Volume 42 Issue 6

HOH-LD-News
Vol. 42, Issue 6
February 6, 2010

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Table of Contents
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- Article 1: Personal FM Systems for Adults - Part Two

- Article 2: Baby Boomers' Hearing Better than Their Parents at Same Age!

- Article 3: Need help paying for that hearing aid?

- 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:
YOUR AD HERE
Second Premium Placement:
15% off Novelties for Valentines Day
Third Premium Placement:
Hearing Aid Repairs and Reduced Price Hearing Aids from Hearing Haven
Classified Section:
One Online Store, one Captioned Video Site, one Education Opportunity and three Employment Opportunities

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Contact information and disclaimers are at the end of this newsletter.
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- Article 1: Personal FM Systems for Adults - Part Two
By Mark Ross
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Editor: We've seen a bunch of great articles from Mark Ross in the past couple of years, so we're thrilled to see his latest on personal FM systems. This article originally appeared in the January/February 2010 issue of "Hearing Loss" and is reprinted with the author's kind permission.

This is part two of two parts.

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In the hearing aid study, conducted by Dr. Linda Thibodeau, both adults and children (ages 11 to15) were used as subjects, and both objective and subjective measures were taken. The objective comparisons were conducted in a large classroom, with the interfering noises - ranging from 54 dB to 80 dB - emanating from four speakers located in the corners of the room. The FM microphone was placed six inches from another loudspeaker located in the center of the room. The goal was to create a situation where someone would talk into an FM microphone while the listener was surrounded by changing levels of ambient noises. For the subjective comparisons, the subjects tried both the fixed and the adaptive systems at home and during activities in a public aquarium.

As expected, the objective results show no difference between the two systems at low noise levels. This is because the adaptive feature is not triggered until the background noise level exceeds 57 dB. But as the noise level increased, the speech perception scores increased with the adaptive system only, reaching a maximum difference of about 50 % at the higher noise levels. Across all noise levels, the average difference between the fixed and the adaptive systems was about 25 %. Subjectively, too, most or all (depending upon the activity) of the subjects preferred the adaptive (dynamic) over the fixed system under all the listening conditions, e.g., during classroom activities, in a public aquarium, at home, etc.

In the cochlear implant study, the subjects were divided between users of Advanced Bionics and Cochlear Corporation devices. The authors (Jace Wolfe and five colleagues) remind us that cochlear implants include speech processing features not found on hearing aids; the implication is that results obtained with hearing aids are not necessarily applicable for cochlear implant users. The investigators note the possibility that these speech processing features may interact with the operation of the dynamic FM in noise so as to eliminate potential benefits. Since each of these implants incorporate different speech processing strategies, it was necessary to compare performance with the implants as well as to investigate the general effects of the dynamic versus the fixed FM.

As with the HA study, the subjects were tested in a large classroom under conditions that replicated a typical difficult listening situation for a hearing-impaired person (e.g., being surrounded by noise while the FM microphone was located about six inches from the source). The noise levels ranged from moderate (but below the trigger point for the dynamic FM) to quite loud (where the adaptive feature kicked in). The results of the first experiment indicated that the dynamic feature significantly improved speech perception over a fixed gain system, particularly at the higher noise levels, but only for those wearing Advanced Bionics implants. For users of Cochlear Corporation implants, the dynamic feature provided almost no improvement in speech perception scores at the higher noise levels.

The researchers then conducted another experiment, in which they used a different pre-processing strategy that the Cochlear Corporation implants offers. In this second experiment, the implants were tested while the wearers activated the ASC (Autosensitivity Control) speech processing strategy. In this second experiment, the speech perception scores were far superior to those obtained with the same implant in the previous study, and quite comparable to those that had previously been achieved by the Advanced Bionics users. The authors, therefore, recommend that in using an FM, recipients of a Cochlear Corporation device enable the ASC strategy, possibly in combination with the ADRO (adaptive dynamic range optimization) strategy. Insofar as the main purpose of the study is concerned, i.e., comparing fixed and dynamic FM systems, the findings clearly indicate that in the presence of high levels of sound, the dynamic FM provided superior speech perception with both implants.

