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May 29, 2006
High-tech gadgets help deaf hear well
A year ago, I wouldn't have written a column about technical devices that help hearing-disabled people. A year ago, I wasn't hearing-disabled, but now I am, and I understand how important some special devices are to those of us who need them. Plus, I'm also a better judge regarding how well they work.
Posted @ 11:21 AM
Deaf student overcomes obstacles with personal strength
Lee Anne Davidson does not feel any different than other students at Purdue, even though she faces many obstacles every day. The sophomore in the College of Liberal Arts said she struggles with understanding strangers and professors during lecture, crossing the street and talking on the phone, all things most college students take for granted.
Posted @ 11:19 AM
Taking good care of our ears
Most of us take our ears for granted and assume that nothing can go wrong with them. Those of us who are born with defective ears or hearing problems appreciate not just the external appearance but also the special functions of our ears.
Posted @ 11:16 AM
You can manage but not cure tinnitus
Dear Savvy Senior: I'm 56 years old and in pretty good health, but recently I've noticed a constant ringing in my ears that's very irritating. What can you tell me about this and is there anything I can do? - Ringing Randy
Posted @ 11:12 AM
Pirates' Cousins tackles his hearing impairment
For John Cousins, bouncing around to different colleges before finding the right fit was a challenge. Playing professional football, that's a challenge. Overcoming severe hearing issues to be able to excel on the football field? No sweat.
Posted @ 11:12 AM
Blind, deaf woman honors loved ones
For 19 city blocks, Bonita Harris walked, carrying two small American flags in her right hand. She kept her head down. She stared at the sidewalk and the tops of her white and pink Skechers. She wore both her hearing aids.
Posted @ 11:10 AM
Deaf mute hailed as hero
A deaf mute is being hailed as a hero after chasing down a man who stabbed a Christchurch preacher in Cathedral Square last night. Ted Parry-Smith was standing in the rain outside the cathedral about 8pm preaching – using a microphone – when a man lunged at him and stabbed him in the hip.
Posted @ 11:08 AM
Students at Queens School for The Deaf take on state legislators On the basketball court
Several state lawmakers are facing some tough competition, but not on the campaign trail, on the basketball court. For the past 10 years, they have played a team from a Queens school for the deaf, and as NY1’s Josh Robin reports, the politicians faced some tough opponents this week.
Posted @ 11:07 AM
Princess returns
The Princess Royal unveiled a refurbished service for deaf and blind people in Barnet on Monday 12 years after originally opening the facility. The Anne Wall Centre, in Hyde Close, Barnet, provides skill development and recreational facilities for those with both sight and hearing impairments. It is run by the national charity Sense, of which the Princess is a patron.
Posted @ 11:06 AM
Book details the life of a deaf 8-year old
Not many stories are available about deaf children, particularly for middle grades. I found one I think is a winner for ages 8 and older. The author, Marlee Matlin, alone is sure to catch the eye of some readers.
Posted @ 11:04 AM
Project gives deaf people new hope
There is dead silence among the five people sitting in a circle around a clay oven. The group are all part of a bead-making project and they are waiting for the glass to melt so that they can work with it.
Posted @ 11:03 AM
Bach, falling upon deaf ears
Getting deaf teens to sing Bach is: (a) Exploitative and voyeuristic. (b) Culturally inclusive and respectful. (c) A celebration of failure and chaos. (d) A celebration of determination and hope. (e) Art.
Posted @ 11:00 AM
Deaf-mute man to stand trial for assault
The process may be tediously slow, but a deaf-mute man is competent to stand trial on charges that he sexually assaulted a 5-year-old girl and an adult woman, a judge has ruled. Victor Laporte, 32, of 741B W. Hollis St., faces six counts of aggravated felonious sexual assault. His trial was postponed – and has yet to be rescheduled – while lawyers argued over whether Laporte understood enough of the legal process and was capable of communicating with his lawyers.
Posted @ 10:57 AM
Sign language keeps Hall linked to both deaf, hearing communities
Kevin Hall moves equally adroitly in two worlds - the deaf and the hearing. That was called to mind at the AT&T Invitational Tournament at Pebble Beach, Calif., earlier this year. After his first-round par 72 that included a birdie on the 18th hole, Kevin met with a group of 60-70 students from the California School for the Deaf.
Posted @ 10:56 AM
Black and deaf, golfer chases his dream
Kevin Hall might have a good laugh if he were aware of all that goes on around him on the golf course. He was on the first tee at the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am when the starter reminded the gallery that no cameras were allowed and “please make sure your cell phones are turned off.
Posted @ 10:55 AM
Fulham secures British Deaf Cup
Shylon Morally's late strike guided Fulham Deaf Football Club to a 3-2 victory over Belfast United DFC in the British Deaf Cup final at the weekend. Fulham were 2-1 up at the break after striker Kevin Harewood scored twice at the Bridgend Town Football Club, Wales.
