autism.

Sean ended his presentation by returning to Silverlight. While it's capable of meeting all the requirements for playback of accessible media from a technological standpoint, the internet will not become accessible tomorrow without other changes. The whole product environment has to change so that you actually get media with the data available.

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Questions and Comments

Question: What's the software you were demonstrating with the captioning?
Sean Hayes: The two pieces of software I demonstrated were the Expression Encoder and Expressible Media Player.

Question: Can the end user resize the interpreter and the captions?
Sean Hayes: Yes.

Question: My office has web streaming. Often I see captions that only come across the middle of the screen. The engineers told me it's a Microsoft limitation on how the captions are displayed.
Sean Hayes: Point your engineers to me and I'll sort it out. That's not a limitation of Microsoft.

Question: The working group on text is missing Apple and Google. Any reason for that?
Sean Hayes: Apple is still officially a member, but Google has withdrawn entirely from the W3C. They were both involved until the spec became stable in 2006. As far as I know they haven't done anything in terms of implementation. I believe Apple's implementation of captioning is based on something from mobile phone space.

Question: What accessibility improvements are there in Windows 7?
Sean Hayes: The magnifier and onscreen keyboard I demonstrated are two of the main features. The speech recognition has also been improved and some internal features have been improved.

Question: How do we contact the group if we see an access problem that needs to be resolved?
Sean Hayes: You can contact me directly. If I'm not the right person, I can tell you who it is. Sean.Hayes@microsoft.com.

Question: A couple of years ago it seemed that TV programs could be recorded to a DVD, but you couldn't record the captions at the same time. Has this changed?
Sean Hayes: I believe those problems have been resolved in the latest version of Windows Media Player, which is in Windows 7. That's what the product group tells me. I haven't used it myself but will be checking on it. Windows Media Player is actually a TV product so it understands 608, 708, DVD subtitling.

Question: I hit 50 and I've found Office 2007 is much different from 2003. I'm still having trouble with it. Is Office 2010 going to be easier?
Sean Hayes: I'm aging too and have the same issue. Have you used the search feature? In Office 2007 there is a ribbon tab that says "search for" and anything you want to do you can type in there - like typing "make text bold" and it will tell you the control to use.

Question: I have a problem with Vista and sound. If I put something on mute and try to turn it back on I have to go to the control panel, then to the sound section and go through several steps including shutdown and reboot. I was told it is a glitch they haven't sorted out yet and that it's common. I found a solution by trial and error but this is an important feature for people who are hard of hearing.
Sean Hayes: I was not aware that this was an issue.

Question: You were talking about the W3C standards when you said we are standardizing captions. You're not talking about ITU standards. There are so many different standard groups throughout the world. Which standards bodies are you working with?
Sean Hayes: There are technical standards and operational standards and domain-specific standards. We should be looking at all of them and making sure they all work. My dream is that with this move to the internet we can get rid of this proliferation of standards and have just one technical standard. Whether we can pull that off, I don't know.

Question: Globalization is what we are trying to accomplish with ITU. Microsoft is a friendly face and many Microsoft people come to ITU frequently. We did a presentation last year in South Africa using a Microsoft product to do a webcast but could not get the captions hooked up.
Sean Hayes: I specifically asked that that be put into Expression 3. Now you can hook up an external live captioning source to Expression live and do that.

Question: Can you explain where the SMPTE standards for broadcast and the W3C standards come together?
Sean Hayes: There is a new group in SMPTE that is looking at non-broadcast, basically that is IP TV and delivery over the internet. A separate SMPTE is doing broadcast as well. The operational requirements for captioning are in the final ballot now. I don't think there is an international version because TV is too entrenched in proprietary and national standards. We're going to be living with 608 and 708 for a long time.

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(c)2009 by Northern Virginia Resource Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Persons (NVRC), 3951 Pender Drive, Suite 130, Fairfax, VA 22030; www.nvrc.org. 703-352-9055 V, 703-352-9056 TTY, 703-352-9058 Fax. You do not need permission to share this information, but please be sure to credit NVRC.

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- Article 2: Scripps Research Scientists Identify Genetic Cause for Type of Deafness
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Editor: Here's more good news for folks with hearing loss; another genetic cause has been discovered, this one by researchers at The Scripps Research Institute. Here's their press release.

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Discovery Could Lead to New Therapies for Progressive Hearing Loss

A team led by scientists from The Scripps Research Institute has discovered a genetic cause of progressive hearing loss. The findings will help scientists better understand the nature of age-related decline in hearing and may lead to new therapies to prevent or treat the condition.

The findings were published the September 3, 2009, in an advance, online issue of the American Journal of Human Genetics, a publication of Cell Press.

"It is thought that mutations in several hundred genes can lead to deafness," said team leader Ulrich Mueller, a professor in the Department of Cell Biology and member of the Skaggs Institute for Chemical Biology at Scripps Research. "However, for many forms of deafness, we don't know what effects the genes have. In this new research, we have linked a previously uncharacterized gene to deafness, first in mice and then in humans."