But now we come to a major reason why, in my judgment, adults have not eagerly adopted FM systems. In spite of the fact that the listening benefits have been proven time and again since their introduction in the late l960's, and perhaps even more now with the adaptive feature, their cost is often seen as prohibitive. The cost/benefit ratio just doesn't work for many people, at least for the systems marketed by the major manufacturers. For example, the Dynamic system described above will cost a consumer about $3500 for two FM receivers and an FM microphone/transmitter - and this does not include the cost of late model hearing aids. This cost is too big a hurdle for people to overcome, regardless of the potential hearing benefits. There are some low cost alternatives (which, to be fair, consumers and their audiologists have not exactly rushed to adopt either). While these may not provide the same degree of hearing benefit the Dynamic FM can, they can still be quite helpful in many types of situations.

Two of these alternatives are particularly interesting, the Conversor (made in England) and the Hearit All made by Phonic Ear in California. Both of these systems include a directional, hand-held FM microphone/transmitter and an FM receiver that is suspended around a user's neck. The signal from the receiver is transmitted via the neckloop to telecoils within the hearing aids (another good reason for telecoils!). There is a volume control on the receiver that can be used to increase the gain in noisy places (replicating, albeit not very conveniently, the adaptive function). It used to be that the down side to using such devices was the necessity of wearing a visible receiver around one's neck; nowadays, however, with people suspending all kinds of devices around their necks, I don't think this reason is as pertinent any more. Probably the more salient reason is that using an FM system requires consumers to "advertise" the reality of their hearing loss and the fact that they require hearing help. For some people this is just too big a hurdle to manage. But I'm convinced that many more hearing-impaired people would at least try an FM system if these systems were strongly recommended by a trusted audiologist, one who would then guide them in taking the first steps that could demonstrate their effectiveness. In short, for people with two bad ears, it can be very helpful to have a "third ear" in reserve - a personal FM system.

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- Article 2: Baby Boomers' Hearing Better than Their Parents at Same Age!
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Editor: I gotta admit that I was pretty skeptical when I first saw this report. But after reading the reasons they offered for the claim, I could see some validity to their arguments. I think what it means is that the world of the boomers' parents was likely even noisier than the world of the boomers!

Here's the story from the folks at the University of Wisconsin.

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Despite dire predictions about listening to loud music, members of the rock 'n' roll generation are aging with much better hearing than their parents had at the same age.

In the first large-scale study of the hearing of 5,275 adults born between 1902 and 1962, researchers from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health showed that baby boomers are holding on to good hearing longer than their parents did.

"Generally people think that our world is getting noisier and noisier, but we found that the prevalence of hearing loss is decreasing," says Dr. Weihai Zhan, who led the study. "These results suggest that hearing loss is not a normal part of aging and there are things we can do to delay hearing loss."

The study showed hearing impairment rates were 31 percent lower in baby boomers across all age groups. For example, in the group of men now in their early 60s (those born between 1944 and 1949), 36.4 percent had a hearing impairment; among men born between 1930 and 1935, 58.1 percent had a hearing impairment at the same age.

The older generation was part of the Epidemiology of Hearing Loss Study, which has been tracking hearing loss in volunteers from the community of Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, since 1993. Starting in 2005, researchers began testing the hearing of adult children, as part of the Beaver Dam Offspring Study. Both studies are funded by the National Institute on Aging (NIA), part of the National Institutes of Health.

"These two long-term population studies provide important evidence that age-related hearing loss is not inevitable," said Dr. Wen Chen, of the NIA Division of Neuroscience. "These encouraging findings should spark future research to help us better understand the factors that favor preservation of hearing function, and that will allow development of strategies to prevent hearing loss and the associated functional declines in older adults."

If baby boomers lost their hearing at the same rate as their parents did, about 65.5 million Americans would be hearing-impaired by 2030; this new study suggests the number is likely to be closer to 50.9 million.

"Contrary to what our parents thought, we didn't lose our hearing from listening to transistor radios in the '60s, boomboxes in the '80s or iPods in the last decade," says Dr. Karen Cruickshanks, UW School of Medicine and Public Health professor of population health sciences and ophthalmology and visual sciences.

One reason, Cruickshanks says, is that hearing loss from one-time exposures such as music at a loud concert tends to be temporary.

"Evidence suggests that short-term exposure leads to temporary hearing loss," she says, "but it's the day-to-day exposure that leads to more permanent hearing loss."

Other factors could include stricter rules about workplace noise exposure, and fewer members of the younger generation working in noisy workplaces such as mining and manufacturing.

Reduced smoking rates in younger generations should result in less chronic cardiovascular disease, which can cause hearing loss. And, because infection and inflammation are also associated with hearing loss, Cruickshanks says, "Better health care and the widespread use of antibiotics may also be part of the explanation."