Posted @ 10:53 AM
Gallaudet’s President-Designate Fernandes gives keynote presentation in Bangkok, Thailand
Dr. Jane Fernandes, Gallaudet University’s president-designate, recently delivered a keynote speech at the opening of the First World Congress on the Power of Language: Theory, Practice, and Development, in Bangkok, Thailand, following an audience with Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn.
Posted @ 10:53 AM
Hearing aids and glasses: Leveling the sensory playing field
Since time immemorial, people have referred to the eyes as “windows to the soul”, yet blind and deaf Helen Keller said "Hearing is the deepest, most philosophical sense man possesses." For centuries, sight impaired people have worn glasses without being labeled “mentally defective.” Meanwhile, those with hearing impairment have suffered enormous prejudice. Labeled as “old", "stupid", "mentally ill", or "selective listeners", many hearing impaired people live in denial, or refuse to wear hearing aids because they are afraid of being branded.
Posted @ 10:51 AM
May 24, 2006
Now hear this: Turn down the volume
At one time it seemed that only older people suffered from hearing loss, but not anymore -- In this age of iPods, MP3 players and cell phones with headphones, it's hard to find any quiet time. I decided to go in search of dangerous decibels with john Callahan -- a hearing specialist with hear in Kentucky.
Posted @ 11:12 AM
A regional school for hearing-impaired
As a speech pathologist who works with hearing-impaired children, I am very frustrated with the educational system in Virginia. In the last 20 years, cochlear implant technology has advanced to give children an opportunity for hearing. Unfortunately, these children and their families still need support to meet their full potential.
Posted @ 11:05 AM
Cochlear implantation in both ears may improve speech perception
A new study suggests that sequential bilateral cochlear implantation, or the placement of cochlear implants in both of a child’s ears through separate surgeries, has the potential to improve speech perception abilities in quiet and in noise. Cochlear implants are electronic devices that have the potential to restore partial hearing to the deaf.
Posted @ 11:04 AM
Hoping for the sound of silence
A pensioner has said he is glad to have gone completely deaf because it has got rid of the irritating hearing condition tinnitus. John Speakman, 79, of Northfield Road, Blackburn lost all his hearing after suffering from tinnitus since his 20s.
Posted @ 11:02 AM
Babies sign needs
It may be simple words -- such as milk, eat, more, crackers, ball, dog and cat -- but babies as young as 5 months old are learning to communicate with their parents before they learn to talk.
Posted @ 11:00 AM
Sally Monahan counseled deaf St. Rita students
St. Rita School for the Deaf will be closed today so students can attend the funeral of Sally Monahan, the school's guidance counselor for 16 years. "Sally worked tirelessly with anyone that asked for assistance," said Gregory Ernst Sr., executive director of St. Rita. "She was always willing to listen and offer advice for those in need."
Posted @ 10:55 AM
Deaf Fullerton College student wins hearts, awards
Kristina Iancului lives in two worlds. During the day, she lives in the world of the hearing, where she reads lips and uses a classroom translator to help her finish college. The rest of the time, she lives in the world of the deaf, where people talk with their hands and hear with their eyes.
Posted @ 10:54 AM
Lloyd grad didn't throw in the towel
Dustin Drifmeyer had his foot on the base, arm extended and glove open, like any good first baseman. As the ball was thrown toward him, it appeared it would be a routine play. It wasn't.
Posted @ 10:53 AM
Grant for deaf theatre
A major cultural festival for the deaf will be staged in Akureyri, Iceland, 10-16 July this year.A large number of international theatre groups will attend and the Nordic Cultural Fund is provided a grant of DKK 200,000.
Posted @ 10:52 AM
Family makes sacrifices for daughter's speech
One family's love for its little girl means they'll miss much of her childhood. Stephanie Umunna, 3, was born deaf. Up until a hearing implant last year, she had never heard a sound.
Posted @ 10:51 AM
National Lottery supports deaf gay men
The Gay Men’s Health Charity (GMFA) has been awarded funding to provide signers for deaf gay men, from the National Lottery.
Posted @ 10:50 AM
Collision leaves Kosi with hearing loss
Justin Koschitzke is still to regain the hearing in his right ear and may not play for St Kilda again this year. Eighteen days after fracturing his skull in a sickening on-field collision with Western Bulldog midfielder Daniel Giansiracusa, Koschitzke has only partial hearing in his right ear above which the fracture is located.
Posted @ 10:49 AM
May 22, 2006
“Yes, I can hear you now”
“Vanity and pride aside, if you can’t hear, get help,” says Suffolk News-Herald Managing Editor Douglas Grant. And he’s not just talking out of his ear n the man is faced with his own hearing loss and is on the fast track to obtain personal hearing devices (the new politically-correct term for hearing aids).
Posted @ 9:21 AM
Giving the gift of sound
After fitting tiny, electrical nodes inside a baby’s ear and witnessing the child’s response to a signal the sound of a half whisper, Morris Clinical Audio-logist Brenene Brady sees something special.
Posted @ 9:20 AM
What causes ringing in the ears?
