« November 2005 | Main | January 2006 »
December 30, 2005
Earbuds use could contribute to hearing loss
New findings suggest that when it comes to listening to music on popular devices like the iPod, some users may be getting to much of a good thing. The chairman of communication science and disorders at Northwestern University says the earbuds, used most often with devices like the iPod, can contribute to hearing loss.
Posted @ 1:08 PM
High-tech aids bring movies to wider audience
Showcase Cinemas at Springdale and Western Hills recently adopted new high-tech aids that allow both deaf and blind patrons to enjoy recent movies. One auditorium in each theater this year was equipped with Rear Window Captioning, which entails a small Plexiglas rearview mirror sitting in a cup holder and reflects written dialogue projected on the back of the theater.
Posted @ 1:06 PM
A gift heard loud and clear
For Adriana Figlia, 4, the big moment came when she held up her drawing before a battery of cameras. Her signed crayon rendition of mountains, a tree and a big heart was a thank you to the philanthropist who had given her the gift of hearing.
Posted @ 1:02 PM
Hearing loss helps writer find voice
Michael Chorost climbs the flight of stairs to a room filled with metal file cabinets. He’s never been to this place before, but he’s greeted like a long lost relative. A smiling woman hands him what he has come to see: file No. 27392.
Posted @ 12:57 PM
Making silence heard
What should have been one of the happiest moments in any mother's life — giving birth to her child — was, instead, clouded by foreboding for Teresita Canilao. She could barely hear her baby crying, nor could she hear the doctor or nurses clearly as they congratulated her.
Posted @ 12:56 PM
PAWS signals God's love
Praise And Worship through Sign (PAWS) is a 10 member sign language group which believes in making the ministry available to all, in whatever form. "PAWS is a ministry with one aim in mind, to minister to the hearing impaired and to those who can hear. Our destiny is heaven," said Tameko Smith, a member of the group.
Posted @ 12:55 PM
December 29, 2005
Protect your ears: limit iPod use
The ever-popular earbuds used with many iPods and other MP3 players may be more stylish than the bigger and bulkier earmuff-type headphones, but they may also be more damaging to one‘s hearing, according to a Northwestern professor.
Posted @ 5:57 PM
Ear bud headphones can cause hearing loss, experts warn
All those ears ringing from newly gifted iPods and MP3 players may have a harder time hearing next year’s Christmas bells if music lovers aren’t careful, hearing specialists are warning. "We’re seeing the kind of hearing loss in younger people that’s typically found in aging adults," said Dean Garstecki, an audiologist and professor at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill.
Posted @ 5:51 PM
Implant gives hope to local family
The sound of a child's first words fill any household with joy. A Brockville-area couple robbed of that delight when their home fell silent after their daughter, then 14 months old, went deaf in May now have a chance to relive it.
Posted @ 1:48 PM | Comments (1)
Jobs for hearing impaired teens session's focus
Iowea -- Families living with a child's hearing loss are invited to participate in an Iowa Communications Network presentation on securing employment for the teen who is deaf or hard of hearing Thursday, Jan. 12, from 7 to 8 p.m.
Posted @ 1:15 PM
Man killed at crossing likely didn't hear train, relative says
John Fusk was an avid gopher hunter. That is the first thing that popped into his nephew-in-law's head when he thought about the retired Joplin rancher.
Posted @ 1:12 PM
Hands-on education
When 11-month-old Sophia Nowlen wants more milk, she doesn't have to cry. She just asks for it. Tapping her tiny fingers together in the American Sign Language gesture for "more," the doe-eyed, blond-haired baby from Culver City uses her hands to express what her vocal cords cannot yet speak.
Posted @ 1:01 PM
Helping hard of hearing access city services
Canada's aging population is fueling an increase in the numbers of Canadians living with hearing loss. Projections are that the numbers of citizens living with hearing loss will increase at a faster rate than the rate of growth of the total population.
Posted @ 12:58 PM
The world is still their oyster
There was a lot of gesticulating, drawing and jotting that went on at a corner table in a restaurant in Kuala Lumpur recently. A European family was trying to order lunch.
Posted @ 12:57 PM
Helping hands
Neyshkady Melendez's grandmother speaks mostly Spanish. Her grandfather speaks English and Spanish. And Neyshkady, who is 12, speaks neither.
Posted @ 12:39 PM
December 28, 2005
Hearing loss in older pets
Q: My older cat, Jeff, seems to be losing his hearing. Is there anything to reverse hearing loss in older pets? His regular veterinarian said we would just have to live with this."
Posted @ 4:29 PM
San Francisco airport to offer hearing impaired passengers announcements on video screens
Hearing-impaired airline passengers will soon be able to read public-address announcements on 80 large video screens at San Francisco International Airport as part of a settlement, officials said.
Posted @ 12:50 AM
Implants right choice for some, not for others
Steven Boyce enjoys silence, solitude and being alone with his thoughts. "I'm used to it, and I'm comfortable with it," he said. He might not always hear the crowd cheer for him as he shoots the game-winning basket, or the sound of his opponent hitting the mat as the second-degree black belt delivers a blow - but he likes it that way.
Posted @ 12:43 AM
A sign of the times
In basketball, or any team sport really, communication is the key to success. The importance of teammates trusting each other, being able to rely on and communicate with each other is immeasurable.
Posted @ 12:42 AM
Cooking events to aid Starkey hearing group
It is said that home is where the heart is and Felice Kronfeld has taken this adage as the theme for the 2006 Palm Beach Series. The series of cooking presentations and luncheons, Entertaining at Home, which benefits the Starkey Hearing Foundation, will be held Jan. 18 through April 5 in the homes of Palm Beach residents.
