HEARING LOSS ASSOCIATION-QUIET CORNER, INC. NEWS
OCTOBER 2007
A PUBLICATION OF HEARING LOSS ASSOCIATION-QUIET CORNER, INC., AN AFFILIATE OF HEARING LOSS ASSOCIATION OF
AMERICA
A NON-PROFIT, TAX EXEMPT ORGANIZATION P.O. BOX 314, ASHFORD, CONNECTICUT 06278
WEB SITE:
http://qcshhh.tripod.com/
A movement to change the way the world thinks about hearing loss and the way individuals with hearing loss think about
themselves
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Next meeting
At the next meeting, Oct 13th at Ashford Senior Housing (across the street from the Town Hall), we will
have a round table discussion of Cochlear Implants.
Last Meeting
The Board has changed the meeting place back to Ashford Senior housing across the street from the Town Hall.
They did this for ease of setup and cleanup and the ability to stay longer after meetings. Norm got soaked when the gutters
overflowed and the door locked behind him. He had to get back in for more of his materials. Fortunately the janitor heard
him knocking and opened the door.
In correspondence with Randy Kirsch, our past president, he informed us that he had never applied foe a 503©
number but had used National’s 503© number. As the form is 30 pages long (probably exaggerated) he felt it would be
easier to change the name then fill out the form. We need a 503© number as our hearing aid program uses grant money. The board
voted to change the name to HLA-QC.
During the open discussion, Erica Bolanis had the following question:
"Does anybody happen to know if agencies such as AAA RESPOND in text form in
return to a text-ed phone message to them in case road assistance is needed?
She explained that she is in constant worry about needing road assistance on the road while traveling by car on her
own, and mentioned that she did have a problem once when a tire blew out on a highway and she was dependent on the kindness
of strangers.
Nobody stopped because it was a busy highway but eventually a state trouper arrived and told her somebody called police
from a car phone to report a disabled car.
It came to mind that what if I had a break-down in a dangerous neighborhood? What if nobody took notice, would I have
had to walk and knock on doors for help? I travel thru a State Forest to my home and what if I hit a deer? How far would
I have to hike in bad weather without a car phone?
I bet you never have given it a thought.
The TTY number on your AAA card is of no help because one does not have access to a TTY phone in the car out
on the road.
A couple of members sent Erica e-mails with their thoughts after the meeting. All new cell phones have GPS (Global Positioning
System) built in. When you Dial 911 they know exactly where you are. Even if you can't hear them on the cell phone,
they can hear you. If you don't or can't speak, they will send the police to check out the call.
If you are more modern, you can text message on your cell phone. My daughter does that all the time. (I don't know
how to do it but I can learn.) You can text message AAA that you have a problem and request they text message you back.
I don't know if the have that capability but we should be able to find out.
There is a problem with cell phones- they do not have 100% coverage. You could be out of range of the nearest cell
phone tower, especially in the State Forest. All cities and major highways are covered by the towers. Secondary
highways between towns may not have coverage.
If you really want to have communication in an emergency, you can get a satellite phone. They are very expensive
but work all over the world, i.e. Alaska, deserts, Antarctica, etc. I don't know if they have GPS, but I think so.
This might be a topic for a meeting with some one from the police or 911 Office to give some depth to the presentation.
Another member wrote "Why not contact AAA by TTY and ask if they accept text calls from deaf members?" If they don't, then
during an emergency send a text message to someone -- a family member or friend -- and ask them to call AAA for you. (Note;
I think you can only text message between cell phones.) You will need to tell them the name of the street and town you are
in. It's best if you could also give a house number so the emergency staff will have an idea of your location on the street.
Be sure to describe your car: year, make and model.
A deaf friend of mine was visiting her father in a hospital. She needed to use the elevator to get to his floor. After
visiting her father, she entered the elevator for the return to ground level. Much to her horror, the elevator got stuck!
My friend was deaf - hearing aids or a cochlear implant did not help her - but she could speak so she looked at the emergency
instructions in the elevator and lifted the phone receiver and spoke: I am deaf. I cannot hear your response. I am stuck in
an elevator in ___ Hospital. Please send help. She repeated her message until she was rescued.
Norm thought this would be a good topic for a meeting and was going to try and get a speaker.
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At the meeting, Norm brought in the Pedestal that we are donating to Tony Maxon’s memorial. Norm donated $25 and
other members contributed. It got great comments at the dedication.
To cover increasing costs the dues were increased to $15/person and $25/family.
