Next meeting

Our speaker for the March meeting is Mrs. Joanne Rosenberg of the Starky Foundation of Eden Prairie Minnesota.  Mrs. Rosenberg who lives in Farmington, CT, will speak about the latest technology in Hearing Aids and hearing Devices.

April
                                    Meeting--“What’s old is new again!”  Dr. Kathleen Cienkowski will discuss two hot trends
                                    in audiology, auditory training programs for hearing aid and cochlear implant users and open ear fit hearing aids.  Dr.
                                    Cienkowski is an associate professor of audiology at the University
                                    of Connecticut. Her research interests include the effects of aging on
                                    the successful use of amplification, aural rehabilitation strategies for the elderly, and the integration of auditory and
                                    visual information for the perception of speech across the lifespan. She has received funding for her research from the National
                                    Institutes of Health and the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Elections

The new officers and Board of Directors that were
                                    elected are shown on the last page.

Newsletter

For those who have not paid their dues for the year this will be the last
                                    news letter.  We cannot afford to send free copies to non dues paying members
                                    as the cost of reproduction and mailing add up to a significant amount over the year.

For those
                                    of you who have e-mail and would like your copy earlier, will send your copy by email and help to reduce expenses.  Please give Bob Balinskas or Frances Maiorana your email address.

 Hearing Aid Program

We
                                    have been applying for grants to give out Hearing Aids to people that can’t afford them. 
                                    Pat Rock has successfully obtained a $3000 grant from Altrusa

Pat
                                    Rock is still continuing to look for grants.  If you know of any organization
                                    that gives grants or other financial resources, please let Pat (1-860-429-1756) or Norm (1-860-923-0171) know who they are
                                    and how to contact them.

 

ABOUT COCHLEAR IMPLANTS Advances in computer technology as well as in ear surgery itself have given us the opportunity to offer the world of sound, music, and speech to those who would otherwise have spent their lives in a soundless cocoon. Those who are born deaf (prelingual deafness), as well as children and adults who lost their hearing from either disease or trauma (post lingual deafness), can experience the gift of hearing thanks to cochlear implants. Even Seniors have had, and are encourage to receive an implanted Development of the devices came about through the surgical experiments of a group of French medical scientists as well as , the pioneering work of William House of Los Angeles, Dr. Robert Schindler of San Francisco and a cochlear implant team from Melbourne Australia. Miniaturization and advances in computer technology over the last 30 years set the stage for the further development of more sophisticated and effective cochlear implant devices. Today, over 30,000 individuals have been implanted worldwide; over 3,000 cochlear implants were performed in 1999 alone.

2. Proposed H.B. No. 6282     AN ACT REQUIRING HEALTH INSURANCE COVERAGE FOR HEARING AIDS FOR ADULTS. .(Current law limits coverage for hearing aids to children twelve years of age or younger.) To provide partial health insurance coverage for the cost of hearing aids for adults.   Introduced by: Rep. Elizabeth A. Boukus, 22nd Dist.   1/19/2007   Referred to Joint Committee on Insurance and Real Estate

 

TO CLEAR UP SOME CONFUSION ON HOW CELL PHONES ARE RATED

BY STEVE BARBER

Originally many cell phones caused interference with hearing aids; usually a 'buzzing' sound. It came from either radio interference with the hearing aid circuits or from electromagnetic interference with the Telecoil.

The problem was in both the hearing aids and in the phones. The hearing
aids weren't shielded from these interference sources and the phones weren't protected from emitting these types of interference.

Nowadays, hearing aids are often better protected. So when you buy your next hearing aid you might want to check on how well it's protected from such interference.

Some, but not all phones are also better (that is, some still do cause severe inference in either or both M or T modes for some aids).

The Govt. now requires each vendor to provide "M" and "T" ratings for at
least some of their phones. This rule just became effective recently.

The "M" rating indicates how the phone behaves in terms of interfering with hearing aids when used with the hearing aid's microphone. Usually the ratings are "M3" or "M4", with the "M4" having the best performance (less
interference with hearing aids in microphone mode). There’s also an "M1" (
TO CLEAR UP SOME CONFUSION ON HOW CELL PHONES ARE RATED

 

BY STEVE BARBER

 

Originally many cell phones caused interference with hearing aids; usually a 'buzzing' sound. It came from either radio interference with the hearing aid circuits or from electromagnetic interference with the Telecoil.

The problem was in both the hearing aids and in the phones. The hearing aids weren't shielded from these interference sources and the phones weren't protected from emitting these types of interference. Nowadays, hearing aids are often better protected. So when you buy your next hearing aid you might want to check on how well it's protected from such interference.  Some, but not all phones are also better (that is, some still do cause severe inference in either or both M or T modes for some aids).

The Govt. now requires each vendor to provide "M" and "T" ratings for at least some of their phones. This rule just became effective recently. The "M" rating indicates how the phone behaves in terms of interfering with hearing aids when used with the hearing aid's microphone. Usually the ratings are "M3" or "M4", with the "M4" having the best performance (less interference with hearing aids in microphone mode).  There’s also an "M1" (unacceptable) and "M2" (fair), but these are not allowed to be called "Hearing Aid Compatible" (HAC), so normally you'll only see the 3 or 4 levels referenced.  The "T" rating is similar, but indicates how well the phone behaves in terms
of interference with Telecoils. Again "T4" is the better rating.

Note that these ratings have nothing to do with how loud or how clear the phone is in any mode (magnetic, "ear piece", speaker or ringer) ... the ratings only cover how well they do at not causing interference. There are not ratings for those other things, so try before you buy.

Newer hearing aids are also better protected, too. So you may find that an M3 or T3 phone works fine with your new aid. You may even find that an unrated phone (there are lots of those) also works fine with some newer aids.

My older analog aid used to be a problem on ALL cell phones. But my newer digital aid works well with no interference (I can hear anyway) on both M3 and M4 phones.

 

M= microphone on h/ aid or C.I

T= Telecoil.

The above article was taken off the HLAA-Leaders List. To contact the writer-Steve Barber- his email address is: steve.barber@earthlink.net

 

 

 

 

 

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