Posted @ 12:41 AM
Sound of success helps dancer beat disability
That she was deaf only became clear to Chinese dancer Tai Lihua when she was 5. She had been playing a game of tag with her friends. But when it came her turn to be blindfolded and chase the other children, Tai suddenly realized she was unable to do so. She got scared and couldn't stop crying.
Posted @ 12:40 AM
December 27, 2005
North Coast audiologist talks hearing loss
Joanna Marcuz wants you to take care of your ears. Marcuz, of Humboldt Audiology, said she sees a lot of patients -- some of them younger -- with preventable hearing loss.
Posted @ 9:18 AM
Kind audiologist returns ring to Hyde Park family
Sometimes, kindness comes out of nowhere. That's what happened to Nick Zanikos a couple of weeks before the holidays when he got a phone call from Janice Dietzel.
Posted @ 9:16 AM
Hearing assistance for aquarium visitors
New, easy-to-use technology is now available to aid those who may have trouble hearing during daily exhibit presentations at the North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher.
Posted @ 9:15 AM
Court interpreters in demand
The legal vocabulary of judges and lawyers is complicated enough for people who speak English as a native language. But as Brown County's population becomes more diverse — with many residents' native tongues a language other than English — the challenge is to make sure everyone understands what's going on if they're faced with legal problems and potential penalties.
Posted @ 9:11 AM
Hospital has need for interpreters
In the moments surrounding a medical diagnosis, understanding what the doctor is saying can be tough. Medical information sometimes sounds like a foreign language, even when it is presented in your native tongue.
Posted @ 9:10 AM
Ministry of Education regulates Brazilian sign language instruction
Beginning next year, teachers and interpreters of Brazilian Sign Language (Libras) will be given official training courses by the National Institute of Education for the Deaf (Ines), an organ linked to the Ministry of Education (MEC). Initially, the courses will be limited to Rio de Janeiro.
Posted @ 9:08 AM
December 26, 2005
Oklahoma girl gets a special gift from Mattel for Christmas
A special 5-year old gets a Christmas present she'll never forget. It all started with an email to the Mattel company a few weeks ago. Morgan has been through a lot in her short life.
Posted @ 1:28 PM
Now 'Happy Birthday' will sound better
Joe Papst moved into the digital age for his 100th birthday. Papst, 99, was fitted for a brand new digital hearing aid on Friday at Audiology Services and Hearing Aid Center, 530 E. Broadway. The hearing aid was a birthday gift from Audiology Services and Widex, the Long Island, N.Y., company that makes the digital device.
Posted @ 1:26 PM
Film’s sign language use is story within story
The future writer and director of “The Family Stone” was a student at New York’s Parsons School of Design when he had one of those little epiphanies that make it into a movie script, a unique touch that gives a film a special zing.
Posted @ 1:25 PM
911 call: ‘My mommy needs help’
Ruby Comeau's little fingers dance around her face. Right hand jiggling over her left index finger signals helicopter, she giddily explains. Fingers together while rotating her wrist in half-circles is the sign for the color blue.
Posted @ 1:24 PM
Signing not only language, but also culture
When Jennifer Labbe’s sister was in first grade, the class included a deaf student. All the children learned fingerspelling and the basics of American Sign Language, which migrated home to Labbe herself.
Posted @ 1:21 PM
MP3 players may damage hearing
The portability of MP3 players has made music a part of every everyday activity, but some may be listening at volume levels that damage hearing. With the help of clinical audiologist Matt Murphy, Local 2 News went to Gold's Gym to measure decibel output of different MP3 players.
Posted @ 1:20 PM
Listen up, iPod users
The buds are popping up everywhere: on trains, buses and planes, on treadmills and StairMasters, on any busy urban sidewalk or rural path. But these buds, earbuds used to listen to iPods, could be sowing the seeds of irreversible hearing loss.
Posted @ 1:19 PM
December 25, 2005
Technology helps set deaf free
Tucked away in her cubicle at Blue Cross-Blue Shield of Louisiana, Yvette Moody stares into the incandescent glow of her computer screen, taps out a few sentences and clicks "send." Another e-mail dispatched -- just one of millions transmitted daily in the business world.
Posted @ 11:32 AM
Granting the gift of sound
The brief, high-pitched squeal of a small hearing aid was music to 8-year-old Mathew Neto's ears. The whistling noise signaled that the digital device was on and that the North Dallas boy could finally hear on his right side.
Posted @ 11:23 AM
‘Silent Night’ is beautiful in sign language, too
Debbi Gahard, of Bettendorf, picked "Silent Night" as her favorite Christmas carol because of a time when she "heard" it with no words or melody at all.
Posted @ 10:55 AM
Karate, sign language open 6-year-old's world
Pressing his glasses intently to his nose and balling his fists in determination, Jason Thoune of Flint gazes at the expectant faces of his peers at King's Karate.
Posted @ 10:53 AM
Hands offer good sign
Two Chesaning parents are the non-verbal talk of the town. Kent and Laura Greenfelder host weekly sign language classes where family and friends learn to communicate without speaking.
Posted @ 10:51 AM
Girl hears 'Jingle Bells' after implants
A British girl who was born deaf has gotten to hear Jingle Bells, other carols and the Black Eyed Peas after she got cochlear implants in both ears.
Posted @ 10:50 AM
December 24, 2005
Aid coming in the form of hearing
Matthew Barton is getting a gift that's long overdue. Back in April, 13-year-old Matthew put his hearing aids in his pants pocket. And his mother, Joan Barton, accidently washed them. That was an expensive accident, she said. "They cost between $3,000 and $3,500."