The medical term for ringing in the ears is tinnitus, which means noise in Latin. Tinnitus is not limited to ringing but may be perceived as whistling, buzzing, humming, hissing, roaring, chirping or other noise. The technical definition of tinnitus is therefore the perception of any of these sounds in the absence of an acoustic stimulus in the surrounding environment.
Posted @ 9:18 AM
There can be many causes of tinnitus
Q: I've had constant ringing in my ears for a few months now. My doctor says I have tinnitus. Can you tell me about this condition?
Posted @ 9:17 AM
New treatment for people with tinnitus - Promises better sleep
Wearing glasses that block the blue light that causes melatonin suppression allows it to flow. Putting them on for a few hours before bed time allows melatonin (the sleep hormone) to be present at bed time. This allows people to fall asleep quickly despite the annoying ringing in their ears.
Posted @ 9:16 AM
New device could help people with hearing problems
Millions of people struggle to hear. They find it hard to hear the television, their phone -- even their loved one's voices. Many wear hearing aids, but that's not always enough. As 7News Anchor Mitch Jelniker reported recently, a new device is being tested in Colorado that could open up a whole new world for people who have difficulty hearing.
Posted @ 9:15 AM
Tonsil removal doesn't hurt cochlear
Cochlear implant device integrity is not compromised by electrosurgery used in removal of tonsils and adenoids, say U.S. researchers. Dr. Patrick J. Antonelli of the University of Florida and Dr. Roxana Baratelli of Tulane University say cochlear implant recipients have been discouraged from having monopolar electrosurgery for ear, nose and throat procedures due to concerns over possible damage to the implant and the auditory neurons.
Posted @ 9:14 AM
Speaking freely
With her typically cheerful voice and manner, Charlotte Brumfield provides a homelike atmosphere for her students. She calls everyone “friend.” “It’s so good to see all my friends on this happy Monday morning,” Brumfield says in a voice friendly enough to make a person forget it’s 8 a.m. on a Monday.
Posted @ 9:13 AM
Deaf, blind schools not merging
State schools in Hampton and Staunton for the deaf and blind will not be merged - at least for now - because Gov. Timothy M. Kaine is blocking legislation combining them. Under two of eight vetoes announced yesterday, Kaine said he could not support the merger because of questions about what to do with the Hampton site.
Posted @ 9:11 AM
Graduation comes with plans for future
Decked out in a blue gown and a bright smile, Kiira DeVries lined up with her classmates to take the walk scores of other high school seniors have taken before. The Montana School for the Deaf and the Blind held its annual commencement ceremony Saturday, with eight graduates. More than 100 friends, family, teachers and supporters were on hand to congratulate the graduates.
Posted @ 9:10 AM
Blind woman sues Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind
A Baltimore woman has sued the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind, claiming that because she is blind she was denied a job for which sight is not necessary. In the lawsuit filed Wednesday in 3rd District Court, Mary Jo Thorpe seeks reimbursement for monetary loses including lost wages, and damages for suffering, loss of enjoyment of life and other losses.
Posted @ 9:08 AM
Armed teens steal deaf man's camera
After leaving work Wednesday night, a deaf Dominoes Pizza employee walked to a parking lot to find three Latino males ransacking his car, police said.
Posted @ 9:07 AM
Father says children taken because he is deaf
But Ron Perry, legally deaf since birth cannot see his children Vanessa and Lilly because they are living with this woman Kristi Allison. Allison who is president of Support Services for Independent Living which helps handicapped people— met the children in April of 2004 while Perry was recovering from an auto accident.
Posted @ 9:06 AM
Top teachers honoured
The country's top school leaders have been honoured. The Microsoft Excellence in School Leadership National Awards have been announced in a ceremony at the University of Auckland
Posted @ 9:04 AM
New store stocks toys for deaf kids
A new shop on Columbia Street will offer an eclectic mix of cards, toys and antiques with twist — some of the products will be geared toward the deaf and hearing impaired. Store owners Patrick LeBeau, who is deaf, and his fiancée, Dione Kickery, both of Adams, said they are opening the store because of a lack of easily accessible resources to the deaf community in the Berkshires.
Posted @ 9:03 AM
A look at how airlines treat the disabled
Airlines operating in South Africa will be summoned to parliament to answer questions on how they accommodate people with disabilities on their planes. The decision was taken on Friday by parliament's Joint Monitoring Committee on the Improvement of Quality of Life and Status of Children, Youth and Disabled Persons.
Posted @ 9:00 AM
May 18, 2006
Genetic cause of hearing loss in aging
Researchers at Indiana University School of Medicine have taken a step toward understanding the genetics that make people more susceptible to the loss of hearing as they age. In a study of 50 pairs of fraternal twins with hearing loss, the scientists uncovered evidence linking the hearing loss to a particular region of DNA that previously was tied to a hereditary form of progressive deafness that begins much earlier in life.