The team found that the gene responsible for the hearing loss-called Loxhd1-is necessary for maintaining proper functioning hair cells in the inner ear. Mutations in Loxhd1 lead to degradation of the hair cells and a disruption of the process that enables hearing.

Tracking Down a New Gene

In the new study, members of the Mueller lab used a technique called forward genetics in their quest to better understand the genetic basis of hearing and hearing loss.

In forward genetics, scientists make mutations at random in germ cells, screen the resulting models for physical characteristics of interest (in this case hearing impairment), then amplify these traits through the breeding of several generations. The gene responsible for the trait is then identified through positional cloning.

In this case, the scientists were able to generate a new mouse line with hearing impairment that they called samba and then clone the gene responsible, Loxhd1, which had never before been associated with deficits in hearing. When the mice inherited two copies of the mutated gene, they were profoundly deaf shortly after birth.

The scientists' next task was to determine why.

Normally, "hair cells" or stereocilia in the inner ear respond to fluid motion or fluid pressure changes caused by sound waves that enter the outer ear, travel down the ear canal into the middle ear, then strike the eardrum, which vibrates and moves a set of delicate bones that communicate with the inner ear. There, the movement of the stereocilia transmits signals to sensory neurons, sending signals to the brain and eventually resulting in hearing.

The scientists found that mutations in the Loxhd1 gene did not appear to affect the initial development of the stereocilia. However, these mutations did impair the function and maintenance of these essential structures, eventually leading to their degradation and to hearing loss.

But one essential question remained-was there a parallel gene in humans that also caused hearing impairment?

To find out, the Mueller lab reached out to Professor Richard J. H. Smith, the Sterba Hearing Research Professor at Carver College of Medicine, Iowa State University. Smith had been spearheading an effort to collect DNA samples from deaf families for years, and had hundreds of groups of samples in which to search for Loxhd1. Indeed, when the analysis was completed, the team found that mutations in the Loxhd1 gene were present in some of these families with hearing loss.

Clues to Age-Related Deafness

This is the third hearing-related gene that the Mueller lab has discovered, and one he is particularly excited about.

"In humans, the prevailing difficulty is progressive hearing loss," he said. "As you age, you lose your hearing slowly. Since this mutation can lead to progressive hearing loss, it provides us with more information on the genetic underpinnings of this condition and gives us clues as to how it might be corrected."

Mueller's lab is currently investigating the possibility that a therapeutic drug could be effective in reversing the molecular problems that result from the defective gene.

The first authors of the paper, "Mutations in LOXHD1, an evolutionarily conserved stereociliary protein, disrupt hair cell function in mice and cause progressive hearing loss in humans," are Nicolas Grillet and Martin Schwander of Scripps Research.

In addition to Mueller, Smith, Grillet, and Schwander, authors of the paper include: Michael S. Hildebrand of the University of Iowa City; Anna Sczaniecka, Anand Kolatkar, and Peter Kuhn of Scripps Research; Janice Velasco of the Translational Genomics Research Institute; Jennifer A. Webster, Kimia Kahrizi, and Hossein Najmabadi of the University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation, Iran; William J. Kimberling of the Boys Town National Research Hospital; Dietrich Stephan of the Genome Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation, Arizona Alzheimer's Consortium and Banner Alzheimer's Institute; Melanie Bahlo of The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Australia; and Tim Wiltshire and Lisa M. Tarantino of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

The research was supported by the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders of the National Institutes of Health and the Skaggs Institute for Chemical Biology, as well as a fellowship from the Bruce Ford and Anne Smith Bundy Foundation, an Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Career Development Award, and a NHMRC Overseas Biomedical Fellowship.

About The Scripps Research Institute

The Scripps Research Institute is one of the world's largest independent, non-profit biomedical research organizations, at the forefront of basic biomedical science that seeks to comprehend the most fundamental processes of life. Scripps Research is internationally recognized for its discoveries in immunology, molecular and cellular biology, chemistry, neurosciences, autoimmune, cardiovascular, and infectious diseases, and synthetic vaccine development. Established in its current configuration in 1961, it employs approximately 3,000 scientists, postdoctoral fellows, scientific and other technicians, doctoral degree graduate students, and administrative and technical support personnel. Scripps Research is headquartered in La Jolla, California. It also includes Scripps Florida, whose researchers focus on basic biomedical science, drug discovery, and technology development. The Scripps Florida campus is in Jupiter, Florida.

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- Article 3: Philadelphia Hospital Offers Noninvasive Tinnitus Treatment
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Editor: For years the common wisdom has been that you just can't do anything about tinnitus. Now it seems that there is an effective treatment, and it doesn't involve surgery or drugs! This press release from Thomas Jefferson University explains this approach.

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The Jefferson Balance and Hearing Center of the Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital has announced that it is the first hospital in the City of Brotherly Love to offer the FDA-cleared Neuromonics Tinnitus Treatment. This therapy is proven to interact, interrupt and desensitize tinnitus by delivering a customized neural stimulus, embedded in clinically modified music.

"Tinnitus is an awful, debilitating condition that can have a devastating impact on a patient's quality of life," said Thomas Willcox, MD, medical director. "This new treatment represents a significant step forward for a condition with traditionally limited therapeutic options. By targeting underlying neurological and psychological causes, it has been proven to offer long-lasting benefit."