Posted @ 11:10 AM
That sounds good
A University of Oklahoma associate scientist is working to develop the world's first hearing aid that would be completely implanted within one's head. Huh?
Posted @ 10:58 AM
Hearing loss no barrier for contest winner
The sound of silence can often be deafining. When 11-year-old Sean Matera recently won a public speaking award, he could not hear the applause that followed the winning announcement, because Sean suffers from a hearing loss.
Posted @ 10:47 AM
December 23, 2005
Chinese student won't hear the word 'no'
When Dan Ming Chen moved from China to the United States in 2003, he spoke no English. He spoke no Chinese either — in fact he did not speak at all. Chen is deaf, and when he came to America he communicated only through Chinese Sign Language, a communication form neither his family nor anyone around him was fluent with.
Posted @ 9:15 AM
Settlement to make Stroger Hospital deaf friendly
Stroger Hospital has begun to beef up its services for the deaf and hearing-impaired, making sign language interpreters readily available and placing text telephones throughout the Cook County facility, under a settlement agreement with the U.S. attorney's office.
Posted @ 9:14 AM
Hearing loss problems with new music gadgets
Research at Northwestern University says that those tiny earbud headphones used with items like ipods and MP3 players can increase hearing loss in young people. Charlie Bierstetel is shopping for head phones for his little brother, and he knows exactly what he's looking for.
Posted @ 9:12 AM
Hearing Christmas again
I think there's a constant stress when you hear a profound hearing loss," Debra Hoilman said. Nine years ago, the Chucky resident stepped off a Carolina roller coaster and couldn't hear in her right ear anymore.
Posted @ 9:10 AM
Strong, silent types
The cat is their doorbell. The ringer, which is connected to a visual aid inside the house, is broken. So when the Murashiges' black cat with yellow eyes bolts for the window near the front door of their Foothills home, that means someone is standing on the other side.
Posted @ 9:08 AM
Hearing of joy
A girl of 12 born deaf is enjoying carols for the first time after surgery allowed her to hear. Josie Caven could only pick up simple sounds with hearing aids but now has cochlear implants.
Posted @ 9:05 AM
December 22, 2005
Cochlear implants in the elderly
A new study offers encouraging news for older individuals suffering from profound hearing loss. When compared to younger patients who received cochlear implants, patients older than age 75 showed no reduction in ability to hear with the device.
Posted @ 10:37 AM
Loud music harms musicians' hearing
Musicians and music fans obviously enjoy music. Unfortunately, the very music that they love could cause hearing loss over time. As older rockers, musicians and singers have developed hearing loss and tinnitus, hearing health awareness among musicians has increased.
Posted @ 10:34 AM
Deaf students' program moves parents to tears
Parents, siblings and friends poured into a small hall at Montgomery Presbyterian Church to watch students from the Ohio Valley Voices school perform "A Winter Wonderland" holiday program Tuesday night.
Posted @ 10:32 AM
Two ears for Christmas
The sound of children laughing and playing outside, the Christmas music on the radio, the excitement and joy in everyone's voice as they wish you a Merry Christmas. These are all sounds of the Christmas season that most people take for granted everyday.
Posted @ 10:28 AM
Signs indicate a good driving sense
Angela Birkbeck proved a hearing impairment is no barrier to achieving independence when she cruised through her driving test at the first attempt.
Posted @ 10:24 AM
Following the signs
If writing a book weren't difficult enough, a group of eight Kansas City Kansas Community College students took it a step farther -- they wrote a book for young deaf students and then read it in sign language.
Posted @ 10:21 AM
Deaf kids meet a Santa who knows sign language
Hearing-impaired children received an early Christmas gift when they were able to communicate their wish lists to Santa Claus. The present came courtesy of the Chicago Hearing Society and Harper College, which recently had a signing Santa on hand at a party for deaf and hard of hearing children.
Posted @ 10:20 AM
December 21, 2005
Noise pollution is a big problem, but no one is quieting down
The teeth-jarring rat-a-tat-tat of the pile driver outside my window has momentarily quieted, and I jump at the absence of the noise. Apparently one can get used to anything. But should I have to? And what damage is all that noise doing to me?
Posted @ 12:05 PM
State funds sought to provide more assistance for the deaf
The Johnson County Mental Health Center sees many deaf individuals seeking help with daily living. Most, however, are not mentally ill.
Posted @ 12:02 PM
New deaf-friendly technology aids faculty, students
Deaf faculty at California State University, Fresno, will be able to more effectively communicate with students, colleagues and other individuals on campus and elsewhere with new equipment in the Communicative Disorders and Deaf Studies Department.
Posted @ 11:59 AM
Film showcase seeks entries
The call is out for deaf filmmakers living and working in the United States to participate in a special on-air film festival and screening event.
Posted @ 11:58 AM
CSD announces enhanced CSDVRS VCO service
In the most significant expansion of its voice carry-over (VCO) capabilities, CSD unveiled new features to meet the needs of deaf, late-deafened and hard of hearing people who wish to speak for themselves while using CSD’s video relay service (CSDVRS).
Posted @ 11:48 AM
Entertaining ASL video and music series
Two Little Hands Productions, creators of the popular Signing Time! video and DVD series designed to show babies, toddlers and young children how to communicate using sign language even before they learn to speak, today announced the release of three new titles. Each new title will utilize the same proven, engaging, and fun methods that have previously been used in the series to help children learn to communicate through American Sign Language (ASL).