Posted @ 12:32 PM
Catching deaf kids early improves language skills
Catching congenital deafness early and intervening with remedial therapy results in better language skills by mid-childhood, researchers here say. The difference between those whose bilateral hearing loss was caught before the age of nine months and those whose deficit was confirmed later is equivalent to between 10 and 12 points on the verbal portion of an intelligence test, according to Colin Kennedy, M.D., of the University of Southampton.
Posted @ 12:31 PM
Protect your child’s hearing
An estimated 5.2 million children ages 6 to 19 have some degree of noise-induced hearing loss in at least one ear, according to the National Center for Health Statistics.
Posted @ 12:30 PM
Screening changes could help detect deaf newborns
Researchers have identified several changes that could be made to existing newborn screening tests for hearing defects that could advance the standard of care in detecting deaf infants, according to an article in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Posted @ 12:28 PM
26 years of dedication to the hearing impaired comes to an end
Mary Rutten has literally been ‘all over the world', with stops in the Dominican Republic, Calcutta, India, Guatemalla, Honduras, Chile and Pakistan, but her working days will end right here in Devils Lake. She's ending 26 years of employment at North Dakota School for the Deaf in Devils Lake on May 26, and she says she'll carry a lot of fond memories out the door with her on that final day.
Posted @ 12:23 PM
Fears over mp3 players
More than a third of people think MP3 players can cause hearing damage. Research commissioned by the charity Hearing For Life revealed there is growing concern that digital music players create problems in later life.
Posted @ 12:15 PM
Propose bills to help pay for hearing aids
Some financial aid may be forthcoming from the federal government for persons who need hearing aids if talks going on in Congress are successful. According to the League for the Hard of Hearing, based in New York City, the discussions going on revolve around legislation proposed in both houses that would provide $500 per ear once every five years to people aged 55 and over and to their dependents for hearing aids.
Posted @ 12:11 PM
Legend's daughter makes splash
Jamie-Lee Lewis, 15, is profoundly deaf but excels at water polo – which she cannot play with her cochlear implant in. Following in the footsteps of her father, football legend Wally Lewis, Jamie-Lee has made the Queensland team. "I love sports so much – I just looked up to my dad and I just want to be like him," she said.
Posted @ 12:07 PM
Deaf man's joy at hearing again
For 43 years the Gibson Way telecoms engineer had managed without hearing in one ear, but when the hearing went in the other, he was plunged into terrifying silence and depression. But now, thanks to a cochlea implant switched on recently, he can hear again.
Posted @ 12:06 PM
Hearing loss costs $12 billion a year
Hearing loss is costing Australia almost $12 billion a year with 160,000 people not working because they can't hear well enough, a new report has found. Compiled by Access Economics, the report found the loss to the economy equated to $3,314 for every one of the 3.55 million Australians who have some form of hearing loss.
Posted @ 12:05 PM
Mass reaches out to hearing-impaired
For the first time in her life, Marie Stapleford of Dykesville feels able to fully participate in Mass. She attends the Rev. Guy Blair's signed Mass at St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church every Sunday morning.
Posted @ 12:04 PM
Sorenson Communications urges FCC to reject proposed funding reductions
In comments filed with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) today, Sorenson Communications urged the FCC to adopt rates for Telecommunications Relay Services (i.e. Video Relay Service, TTY and IP Relay) that will continue to support the wide availability of these services to the deaf community.
Posted @ 12:01 PM
May 16, 2006
Good vibrations
At first, awareness dawns that you are struggling to follow conversations amid babble and noise. Soon "your family and close friends joke about your getting deaf," says Joanne Pogue, 74, who as president of the library board in Washington, Maine, recalls finding it harder with each meeting to hear board members around the large table. "I joked about it." Better, perhaps, than to be patronized ("Uncle Jim, do you want me to listen to the specials and order for you?") or treated as barely there. Locked in growing silence, older people with impaired hearing often withdraw and grow isolated. Studies show they may even die before their time.
Posted @ 6:33 AM
Shroud of silence lifted after decades of deafness
The tick-tock of a clock as the seconds pass by. The rattle and clanking of a train passing through town. The blare of a fire engine siren. The ring of a telephone.
Posted @ 6:31 AM
What you should know before you buy a hearing aid
I had tremendous response to my column on hearing. A letter received from the Hearing Planet in Tennessee reminded me that hearing loss affects nearly 30 million Americans, and one in three people is over age 65. Yet, only one out of every six people who experience hearing loss wears a hearing aid.
Posted @ 6:29 AM
Speaker tells of global obstacles facing deaf
In some parts of the world, a deaf child is viewed as a punishment from God. The child is chained to a bed, occasionally fed and can have its tongue cut off to help stop it from crying. "The parents don't know what to do with them," said Markku Jokinen, president of the World Federation of the Deaf.
Posted @ 6:28 AM
Local students win Deaf Teen America Pageant
Celine Daze, a 15-year-old high school sophomore from Frederick, spends her spare time on her computer and pager, and does her homework "if I have time." Zachary Ennis, a 16-year-old junior from Middletown, is passionate about politics and social studies. He has read the newspaper every day since he was in sixth grade.