COMING TO USE (EVENTUALLY): HANDHELD DEVICES for MEDIA ACCESSIBLE FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE DEAF OR HARD OF HEARING.
WGBH / - WGBH has announced that it has received a $600,000 grant from the Department of Education's National Institute
on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (
http://www.ed. gov) to support its efforts to make handheld media accessible for people who are deaf or hard of hearing.
Titled Captioning Solutions for Handheld Media and Mobile Devices, the grant provides WGBH's Carl and Ruth Shapiro
Family National Center for Accessible Media (NCAM) with $600,000 over three years to research and develop technical solutions
for delivering captioned content to iPods, cell phones, PDAs and other mobile devices.
"From TV programs
to school science experiments to corporate training presentations, more and more video content is being delivered through
handheld media," said Larry Goldberg, Director of Media Access for WGBH. "Yet the 28 million Americans who are deaf and hard
of hearing can't fully benefit from this content because it lacks captions."
Currently, Goldberg said,
none of the existing technologies for producing and distributing content via mobile devices possesses the technical requirements
needed to transmit captions. In addition, the few video-enabled handheld devices that have the technical capability to receive
captioned content don't offer any controls that would enable deaf or hard of hearing users to access those captions.
Through the grant, WGBH will research ways of embedding captioning solutions within handheld devices and develop prototypes
that will serve as proof-of-concept models for the mobile technology industry and public policymakers. WGBH also will explore
and develop strategies for captioning media that is streamed directly to mobile devices via wireless networks, multi-channel
DTV distribution or downloaded to desktop computers and then transferred to mobile devices. Website: www.wgbh.org.
Hearing Aid Immunity Levels: Useful information to have when shopping for a mobile phone
(From HLAA Enews 9/10/2007))
The hearing aid industry will now rate the immunity level of their hearing aids and put the information in the product
manual that is included with each hearing aid purchase. Hearing Industries Association (HIA), the trade association for hearing
aid manufacturers, said that all of their members have agreed to include the language in their manuals. HIA membership produces
approximately 90% of hearing aid purchased in the US. The sample language sent to the Food and Drug administration, the agency that
regulates hearing aids, states the minimum immunity level, but some companies according to Carole Rogin, executive director
of HIA, may choose to use specific immunity levels. The bottom line is consumers need to look for the immunity levels of their
hearing aid and they should be at least M2. This information will help when purchasing a mobile phone. Adding the immunity
rating of the hearing aid to the rating of the mobile phone, as long as the total comes to at least 5, the phone
should be usable with a hearing aid. The higher the total number the better the phone is expected to perform with the
hearing aid. So remember to ask your hearing health professional to tell you the immunity level of your current hearing
aid or hearing aids.
Membership Application
NAME: _________________________________________ADDRESS: _________________________________________TELEPHONE: _________________________
(TTY: ___YES, ____NO) E-MAIL ADDRESS: _________________________________________ANNUAL ACTIVITY FEE (per Calendar year): SINGLE
$15/YR _____ FAMILY $25/YR _____SPOUSE (if family participation): _________________________________DO YOU REQUIRE ANY ASSISTIVE
LISTENING DEVICES FOR MEETINGS? YES___ NO___ IF YES, PLEASE SPECIFY:________________________________________________________________BRIEF
HISTORY OF HEARING DIFFICULTY:__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ARE
YOU INTERESTED IN SERVING ON ANY CHAPTER COMMITTEES, SUCH AS MEMBERSHIP, PUBLICITY, NEWSLETTER, OUT REACH, FUND RAISING?
YES ____ NO ____. IF SO, PLEASE SPECIFY AREA OF INTEREST: ________________________________________________________________ARE
YOU A MEMBER OF THE NATIONAL ORGANIZATION, SELF HELP FOR HARD OF HEARING PEOPLE, INC.? YES_____ NO _____
Please complete this form with your check payable to QUIET CORNER SHHH, INC., return to HLA-QC @ P. O.
Box 314, Ashford CT 06278
Officers
President - Norman Babbitt (860) 923-0171
nbabbitt0171@charter.net
Vice President Nancy Paulhus, (860)423-4784
Treasurer Robert Balinskas (860) 745-6654 Balinskas@sbcglobal.net
Secretary Ruth Mensing (860) 646-7039
aemensing@snet.net
Board of Directors
Gerald Boone (860) 774-5575
Trudy Carr (860) 877-5069 trudycarr73@hotmail.com
David Kovarovics (860) 429-4690
Patricia Rock
patrock1944@sbcglobal.net
CAN Operator
Kathy Rivers (860) 202-5297