Posted @ 11:45 AM
Award for work with deaf
A woman who has dedicated her life to helping deaf youths recently received recognition for her work from Global Knowledge Partnership (GKP) in Tunis, Tunisia.
Posted @ 11:30 AM
December 20, 2005
Buzzing in the ears signals another problem
For months, I have had constant buzzing in my ears. My doctor told me that I suffer from tinnitus and that I need to see a specialist. How did I develop this problem?
Posted @ 10:12 AM
Elderly benefit from cochlear implants
Age should not influence the selection of patients for multichannel cochlear implants because even elderly patients can benefit from this device, researcher here reported.
Posted @ 10:09 AM
iPod earbuds damage hearing
Earbud users can avoid permanent hearing loss in the middle ranges, the range necessary to hear a conversation in a noisy environment -- such as a restaurant, for instance -- by replacing them with safer, old-school style headphones that are larger and rest over the entire ear.
Posted @ 10:08 AM
School for hearing impaired holds Christmas program
For most students in Marion Unit 2, Christmas is a time filled with the sounds of music and laughter — a time of Christmas programs and pageants. It's no different for the students at the School for the Hearing Impaired.
Posted @ 10:05 AM
Video phones enable deaf and hard of hearing community to "see" the future of communication
The City of Olathe is now offering new video phone service to the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community at no charge at City facilities. Video phones promote independence for Deaf and Hard of Hearing users and increase their ability to communicate more naturally and effectively in their every day lives.
Posted @ 10:03 AM
Interest turns into awareness program
A senior at Washington Township High School has turned her interest in sign language into a school-wide deaf awareness program. This month, 17-year-old Jillian Dean placed identification signs at 15 major areas of the high school including the cafeteria and gymnasium.
Posted @ 9:59 AM
Telephone first step to help deaf
The world's largest telephone deafness check was launched yesterday to help the four million people in the UK who are losing their hearing but doing nothing about it.
Posted @ 9:50 AM
December 19, 2005
MSD responds to student protest, schedules top educator
A professor from the nation's top college for the hearing-impaired is coming to Flint next month in response to a debate over the educational direction of the Michigan School for the Deaf.
Posted @ 2:50 PM
Loss of hearing with a cold could be sudden deafness
Sudden deafness is an ear emergency that strikes one person in 5000 every year, says Jeffrey Harris, M.D., UCSD Chief of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery.
Posted @ 2:48 PM
Signs of Christmas replace songs
Members of the Salvation Army Boys and Girls Club got to experience a different kind of Christmas song Saturday. Folks from the Parents and Friends of the Hearing Impaired put on a performance called ‘Signs of Christmas’ and signed the words of the songs for their audience.
Posted @ 2:45 PM
Mp3 players may be deafening America
These days, from the gym to the airport and even the classroom, it's hard not to see someone sporting a digital music player. The New York Times reports that more than $2.3 billion in Mp3 players were sold during the first nine months of this year, and an additional $700 million in sales is expected before the year ends.
Posted @ 8:47 AM
As a matter of wax, it's good
Why do we get wax in our ears? asks Mel Kutzin, via e-mail. Suffering from a little waxy build-up? The bane of coffee tables may actually be a good thing, when it comes to ears.
Posted @ 8:44 AM
New hearing aid technology
New digital hearing aids have made life a whole lot better for those who are hard of hearing. New technology that deals with the ability to adjust the sound coming through the hearing aids has completely changed the life of one woman.
Posted @ 8:40 AM
Millions urged to check hearing
The Royal National Institute for Deaf people (RNID) says 4 million people are losing their hearing but doing nothing about it and hopes to change their attitudes. A survey by pollsters Mori suggested embarrassment was the main reason people did not discuss hearing loss.
Posted @ 8:35 AM
December 18, 2005
Deaf Stuart woman tries to regain her hearing
Everybody was crammed into a little room at the University of Miami's Cochlear Implant Center. Nobody could see the implant, of course. That little $90,000 triumph of science was already embedded in Robin Peterson's right inner ear.
Posted @ 8:37 AM
A dream is dashed, but the signs are positive
Jin Luo, who arrived in New York from China eight years ago, has had more obstacles to building a life in his new country than most immigrants. Lacking literacy in English is only the beginning. Mr. Luo, 50, is deaf and unable to speak English or Chinese.
Posted @ 8:33 AM
Hurricane Katrina: An evacuee's tale
Julie Schommer's journey to find shelter in the wake of Hurricane Katrina is a heroic tale. Early last week, the New Orleans woman, who is deaf in one ear, thought she would die on her roof, where she escaped the rising floodwaters.
Posted @ 8:32 AM
Simple Plan aids deaf teens
Rock group Simple Plan is helping out some deaf teenagers in Canada enjoy their music by testing a high-technology wireless device during their 19-city tour.
Posted @ 8:29 AM
December 17, 2005
iPod and MP3 listeners should lower volume
In the 1980s, audiologists began cautioning lovers of loud music about hearing loss that could potentially result from use of their Walkman or portable compact disc (CD) players when those devices were on the cutting edge of music listening. With iPods the hot holiday gift for music lovers of all ages, Garstecki is encouraging safer use of the popular music listening devices.
Posted @ 7:53 AM
Janesville woman gets hearing implant
Dominic Martinelli said something Friday that made his mother cry. "Hi mom," the 13-year-old said. Kate Martinelli, 43, was hearing her son speak for the first time.
Posted @ 7:45 AM
Ear implant gives woman hearing for first time ever
Madison: Kate Martinelli has been severely hearing impaired all her life. She'd never really heard the voices of her Mom, her siblings, her husband or her kids. All that changed Friday.