Posted @ 6:26 AM
Clerc Center launches summer institute June 19-July9
This summer, the Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center is offering its highly acclaimed trainings and workshops in a three-week summer institute to be held on Gallaudet’s campus. The training sessions and workshops cover a variety of topics and are specially designed for professionals working with deaf and hard of hearing students.
Posted @ 6:24 AM
Signs of change at Gallaudet
Protests swept I. King Jordan into the presidency of Gallaudet University 18 years ago. Now, as he prepares to retire, protest once again has erupted on campus. But it is the differences between the two that are instructive -- instructive about changes in our perceptions of deafness and disability and about how progress in medical science may shape more change in the future.
Posted @ 6:22 AM
Deal in works on aid for deaf in Illinois courts
Illinois and the U.S. Department of Justice are nearing a deal on whether courts should provide real-time transcripts for the deaf, according to a letter written by former U.S. Attorney General Dick Thornburgh.
Posted @ 6:21 AM
Deaf students adjust to Bay Area
It was winter when Isidore Niyongabo arrived in Fremont a year and a half ago. It was cold and lonely for the 24-year-old, who was used to the humid climate and genial atmosphere of his native Burundi, a small African country wedged between Uganda and Tanzania.
Posted @ 6:19 AM
May 13, 2006
Hearing impaired boy sings for Pope
A 9-year-old Canadian boy who suffers from a birth defect that affected his hearing sang for Pope Benedict XVI on Thursday during an audience with Canadian bishops. Jeremy Gabriel, born with Treacher Collins syndrome, which often results in hearing problems, said he was "very nervous" at first because his family had been stuck in traffic and almost was late to the Vatican.
Posted @ 6:40 AM
Cochlear implants allow deaf family to hear
Although Samantha McBride was born deaf, she can hear with the help of a magnet on one side of her head. Her curious kindergarten classmates like to pull the magnet off. "I tell them, 'Don't take it off,' but they keep doing it," the 6-year-old said. "They want to know what it is."
Posted @ 6:37 AM
Few Ohio preschools focus on helping hearing-impaired kids
It used to be that 4-year-old Ben Bravis would come home from preschool with his hearing aids turned off. "I would wonder how lost he felt all day," said his mom, Janette Bravis. Now, Ben attends a new program that is only one of two of its kind at a public school in Ohio. The Stark Project for Educating Audition in Kids - SPEAK - is designed to help hearing-impaired children get ready for grade school and learn how to interact better with hearing peers.
Posted @ 6:35 AM
The pros and cons of buying hearing aids online
Before the advent of the Internet created the ability to buy hearing aids online, if you were looking to obtain digital hearing aids for yourself or for a loved one, your options were limited. Historically, you would most likely purchase your hearing aids from someone local: a licensed dispenser, a dispensing audiologist, or an otologist, who in turn acquired the hearing aids from a manufacturer. You could also purchase digital hearing aids from mail order businesses, but they were limited in number and offered limited products as well.
Posted @ 6:33 AM
Do you have difficulty hearing women's or children's voices
Hearing, like sight and the other senses, diminishes with age. From 1971-1990 hearing loss among 45 to 60 year-olds jumped by 150 per cent. This generation was the first exposed to rock and roll, power tools and increased traffic noise and their hearing has paid the price.
Posted @ 6:32 AM
N.Y. should require hearing aid coverage
The Rochester chapter of the Hearing Loss Association of America is right to complain that the average health insurance policy in New York covers things such as eyeglasses and prostheses but excludes hearing aids.
Posted @ 6:31 AM
Silence on stage
Three hours before showtime, Tiffany West descends the steps into the nightclub's basement. She finds a small table and begins stacking her costumes in the reverse order in which she will change into them later that night. The 25-year-old doesn't flinch from the sounds made by a drag queen in 5-inch heels contorting to get around her from behind, then click, click, clicking past. West remains crouched, digging through her backpack.
Posted @ 6:27 AM
Deaf get their own film festival in Toronto
A film about a disc jockey who loses his hearing after decades of listening to pounding music kicks off a Toronto festival on deaf culture on Thursday, highlighting efforts to explain the deaf to a hearing world.
Posted @ 6:26 AM
At school for deaf, D.C. chief criticized
Protests over the naming of a new president to head the nation's only college for the deaf have reverberated through the halls of the California School for the Deaf. The Fremont-based school has dispatched two staff members to Washington, D.C., to participate in student and faculty demonstrations demanding that Gallaudet University's Board of Trustees withdraw the appointment of Jane Fernandes as its next president.
Posted @ 6:25 AM
Deaf students in Baghdad face compounded dangers
The Iraqi capital is one of the deadliest and noisiest cities on Earth: Car bombs or improvised explosive devices blow up with sickening regularity, firefights erupt spontaneously, helicopters thunder across the skies, and ambulance sirens blare.