The good news is that hearing loss doesn't need to accompany aging.

"If hearing loss was genetically determined, you wouldn't see this loss over a generation," she says. "It's exciting to know that there are things we can do to prevent or delay hearing loss."

The study is being published in the Jan. 15 edition of the American Journal of Epidemiology.

Cruickshanks says the researchers want to thank the "fantastic" people of Beaver Dam, who have participated by the thousands in long-running studies of vision, hearing and other aging topics since 1988.

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- Article 3: Need help paying for that hearing aid?
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Editor: The cost of hearing aids is one of the main reasons so many people who need them don't have them. Fortunately there are organizations that help people acquire the hearing aids they need. This article provides information on a wonderful resource from the Better Hearing Institute (BHI), and Cheryl Heppner chimes in with a similar resource from NVRC.

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"No one should go without a needed hearing aid because of an inability to pay," says Dr. Sergei Kochkin, executive director of the Better Hearing Institute (BHI).

That's why BHI has just published Your Guide to Financial Assistance for Hearing Aids - the first comprehensive guide on how people can obtain financial assistance to purchase hearing aids. (NVRC Note: This guide is available only in PDF format for download. To order it you will need to provide your name, address, and email address. NVRC also has a free six-page fact sheet on Financial Assistance for Hearing Aids that you can download at [http://tinyurl.com/yhu62zn] ).

According to BHI, two out of three adults with hearing loss do not use hearing aids because of financial constraints.

"Of the thousands of annual inquires we receive, the most frequent topic concerns financial assistance for hearing aid purchases," Kochkin says.

For the free hearing guide, go to www.betterhearing.org and click on "Request Hearing Loss Guides." It will help you quickly and easily identify charitable foundations, private organizations, insurance plans, corporate benefits and government programs that can help you get the hearing healthcare you need.

Of the more than 34 million Americans with hearing loss, at least 95 percent could benefit from hearing aids.

When left untreated, hearing loss reduces earning power, disrupts relationships, causes a wide array of psychological problems, cognitive functioning and even has negative health effects. Those who have difficulty hearing can experience such distorted and incomplete communication that it seriously impacts their professional and personal lives, at times leading to isolation and withdrawal. Hearing loss is one of the most commonly unaddressed health conditions in America today. And six out of 10 Americans with hearing loss are below retirement age.

Untreated hearing loss is linked to a wide range of physical and emotional conditions. Advances in digital technology have dramatically improved hearing aids in recent years, making them smaller with better sound quality. Designs are modern, sleek and discreet. Clarity, greater directionality, better speech audibility in a variety of environments, better cell phone compatibility, less whistling and feedback than hearing aids of the past and greater ruggedness for active lifestyles are common features.

"Many Americans of all ages with unaddressed hearing loss can benefit from the use of hearing aids," says Kochkin. "We hope that this financial guide will help people get the hearing aids they need to appropriately address their hearing loss and improve their lives."

Courtesy of ARAcontent

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(c)2010 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 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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FCC Moves to Enhance Access to Digital Wireless Services

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) posted an Enforcement Advisory January 15, 2010 stating that they have "taken action against several companies for their failure to provide information that helps individuals with hearing disabilities fully utilize phone services - allowing them to communicate effectively on their wireless phones without excessive feedback and noise." The current actions total $87,000 against seven companies, with an additional two companies being issued Citations. The FCC reports that since May, 2007, they have issued 31 Notices of Apparent Liability for Forfeitrue and Consent Decrees totaling $665,500 for violations of the hearing aid compatibility handset, labeling and reporting requirements.

http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-10-93A1.doc

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Check your wireless microphone!

Under a new FCC rule, anyone who uses a wireless microphone that operates in the 700 MHz Band must stop operating their wireless microphone no later than June 12, 2010. All users of 700 MHz Band wireless microphones (and similar devices) - including theaters, churches, schools, conference centers, theme parks, and musicians -- will need to retune (where possible) or replace their wireless microphone equipment with other microphone devices no later than June 12, 2010. This action helps complete an important component of the DTV Transition by clearing the 700 MHz band to enable the rollout of communications services for public safety and the deployment of next generation 4G wireless devices for consumers. For further information, please visit the website at:

www.fcc.gov/cgb/wirelessmicrophones

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Consumer Protection for Hearing Aid Purchasers