Posted @ 7:44 AM | Comments (1)
The power of hearing
Within minutes, Sid Hardt is going to be able to hear sounds he hasn`t heard for years. Audiologist, Joe Ness is fitting Sid for a new type of hearing aid that even he hasn`t used before.
Years of loud music, motorcycles, and hunting all took a toll on Sid`s hearing.
Posted @ 7:42 AM
A sign of progress
Fluidly the set of hands moves, like a slower version of a flip book. In rapid succession, the fingers crook, dip and encircle. See that? Through that series of gestures, she just spelled her name.
Posted @ 7:40 AM
Only three p c of hearing impaired can afford hearing aids
Seven crores among the Indian population are affected by hearing loss, but only about three per cent of them can afford to use some kind of hearing aid.
Posted @ 7:35 AM
Montreal band helps hearing-impaired hear music
Montreal rock band Simple Plan is helping a bunch of their hearing-impaired fans to actually hear them perform with the help of some cutting-edge technology.
Posted @ 7:34 AM
December 16, 2005
San Marcos woman receives the gift of sound
For more than five decades, Ruth Penny has watched the world in near-total silence. At 71, the San Marcos resident never imagined that would change, until she got a recent phone call from her audiology center. The caller told her she had won an essay contest ---- the grand prize was a state of the art hearing device that would allow her to hear clearly for the rest of her life.
Posted @ 8:54 AM
Foxy Brown deaf for six months
Speaking publicly about her hearing loss for the first time, Foxy Brown held a press conference Thursday where it was revealed that the rapper hasn't heard another person's voice for months and has needed someone to tap out beats on her shoulder when in the studio.
Posted @ 8:49 AM
Communicating with babies
At just over one year, Rachel O’Connor could have a conversation with her mother, without speaking one word. "She can tell me when she wants something to eat," said Kristina O’Connor, an Alexandria resident. "She can tell me when she wants something to drink or when she has a wet diaper."
Posted @ 8:44 AM
Wireless FM devices a dream for the deaf
Punk, rock, jazz, gospel . . . that Mariah Angus is a lover of all music is hardly surprising: it’s in her blood. Her dad sang lead and played bass guitar in his own band, and she grew up in what she describes as a musical family, but "I can’t pick up a tune to save my life," she admits.
Posted @ 8:40 AM
December 15, 2005
SFO to improve services for deaf
In a deal that could have nationwide implications, San Francisco International Airport has agreed to improve services for deaf travelers to settle a class-action lawsuit.
Posted @ 8:43 AM
Hearing sense for NASCAR fans
Everyone knows that race cars are loud yet every week I see too many race fans with no hearing protection of any kind. Hearing is an important part of our lives, and our NASCAR passion, but many NASCAR fans are not taking good care of their ears at the track.
Posted @ 8:38 AM
Teens signing up to learn silent language
Britney Alcorn always had wanted to be able to communicate better with a family friend who is deaf, so she registered last year for an American Sign Language course at her public high school.
Posted @ 8:36 AM
Phones help deaf keep in touch
University officials and a communications company have collaborated to bring public videophones to the University of Minnesota Duluth campus.
Posted @ 8:34 AM
Conference introduces new technology to hearing impaired students
Hellgate High School student Melanie Williams listens to a voice-amplified phone Wednesday while interpreter Nadine Bloomquist, left, and Max Jiron, another student, describe the experience. Hearing-impaired people can adjust both the volume and the frequency of sound on the phone so that they can hear voices more clearly.
Posted @ 8:26 AM
Why you should be able to hear your name across a crowded room
Hearing your name mentioned across a crowded room at the Christmas party may trigger an uneasy feeling. But, according to a Welsh expert, the fact your ears prick up at all is testament to just how sophisticated the body's auditory system really is.
Posted @ 8:25 AM
December 14, 2005
iPod generation faces early hearing loss
Experts predict today's "iPod generation" will lose their hearing as they continue to age, much earlier than that of the Baby Boomer generation before them.
Posted @ 8:18 AM
Deaf Viterbo student is teaching as she learns
Brittney Stanek has been a first most of her life. At age 5, she became the first child in Wisconsin to receive a cochlear implant, a device that would allow her to hear sounds but not speech.
Posted @ 8:12 AM
State program provides phone equipment for disabled
Gil Martell has listened to plenty of testimonies praising the Montana Telecommunications Access Program, which provides and installs telephone equipment for deaf and partially deaf residents across the state.
Posted @ 8:08 AM
Clubbers urged to protect hearing
The Royal National Institute for the Deaf (RNID) fears changes to licensing laws will mean party-goers over the festive period will be exposed to loud music for longer periods of time and are in danger of causing permanent damage to their hearing.
Posted @ 8:07 AM
The deaf take Magic Seeds play to National Theatre
They have always been referred to as disabled persons who cannot do any thing on their own. But this time round, members of the Silent Threatre, a drama group, comprising of deaf people in Uganda have stood out of the crowd to prove to the public that disability is not a barrier to success.
Posted @ 8:06 AM
December 13, 2005
Sidekick II users can upgrade Danger
Danger, the mobile software and services company, is set to release a major software upgrade Tuesday for users of the T-Mobile Sidekick II handset.
Posted @ 8:17 AM
Hearing loss underreported in medical community
A new study found that hearing loss frequency and severity, as well as its long-term effects on development; have long been underreported by the medical community.