Posted @ 6:24 AM
Why sign language isn't a joke
It was an evening of nostalgia in Wilton House, Belfast, during the annual meeting of the Council for the Advancement of Communication with Deaf People (CACDP). Professor Mary Wilmot, former director of Social Services in Northern Ireland, spoke on her personal and professional experiences of deaf people and the changes that she feels are still required.
Posted @ 6:23 AM
How I cope being partially deaf
Press Packer Catherine is partially deaf. In her report she tells us about the different ways in which she communicates. "I'm partially deaf. My mum and step-dad are fully deaf and my sister and my real dad are hearing.
Posted @ 6:20 AM
May 11, 2006
UNH students told to turn down the tunes or risk hearing loss
Turning down the volume on an iPod can save a person's hearing, students at the University of New Hampshire told their classmates yesterday as they worked out. In celebration of Better Hearing and Speech month, students from the UNH chapter of the National Student Speech Language Hearing Association offered free audio tests for classmates to see if they were listening too loud as they worked out at Whittemore Center.
Posted @ 6:33 AM
Drinking red wine may help prevent deafness
Age-related deafness, and hearing loss caused by loud noise, may be reduced by the antioxidants in red wine, green tea and aspirin, it was claimed yesterday. The compounds they contain could help protect the delicate hairs of the inner ear that are vital to hearing, new research suggests.
Posted @ 6:31 AM
Is Deaf University President not 'deaf enough'?
Their protests don't sound like those on any other college campus, because many students at Gallaudet University, the nation's preeminent college for deaf and hearing-disabled students, have trouble speaking. But their message is nonetheless loud and clear: They oppose the board of trustees' unanimous selection for a new university president, the current provost Jane Fernandes.
Posted @ 6:28 AM
2006 Gallaudet University Commencement signals end of an era
President I. King Jordan, the university’s first deaf president, presides over his last graduation exercises. It will be an historic moment for those in attendance during Gallaudet University’s 2006 Spring Commencement Exercises, taking place May 12 at 1:30 p.m.
Posted @ 6:26 AM
Hearing the world through deaf ears
Trying to purchase food to host a dinner party for eight is challenging enough, but think about how tough it would be if you couldn't hear, speak or write. This is exactly what Regional Councillor Tony Van Bynen was asked to do as part of the Deaf for a Day 2006 campaign hosted by the York Region Canadian Hearing Society.
Posted @ 6:23 AM
Hear's my boy
When Isaac was born severely to profoundly deaf, his mother thought he'd never attend a regular school. Thanks largely to Blackburn's Taralye oral language centre for deaf children, mum Melinda's dream will come true.
Posted @ 6:22 AM
Matlin's optimism lights up Weidner
Probably in some obscure language spoken in a country no one's yet heard of, the words "marlee matlin" have to mean "cup half full." They just have to. As in optimist, bright side. Rose-colored glasses.
Posted @ 6:19 AM
Award for hearing aid concept
A team of unsung heroes from Lynn's Queen Elizabeth Hospital are celebrating after scooping a major regional award for speeding up the fitting of hearing aids – with an innovative use of dental equipment.
Posted @ 6:16 AM
Deaf-mutes make a noisey rucus
Normally, those with disabilities bring warm feelings to heart as they struggle to achieve and get ahead despite their limitations often with a positive outlook most of us could learn from. Ironically, though, the deaf seem to rank among the crabbiest leftwing activists out there.
Posted @ 6:12 AM
Head of Gallaudet Univ. board resigns
The interim head of the Gallaudet University board of trustees has resigned, saying she was overwhelmed by the protests that greeted the selection of a new president to lead the nation's only liberal arts college for the deaf.
Posted @ 6:09 AM
May 9, 2006
Lend me an ear
Tammy Catalano, of Mt. Pleasant, doesn't go anywhere without her black Labrador, Windy. Restaurants, shopping malls, grocery stores and Westmoreland County Community College, where Catalano works as a secretary in the athletic department, all welcome Windy, her hearing assistance dog.
Posted @ 4:53 AM
Connecticut's first housing project for the hearing impaired
A brand new housing complex is almost complete. It's already full of people and there are more on a waiting list. The reason it's so popular is because it's specially designed for the hearing impaired.
Posted @ 4:51 AM
Device developed at SoCal lab restores sound to the deaf
The neuroscience laboratory of Huntington Medical Research Institutes, the site of several revolutionary discoveries, is aging and worn, but still produces some groundbreaking technologies. Within the lab’s walls, researchers have recently discovered how to plug directly into the brain and restore hearing to those who would have remained irreparably deaf just a few years ago.
Posted @ 4:48 AM
Hearing losses gaining on younger people
At 37, drummer John Morse had grown tired of the constant ringing in his ears, especially when he laid his head on the pillow at night. He went to United Rehabilitation Services in Riverside on Monday to have earplugs made that he can pop in when he slips behind the drums.
Posted @ 4:47 AM
Raleigh man fails to get refund after not receiving hearing aid
Hearing aids can be extremely expensive, so it is tempting to try something at a better price, but one Wake County man did not even get to find out whether they worked or not. Wilton Fleming has worn hearing aids for 10 years. Recently, he noticed they were not working so well. Then he saw ads for Crystal Ear hearing devices. The hearing aids were $379 each plus shipping and handling, for a total of almost $780.