Tinnitus is the perception of sound in the ears or head when no external source is present. Often described as "ringing in the ears," it affects as many as 50 million people in the United States. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that one million new cases of tinnitus are identified each year, 200,000 of which are severe. Tinnitus symptoms can negatively impact normal daily activities and can lead to additional medical conditions, such as anxiety, depression, sleep deprivation and elevated stress.

Tinnitus is not simply an auditory problem, but also has a neurological and psychological basis. While most tinnitus cases are preceded by hearing loss, neurological factors often contribute to the deterioration in symptoms. First, the brain attempts to compensate for the hearing loss by "turning up" sounds internally. Ultimately a psychological component emerges, when the sufferer develops a "fight-or-flight" stress response to the debilitating sounds. The patient then focuses more attention on the tinnitus, perceiving it as louder and louder. Tinnitus takes increasingly significant control over their life. Thus begins a vicious cycle involving neurological, psychological and auditory factors.

Neuromonics' non-invasive, FDA-cleared device is customized to the patient's unique hearing and tinnitus profile. It delivers a customized neural stimulus that promotes neural plastic changes, allowing the brain to filter out the disturbing tinnitus sound. This stimulus is delivered within spectrally modified, customized music, which engages the brain's emotional response center, the limbic system, and thereby reduces tinnitus-related disturbance.

The therapy is delivered via a compact, lightweight and uniquely designed medical device. Treatment typically occurs over an approximately six-month period, with daily use recommended for two or more hours per day, especially when the tinnitus is most disturbing. The treatment can take place during regular activities such as reading, relaxing or computer work. It involves a multi-stage process designed for optimal clinical results.

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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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Music and the Cochlear Implant

As a researcher, I have had the distinct pleasure of working with numerous cochlear implant (CI) users, both children and adults. Without exception, they are thankful to be able to hear, and for many of them, I can barely tell they have a hearing problem at all. Some understand nearly everything I say and can hear me just fine. Others have a little trouble understanding speech but function as though they had mild to moderate hearing loss and get along quite well. CI-users typically have great difficulty hearing speech in noisy environments, being much more adversely affected by noise than even hearing aid users. Nevertheless, the ability to understand a spouse, parent or child, or to hear birds or one's teacher demonstrates that the CI has been nothing short of a technological marvel. Nearly all of our research participants say that, next to hearing people speak, nothing is more important than being able to hear music. A number of those who have participated in our research projects are or were musicians. Even for those who aren't, old-time rock 'n' roll, country, jazz or the classics like Beethoven were an important part of their lives. Here, the implant consistently disappoints. And the accompanying question is: why?

http://www.drf.org/magazine/37/Fall+2009+Issue/article/287

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Ohio Stadium Adds Captioning To Scoreboard

Saturday marked the first day that captioning could be found on the scoreboard inside Ohio Stadium. The Ohio State University decided to add special captioning for all football games. The captioning will include announcements, play descriptions and calls made by on-field officials, 10TV reported. According to the university, it will enhance fan experience and make game information accessible to all fans. Fans who spoke to 10TV had mixed reviews about the captioning.

http://tinyurl.com/ydnyyg9

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Captioned Live Theater Performances

Here's a list of captioned live theater performances in the US. If you know of a captioned performance that isn't included, I bet the folks running this website would love to hear about it!

http://www.c2net.org/list.htm

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- Classifieds
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One Online Store and two Employment Opportunities (Ads appear after this brief table of contents.)

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Employment Opportunity 1
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Exciting Career Opportunities at GLAD

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.

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Employment Opportunity 2
Various Employment Opportunities
Georgia School for the Deaf
Cave Spring, GA
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Currently accepting applications for the following positions:

Assistant Director for Residential Services - see http://www.hearinglossweb.com/res/emp/gsd2.htm
Assistant Director of Instruction (12 mth. position)
Teacher - Graduation Coach (10 mth. position)
Teacher - High School Math (10 mth. position)*
Teacher - Middle School Language Arts (10 mth. position)*
Teacher - Middle School Science (10 mth. position)*
Teacher - Reading Content Specialist - Pre K-12 (10 mth. position)*
Accountant Paraprofessional (12 mth. position)
Housekeeper (12 mth. position)
Job Coach (hourly paid)
Instructor - Residential Services (12 mth. position)
Residential Advisor (10 mth. position)*
Secretary I (12 mth. position)
Speech Language Pathologist (10 mth. position)*
Substitute Teachers (hourly paid, based on credentials)
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* 10 month employees work 200 days (10 months) but receive payroll checks during each of the 12 months of the year.

For more information about these positions, visit the Georgia Department of Education web site at http://www.doe.k12.ga.us/pea_hr_jobsearch.aspx

Download Job Applications at:
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Completed applications may be mailed, e-mailed, or faxed to:

Denise Clark, Personnel Office
Georgia School for the Deaf
232 Perry Farm Rd. SW
Cave Spring, Georgia 30124
denise.clark@doe.k12.ga.us
Fax: (706) 777-2240

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