Posted @ 7:13 AM
Cochlear Americas announces medicare coverage for Baha hearing system
Cochlear Americas has announced that the Baha(R) system, an osseointegrated auditory implant system, is now covered by Medicare under a new policy issued by Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
Posted @ 7:11 AM
New website advises organizations on accessibility for deaf and disabled people
Hands On Access’, a specialist consultancy that advises on accessibility issues, has launched a website advising organizations on the steps required to make their operation accessible to Deaf and Disabled People.
Posted @ 7:09 AM
Special telephone assists hearing impaired, families
Natalie Liles is like most of her teenage peers.The 16-year-old likes to be on the phone with family and friends.But it hasn’t been as easy as just picking up the receiver, punching in the number and talking.Liles is hearing impaired and uses American Sign Language to communicate.
Posted @ 7:06 AM
Schools accepting sign as foreign language
Britney Alcorn had always wanted to be able to communicate better with a family friend who is deaf, so she signed up last year for an American Sign Language course offered at her public high school.
Posted @ 7:02 AM
Sign, choirs of angels
A band of volunteers signed up to take part in a Christmas carol concert with a difference. As part of a campaign to raise awareness of British Sign Language (BSL), a choir performed some of the most popular Christmas carols using hand movements, as shoppers at Norwich's Castle Mall shopping centre watched on.
Posted @ 6:59 AM
Deaf, dumb and HIV positive
Ever wondered how it feels when you want to share your problem and you can't? You have people around you who are willing to listen but you simply cannot talk? Not that you have no voice but because you are deaf and dumb?
Posted @ 6:50 AM | Comments (1)
December 12, 2005
Boomers about ready to stick it in their ears
Baby boomers have been the targets of marketing throughout their lives, from baby food to Levi's and Woodstock. Ready or not, boomers, one too many noisy rock concert might have taken its toll on your hearing: It might be time to tune in and turn on your hearing aids.
Posted @ 6:08 AM
Volunteer's 'most loving gift' is helping hearing-impaired kids
One by one, the children climbed on Santa's lap, excited to share their Christmas wish list. They didn't whisper secrets in Santa's ear or read aloud what they wanted. These children, who are hearing impaired, used sign language to communicate with St. Nick.
Posted @ 6:05 AM
Bionic ear transformed Royer's life
Michael Royer blends in with the crowds filling the Metro trains each morning in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. He carries an iPod and listens to music or recordings of sermons that he downloads from his church's Web site. "It's very easy to do — just download the audio file and put it in into your iTunes program," he said.
Posted @ 6:03 AM
Ear-plugs for orchestras at risk of being deafened by their music
The swelling sound of an orchestra may sound impressive from the stalls, but to the players the noise can be painful, and Britain’s orchestras will today be presented with a prize for efforts to do something about it.
Posted @ 6:00 AM
December 11, 2005
Holes in eardrums can cause loss of hearing
A perforated eardrum is a hole or rupture in the eardrum (or tympanic membrane) that separates the ear canal and the middle ear.
Posted @ 6:10 AM
Signs of Christmas
You can't beat a front-row seat. Bonnie Kaplan, cultural access director for VSA Arts of Massachusetts and a member of what she calls the deaf community, says the seats at the Stoneham Theatre are so close to the stage she feels a part of the play.
Posted @ 6:02 AM
Hands touch heart
The future writer and director of The Family Stone was a student at New York's Parsons School of Design when he had one of those little epiphanies that make it into a movie script, a unique touch that gives a film a special zing.
Posted @ 6:01 AM
December 10, 2005
Hearing loss from chemotherapy underestimated
By 14, Peter Johnson had survived brain cancer and a relapse of the disease in his shoulder. But it was treatment for the last tumor that would create his life's greatest challenges.
Posted @ 6:15 AM
Sidekicks becoming vital link
Daniela Vazquez-Hernandez holds a Sidekick II close to her face and pecks out a text message. Her powerful phone, which has a pop-up screen and 26-letter keyboard, is the same device favored by Paris Hilton, Snoop Dogg and other celebrities.
Posted @ 5:57 AM
Baby talk takes to sign
The baby cries. And cries ... wanting ... something. For the mother or father, trying to decipher the message – the "why?" behind the wailing – can be frustrating.
Posted @ 5:51 AM
How to give baby talk a helping hand
Andrew Marr and Peter Snow are well-known for their wild - some would say distracting - hand gestures. But new research has revealed how exaggerated hand and arm movements are unconsciously used by parents talking to their young children to help in the development of speech.
Posted @ 5:50 AM
December 9, 2005
Making you deaf?
This Christmas many young people have high-tech gadgets like IPods, cellphones and MP3 players on their wish lists. But experts warn excessive use of these electronic devices is setting people up for hearing loss.
Posted @ 7:42 AM
Copulating deaf couple unaware of own volume
Monday night, a record number of noise complaints were received by Residential Security Officers in Roger Revelle College. Officers responding to the calls found the sexual activity of a deaf couple to be the source of the noises, which were described as "cacophonous" by witnesses.
Posted @ 7:40 AM
Static from plastic slides can drop deaf children back into silence
Six-year-old Taylor Zinderski slid down a plastic slide and slipped into silence. It was October at a church playground. Taylor, deaf for almost two years, ran to her father. She told him her cochlear implant - an electronic device that lets her hear - had suddenly fizzled.
Posted @ 7:39 AM
Signs of Christmas
While Santa traveled all the way from Boise, the children came all the way from the Idaho School for the Deaf and the Blind in Gooding. And Santa surprised these kids when he was able to communicate with them through sign language.
Posted @ 7:35 AM
A silent language
Amanda Hopson, who is the deaf education teacher at Brandon Elementary, spends Thursday afternoons teaching young students how to sign.