Posted @ 4:45 AM
Cochlear implants restore hearing by covering for inner-ear hair loss
Reader response to my recent column about modern hearing aids included an e-mail message from Jeanne Leffers, who recommended that I devote a column to cochlear implants. Leffers had used a hearing aid for more than 30 years before her implant operation.
Posted @ 4:43 AM
A last plea for clemency for a young, deaf immigrant
Lost in the current debate over illegal immigration is the story of Joshua Tantoro, a 9-year-old severely deaf boy, who after two years in this country has finally begun to communicate. Now he and his family may be forced to return to Indonesia, where once his condition became apparent he faced shunning and worse.
Posted @ 4:42 AM
May 8, 2006
iPod hearing loss protection for boomers: Five HearPod solutions
Since their debut in the marketplace, iPods have revolutionized the way we listen to music. iPod hard drives store up to 300 hours of music, batteries last for 12 hours, and the volume can be cranked up to 120 decibels. That’s louder than a chain saw or pneumatic drill, and equivalent to a jet plane taking off! But iPod fans are being warned to turn their music down. Even manufacturer, Apple, includes a cautionary note with every iPod, warning, "permanent hearing loss may occur if earphones or headphones are used at high volume."
Posted @ 9:27 PM
Deaf girl excels in writing
Zhang Xini, a 15-year-old deaf girl from Shenzhen in South China's Guangdong Province, has published four fictions with 1.7-million Chinese characters, created three websites, and made two inventions.
Posted @ 4:55 AM
Deaf students sue USU, regents
Deaf students at Utah State University aren't getting an equal education, according to a class-action lawsuit filed Monday. The suit, filed by a group of 12 deaf current and former USU students, claims the school provides inadequate services for deaf students, including a shortage of qualified sign-language interpreters and few recourses for deaf students.
Posted @ 4:38 AM
Gallaudet faculty mulls no-confidence vote
The newly chosen president of Gallaudet University, the nation's only liberal arts college for the deaf, faced student protests and a possible faculty no-confidence vote Monday in a dispute that she said comes down to whether she is "deaf enough" for the job.
Posted @ 4:37 AM
May 4, 2006
Portable music players blamed for hearing loss
Are iPods and MP3 players affecting the hearing of young people? A new report from the American Speech Language Hearing Association stated that more than half of high school students reported at least one symptom of hearing loss, which could be caused by the many hours teens spend listening to loud music, NBC5's Nesita Kwan reported.
Posted @ 7:18 PM
Children with cochlear implants doing well In mainstream classrooms
The WRAL Health Team has been following the Allen family of Wake Forest since 1999. That's when 7-month-0old Evan Allen was the youngest child in the country to receive a cochlear implant. All three of the Allen children have cochlear implants. Their success hasn't come without a lot of work at school and at home.
Posted @ 7:15 PM
Engineers try to solve playground cochlear implant problem
For some deaf children, a plastic slide is a more formidable foe than the school wedgie-giver. Static electricity buildup from sliding down a plastic slide — instant summertime fun for the hearing set — can temporarily silence the world to cochlear implantees.
Posted @ 7:14 PM
Advances in cochlear implants
About one in a thousand children are born each year with an auditory deficiency that is susceptible to treatment by means of a cochlear implant. A cochlear implant is an electronic device capable of substituting for the external, middle and inner ear, picking up the sound vibrations, transforming them into electrical stimuli and applying them directly to the auditory nerve in such a way that the brain processes this signal in a meaningful manner.
Posted @ 7:13 PM
Cochlear implants become family affair
By 1999, 2-year-old children were the youngest to receive a cochlear implant, but two years of silence put those children far behind others in their ability to speak and understand oral language. That is why the Allen family became national pioneers for earlier implant surgery.
Posted @ 7:11 PM
Health coverage for hearing aids
For the fourth time since 2002, the California State Senate is grappling with a bill that would require insurance companies help finance hearing aids for children. It's a legislative battle inspired by one determined Burbank parent.
Posted @ 7:08 PM
Deaf culture grows in South Texas
Keeping silent about something that affects every aspect of your life isn't easy, but for Maria Cardenas, it felt like the right thing to do. "My deafness was kept kind of like a secret," Cardenas said. "It was my business and nobody else's business."
Posted @ 7:07 PM
The silent Warrior
Portage track team member Brandon Brekke is deaf, but sometimes coach Brad Meixner thinks he is the only kid listening. "While the other kids are talking and being distracted by side conversations, I sometimes feel like when I am talking, Brandon is the only one who knows what I said," Meixner said.
Posted @ 7:06 PM
He communicated without talking
Jason Dean Jensen never talked, but his loving heart spoke volumes. Jensen died April 25 of pneumonia complications. He was 23. He had a loving family. He also had cerebral palsy. He couldn’t talk. He could move just his left arm and hand.