Do you know what, if any, laws are in place to protect you when you purchase a hearing aid? Do you know your rights as a hearing aid purchaser? Rights afforded to purchasers of hearing aids depend upon the state where you live and make the purchase. This system has resulted in a patchwork of laws and regulations across the country. By our count, only 30 states mandate a trial period during which you can decide if the hearing aid you purchased is the right one for you. In those states that require trial periods, you have the right to return the hearing aid and obtain a refund. The amount of the refund varies from state to state and, in a few cases, within the same state.

http://www.hearingloss.org/learn/consumerprotection.asp

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- Classifieds
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One Online Store, one Captioned Video Site, one Education Opportunity and three Employment Opportunities (Ads appear after this brief table of contents.)

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Locate Captioned Videos and Other Accessible Media
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Education Opportunity
Masters Degree in Rehabilitation Counseling
University of Tennessee at Knoxville

Employment Opportunity 1
Exciting Career Opportunities at GLAD
Various Southern California Locations

Employment Opportunity 2
Various Positions at GSD
Georgia School for the Deaf
Cave Spring, GA

Employment Opportunity 3
Undergraduate Psychology Faculty Position
Gallaudet University
Washington, DC

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Locate Captioned Videos and Other Accessible Media
http://www.22frames.com/
-------------------

Ever want to search for captioned videos from sites across the Internet? Check out 22frames.com, a new video search engine built for the deaf and hard of hearing community. Find captioned videos spanning topics like movie trailers to news/politics. There's also a listening engine that can detect other kinds of videos that may not be captioned but are still accessible. We are just getting started. Please spread the word by sharing 22frames.com over your mail lists and linking to us as resource.

More about us and this project at http://www.22frames.com/aboutus.aspx

Links to LOTS of accessible content at http://www.22frames.com/

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Education Opportunity
Masters Degree in Rehabilitation Counseling
University of Tennessee at Knoxville
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The University of Tennessee Rehabilitation Counseling Program is seeking Master's students to apply for the Deafness Concentration.

****Funding is available in the form of RSA Traineeships.****

Students in the Deafness Concentration will pursue 48-hours of coursework in rehabilitation counseling and are also expected to fulfill the following requirements:

1) Completion of the non-credit Orientation to Deafness (OTD) program offered in summer term by the UT Center on Deafness.
2) Demonstration of American Sign Language (ASL) skills at an Intermediate level or above on the Sign Language Proficiency Interview (SLPI) prior to graduation.
3) Completion of all practicum, internship, external course writing assignments, and independent research in settings or topics related to persons who are deaf or hard of hearing.

Students are admitted to the on-campus program each fall and complete the program in approximately 16 months. Distance Education students are admitted every other year (with the next cohort beginning in August, 2010) and complete the program in two years.

The application deadline is April 15. Admission decisions are made by May 15. A number of RSA Traineeships are available to students.

Patrick L. Dunn, Ph.D., CRC
Associate Professor, Counselor Education
Coordinator, Rehabilitation Counseling Program
The University of Tennessee-Knoxville
A523 Bailey Education Complex
Knoxville, TN 37996
Phone: (865) 974-8013
Email: pdunn4@utk.edu

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Employment Opportunity 1
Exciting Career Opportunities at GLAD
Various Southern California Locations
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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.

* Job Developer/Interpreter-- Crenshaw, CA
* Community 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
Various Positions at GSD
Georgia School for the Deaf
Cave Spring, GA
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Currently accepting applications for the following positions:
Teacher-High School Math *10 Month Position
Teacher-High School Language Arts *10 Month Position
Teacher-Middle School Language Arts *10 Month Position
Substitute Teachers (hourly paid, based on credentials)
Support Services Worker-Library Aide (hourly paid)

* 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:
http://www.spa.ga.gov/word/jobinfo/stateapp-emp.doc

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

For more information about these positions, contact Denise Clark, Personnel Office, denise.clark@doe.k12.ga.us or visit the Department of Education web site at www.doe.k12.ga.us

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Employment Opportunity 3
Undergraduate Psychology Faculty Position
Gallaudet University
Washington, DC
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Undergraduate Psychology Faculty Position

The Psychology Department at Gallaudet University is recruiting for a faculty position in undergraduate psychology.

The position description and application information can be found at http://gallaudet.edu/af/jobs/

For additional information about these positions, contact Dr. Irene W. Leigh, Department Chair, at Irene.leigh@gallaudet.edu

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