Posted @ 7:32 AM
CSDVRS launches sign language to spanish service
CSD Video Relay Service (CSDVRS) launched several product enhancements, including one that allows deaf and hard of hearing sign language users to place telephone calls to Spanish-speaking hearing people.
Posted @ 7:30 AM
December 8, 2005
If it's too loud .... huh?
I smashed my finger last weekend, missing a 10-penny nail with a 20-ounce hammer, resulting in a loud and unprintable noise. The next day, with throbbing finger soaking in ice water, I waited on hold with Kaiser, listening to the cheerful recorded voice periodically ask me, did I know one of every five adults suffer from some form of hearing loss?
Posted @ 7:16 AM
Deaf mute gets new life
The letter that arrived in Greg and Shelley Hubert's mailbox in March 1999 stated that the schoolgirl they had been sponsoring in Mexico was leaving the program. The child-care organization, Children Incorporated, asked whether the Huberts would sponsor a 3-year-old girl from Honduras.
Posted @ 7:15 AM
Boy meets a world of sound
Twenty-month-old Jordan Dyer sat at the end of a long table at the Northeast Ear Institute on Tuesday, blissfully eating a chocolate chip cookie as audiologist Sharon Rende rang bells behind his head.
Posted @ 7:11 AM
Deaf gay men tackle AIDS and speed use
Gay men have been bombarded lately with dire warnings about using crystal meth and the drug's deadly role in HIV transmission. Yet one segment of the community is just now hearing the message.
Posted @ 7:06 AM
Signing Santa is just what some children wish for
Alondra Aguirre-Guiterrez climbed up on Santa's lap the other day and told him what she wanted for Christmas. She didn't say a word.
Posted @ 6:58 AM
Deaf community alerts DPP of 'dubious' interpreter
A female police officer may have to answer for volunteering to interpret for a deaf suspect at the Mbabane Magistrates' Court last week. Constable Funekile Gamedze is said to have interpreted, or rather misinterpreted, in the case of Jabula Mkhonta who was charged with malicious damage to property.
Posted @ 6:55 AM
Early detection key to checking the problem in India
Please Repeat! Say it Again are the common phrases we hear in day to day conversation without realizing that it could all have to do with hearing loss. Doctors say around 10 to 12 per cent of the Indian population suffers from some degree of hearing loss. But delay in detection of the ailment and taboos attached to hearing aids are further compounding the problem.
Posted @ 6:54 AM
December 7, 2005
Foxy Brown fires attorney for talking about deafness
Rapper Foxy Brown fired her New York attorney after widespread media reports about her hearing loss, it was reported Wednesday.
Posted @ 7:24 AM
Early intervention key to hearing development in deaf children
A new study by the University of Maryland's Child Development Laboratory and Stanford University shows that early intervention with cochlear implants can make a significant difference in auditory development in deaf children.
Posted @ 7:18 AM
Baseball unfair for hearing-impaired
Jimmy and Beth Tokioka say Pony Baseball Incorporated needs to level the playing field for their son and other kids with disabilities. Justin Tokioka goes by the Hawaiian name "Pono." Last season he made the Kauai all-star baseball team - the only deaf kid on the squad.
Posted @ 6:57 AM
2006 GUAA Awards Announced
Gallaudet University Alumni Association (GUAA) and Laurent Clerc Cultural Fund (LCCF) Committee are pleased to announce the 2006 Award Winners selections.
Posted @ 6:56 AM
All I want for Christmas is a hearing aid
Let's see, seven from 25 leaves 18 shopping days before Christmas. Martha and I have agreed to give each other hearing aids. We've been in denial about our ability to hear long enough.
Posted @ 6:55 AM
Deaf youngsters get into drive mode
Deaf and hearing impaired young people from Coventry and Warwickshire have graduated with honours from a course designed to hone their skills behind the wheel.
Posted @ 6:54 AM
December 6, 2005
Foxy Brown deaf
Foxy Brown, whose real name is Inga Marchand, is nearly deaf according to her lawyer, who made the announcement after a court appearance on Monday.
Posted @ 11:45 AM
Sooner is better with cochlear implants
Cochlear implants allow the deaf to hear. Their brains learn to understand the artificial electrical stimulation that the implants provide to the cochlea as sound.
Posted @ 11:43 AM
Woman hopes for sound of silence
Lynn Steinman has a new scar on her collarbone, another behind her ear, but a tentative smile on her face. The scars are a small price to pay, she says, for the chance to rid herself of the ringing in her ears that has plagued her life for more than a decade.
Posted @ 11:40 AM
Hearing-impaired children share Christmas lists
It was a typical Christmas sight. There were bright red and green decorations. There were toy displays. There were the kids in coats and mittens wearing bright shining faces.
Posted @ 11:38 AM
Santa hears silent wishes
As a 7-year-old girl fluttered her legs over the lap of Santa Claus, she spun two clenching fists. Using American Sign Language, Alondra Aguirre-Guiterrez told Santa she wants a bike for Christmas.
Posted @ 11:37 AM
Sorenson Communications announces winners of the first deaf student art contest
Sorenson Communications(TM), the nation's leading provider of video relay services (VRS), products, and solutions for the deaf and hard-of-hearing community, today announced the winners of the first Sorenson Communications Art Contest.
Posted @ 11:34 AM
December 5, 2005
Cochlear implant clues
A study in cats demonstrates how cochlear implants in very young animals allow them to develop normal nerve fibers to transmit sound and restore hearing by reversing damage to the brain's hearing network.