Posted @ 7:04 PM
May 3, 2006
Long-time Deaf and Blind School principal retires
The principal at the Montana School for the Deaf and Blind is retiring after 34 years. Bill Davis has been a teacher, a counselor, dean of students and, for the last 20 years, the principal of the school.
Posted @ 5:15 AM
Marlee Matlin joins "The L Word"
Oscar winner Marlee Matlin is joining the cast of "The L Word," Showtime's drama about a circle of lesbian friends and lovers who move in the trendiest of L.A. circles.
Posted @ 5:12 AM
Struggling with tinnitus
The first hint I had that something was wrong with my hearing was during a long phone conversation. I unwittingly transferred the receiver from my usual left to right ear. Damn, there was a drastic drop in the pitch and the voice from the other end appeared faint and distant.
Posted @ 5:06 AM
Students protest new Gallaudet President
Trustees at Gallaudet University have picked a new president, but a lot of students aren't happy with the choice. Monday, Jane Fernandes, the school's provost for the last seven years, was named the new president. She will replace I. King Jordan, the school's first hearing-impaired president, who is now retiring.
Posted @ 5:01 AM
Program aims to inspire youths to tend their ears
Listen up. Upper school pupils at Palm Beach Day School want everyone to hear an important message. Concerts and loud music coming through headsets can damage the inner workings of the ear, eventually leading to hearing loss.
Posted @ 5:00 AM
Deaf and hard of hearing people still face discrimination in the job market
According to the results of an RNID survey issued today to mark the start of Deaf Awareness Week, only 63% of deaf and hard of hearing people of working age are in employment, compared to 75% of the national work force. Thousands of deaf and hard of hearing people are still facing serious barriers to employment and RNID is urging employers to help combat discrimination and create more accessible workplaces.
Posted @ 4:58 AM
May 2, 2006
Gallaudet University names Dr. Jane K. Fernandes President
Dr. Jane K. Fernandes, Gallaudet University Provost since 2000, was introduced today as Gallaudet’s 9th president. She will take office in January 2007. Celia May Baldwin, Interim Chair of the university’s Board of Trustees made the announcement at a campus convocation this afternoon after the full board elected Dr. Fernandes president over the weekend.
Posted @ 1:42 AM
Did you hear? Aspirin is safer
Around the world, inexpensive antibiotics known as aminoglycosides have been used for the past 60 years in the battles against acute infections and tuberculosis, as antibacterial prophylaxis in cystic fibrosis and other patients, and in and other conditions. But for all of the good they do, the drugs also have been widely linked to irreversible hearing loss.
Posted @ 1:41 AM
A common language
Hayden Orr bounds off his school bus and heads for the main hallway. The 8-year-old looks the part of a typical grade school student. Blond bangs frame his brown eyes. He's wearing a navy blue pullover with a windsurfer logo and totes a large, moss-green book bag on his back.
Posted @ 1:25 AM
Prison service blasted for treatment of deaf inmate
A judge yesterday criticised prison authorities for failing to provide proper medical attention to an inmate whose hearing has deteriorated during his seven years behind bars.
Posted @ 1:24 AM
May 1, 2006
Ear implant was born in Memphis 50 years ago
Shea has since performed the same ear surgery on more than 25,000 patients, while millions worldwide have also had their hearing restored with his invention, an artificial stapes bone. Shea is 81 today, and still performing the same procedure.
Posted @ 1:42 AM
Using proper headphones can prevent hearing loss
People keep pumping up the volume on their digital music players -- and damaging their hearing -- because those cheap little headphones can't block out external noise. When you're walking down a busy street, riding a city bus or taking the A train, the iPod's volume goes up, up and up when competing with the ambient noise.
Posted @ 1:38 AM
Words of silence
Keeping silent about something that affects every aspect of your life isn’t easy, but for Maria Cardenas, it felt like the right thing to do. “My deafness was kept kind of like a secret,” Cardenas said. “It was my business and nobody else’s business.”
Posted @ 1:36 AM
Deadline looms for hearing aid compatibility
Most wireless carriers and manufacturers are confident they can meet the upcoming deadlines for new FCC requirements on hearing aid compatibility, including those dealing with both RF emissions and telecoil coupling.
Posted @ 1:31 AM
Gallaudet’s theatre department presents “Much Ado About Nothing”
Gallaudet University, the world leader in liberal education and career development for deaf and hard-of-hearing undergraduate students, and Amaryllis Theatre Company, a professional company in Philadelphia that works with Deaf and hearing actors on a regular basis, have partnered this year on a project to translate Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing into American Sign Language and co-produce the play in both cities with students and theatre faculty from Gallaudet and nearly a dozen professional actors from around the country.
Posted @ 1:23 AM
Fair deal for deaf people urged
Thousands of people with hearing problems in Scotland face discrimination in the job market, with many unable to find work, campaigners say. About 758,000 deaf and hard- of-hearing people live in Scotland, and figures from the RNID charity suggest more than a third are unemployed.
Posted @ 1:22 AM