Posted @ 12:11 PM
Unspoken communication gains popularity in colleges and jobs
Many foreign language professors encourage students not to speak English in class. Bert Reins doesn't want students speaking at all. An instructor at San Bernardino Valley College, Reins teaches American Sign Language, the fastest-growing major foreign language in U.S. colleges.
Posted @ 12:05 PM
Hearing-impaired children need early intervention
Sonam was born profoundly deaf in both ears. But a year old now, she responds to sounds and has also started calling out to her parents thanks to a successful cochlear implant when she was only eight months old.
Posted @ 12:05 PM
December 4, 2005
Theaters agree to help blind, deaf
Did you catch the new movie that everyone's talking about at school and at work? If you're visually or hearing impaired, you probably couldn't. That would change under a deal with eight national theater chains aimed at making it easier for visually and hearing impaired people to enjoy movies in 140 theaters statewide, according to New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer.
Posted @ 7:27 PM
Firefighters sue siren manufacturer over hearing loss
Motorists and pedestrians need to hear firetrucks approaching. But some firefighters say the sirens are too loud - and they hold manufacturers responsible for their hearing loss.
Posted @ 7:26 PM
Life's loud noises leave a generation struggling to hear
For most of his 20 years as a Montgomery County firefighter, Kurt Evers raced to emergencies in a torrent of noise from his truck's roaring diesel engine, blasting horn and wailing siren.
Posted @ 7:25 PM
Holiday celebration for hearing-impaired kids features Santa, safety tips
About two dozen hearing-impaired and deaf children gathered Saturday at First Christian Church for a holiday celebration featuring safety education and a "signing" Santa.
Posted @ 7:18 PM
Center helps deaf live, thrive in hearing world
After her daughter Madison failed the newborn hearing test twice, Leah Bongard was shaken. When further testing revealed that "Maddy" was in fact deaf, Bongard was still upset, but also knew she needed to take immediate action to help her daughter live a full life.
Posted @ 7:16 PM
December 3, 2005
Good vibrations in Touch The Sound
Who knew the British rock band Slade was onto something deep with the exhortation "Cum On Feel The Noize?" Touch The Sound — a documentary about one of the world’s foremost percussionists, who happens to be deaf — gets the same message across with subtlety, sensitivity and better spelling.
Posted @ 7:12 AM
Closed captioning creating careers
Closed caption writer Stacy Dronosky is not a broadcaster but has broadcast the news to thousands of people in several states.
Posted @ 7:10 AM
Deaf school wins national football title
The Maryland School for the Deaf has won its third straight national football championship, edging the California School for the Deaf, Riverside, in a decision by two groups representing hearing-impaired prep schools.
Posted @ 7:08 AM
Expert answers query about hearing aids
Q: I’ve heard the term "directional" used in regard to hearing aids. What does that mean?
Posted @ 7:04 AM
Deaf youth baseball player grabs attention of many
A deaf 10-year-old Kauai boy has grabbed the attention of a national organization, as well as many high-profile people. It all stems from a youth baseball rule.
Posted @ 7:03 AM
Teacher serves deaf students
In a small, office-size classroom, four small chairs surround an irregularly shaped table. A sign written in green, blue and red letters over the white board welcomes the students to speech, just one of many classrooms waiting for the students to arrive.
Posted @ 6:59 AM
December 2, 2005
How cochlear implants help restore hearing
Scientists say they've discovered why the electronic hearing devices called cochlear implants restore hearing for some, but not others. It's a finding that could help reopen the world of sound for many deaf people.
Posted @ 5:36 AM
Deafness 'must be treated early'
Cochlear implants could restore hearing to children who are born deaf by triggering the reconnection of sound-transmitting nerves, a new study suggests.
Posted @ 5:35 AM
Region's first ear implant surgery on tomorrow
A 40-year-old woman, who has been hearing-impaired since birth, will be given a new lease on life tomorrow. Local and overseas doctors will fit her with a device to improve her hearing in what is being called the 'first cochlear implant surgery in the English-speaking Caribbean'
Posted @ 5:33 AM
December 1, 2005
Cochlear implants prevent or reverse damage to brain’s auditory nerve system
New research at Johns Hopkins has clearly demonstrated the ability of cochlear implants in very young animals to forge normal nerve fibers that transmit sound and to restore hearing by reversing or preventing damage to the brain’s auditory system.
Posted @ 11:33 PM
South Valley Hospital offering cochlear impants
It's something a lot of people fear as they grow older — losing their hearing. As many as 28 million Americans have a hearing impairment.
Posted @ 11:31 PM
Fire department provides smoke detectors to hearing impaired
Carbon monoxide detectors save lives by alerting people of the poisonous gas, but for individuals who cannot hear, an audible alarm is useless. This month the Olathe Fire Department stepped up to provide carbon monoxide detectors for the city's deaf and hearing-impaired.
Posted @ 11:29 PM
UW to begin clinical trials of an implantable hearing aid system
A new implantable hearing aid system will undergo clinical trials at the University of Washington's Virginia Merrill Bloedel Hearing Research Center, one of five sites selected to study its effectiveness. The Food and Drug Administration has authorized implantation of the device on an experimental basis in a total of 100 patients, including 20 at the UW.
Posted @ 11:25 PM
New sign language service in schools
Deaf students will shortly benefit from a new service of sign- language-teaching in Maltese to be offered in schools.
Posted @ 11:23 PM
Singing in choir is music to ears
When Billie Charleston was born nine years ago her world was filled with silence. Now her days are filled with music.
Posted @ 11:20 PM