HEARING LOSS ASSOCIATION- OF AMERICA QUIET CORNER CHAPTER NEWS
APRIL 2008
A PUBLICATION OF Hearing Loss Association of America Quietcorner Chapter, 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
Next Meeting
At the next meeting, April 12 th at Ashford Senior Housing (across the street from the Town Hall), our speaker
will Mrs. Diane Wixted M.S.--LPC-- LADC ---( Conn Dept Of Hard Of Hearing))-CDHI- Supervisor of Counseling Services
And Legislative Liaison--- Counseling Services Officer, Personal and Family Counseling for those who are Deaf, Hard
of Hearing, .or have any Type of Hearing Loss. Legislative duties include Newborn Hearing program, Hearing Aids
for Children--(to 18) Qualifying Apps For Deaf Interpreters And Oral Sign Language. She will discuss her duties---
Guest Speaker For May Is Debbie BAKER, Regional Director-- For New England States-- Coming From STOWE
Vermont We are inviting all Chapters in Ct-- NH-- Mass-- RI—to the meeting.
June speaker is Ralph Compagna of Ampilsound-----
Last Meeting
Eva Bero, an Audiologist from UMass. Discussed; ‘Hearing aids and how they work’. She spoke about some
of the ways the ear can stop working properly and the effect background noise has on someone with a hearing aid or CI. The
talk was well received.
Pat Rock and Nancy Paulhus have gotten us another grant ($2900). We have decided that this will be the last grant
we will apply for. We will give out hearing aids until the money is gone and that will be the end of the program.
From Mike Finneran- Sprint Account manager
Information to all Quiet Corner members about the CapTel distribution program
CapTel, a CAPTIONED telephone, are distributed to people with hearing loss who are CT full time residents –Free of
charge- as part of a program set up by CT state mandated - state funded telephone relay service (TRS). There is no cost for
getting a CapTel- no cost to use for local calls (regular long distance charges would apply). CT gives out up to 15 per month
with no strings attached. And for those of you who would like more information or see one in operation, we will be having
a demonstration of CapTel at the Sprint office, 34 Jerome Ave Bloomfield CT (suite 220) on April 14th beginning at 10:00AM,
and we extent an invitation to all to join with us.
Also- I would like to remind everyone about the difference between one line and 2 line CapTel:
With 1-Line CapTel: To get captions on your incoming calls, your caller must first dial the toll free number for the Captioning
Service and then enter your phone number. You will get captions during any call that is placed through the captioning service.
If your caller dials you directly, the call will not be captioned. "Call Me" cards that list the toll free captioning service
number are included with the CapTel phone. You can give the "Call Me" cards to people who call frequently. For additional
“Call Me” cards please contact my office at 860.242-7989
With 2-Line CapTel: If you are using 2-Line CapTel, you simply press the caption button at any point in a conversation
to get captions. Your callers dial your number directly to reach you, they don't need to dial the captioning service first.
NOTE: TWO lines mean 2 distinct telephone numbers coming into the house (this is not the same as using the same line in
another room
From the Desk of Mike Finneran
Make a CapTel call via the web!
The next generation of captioned telephone service is here in CT; the good news is that you do NOT need to use a special
telephone (like a TTY or CapTel) to have a captioned call. This new technique is called WebCapTel. Here is a short summary
of the way it works:
Sprint WebCapTel is a web-based service that allows a person who can speak but has difficulty hearing over the phone to
read word-for-word captions of their call on a web browser during the call, while at the same time hearing the other person
using any telephone.
A user would make or receive calls while logged into a website (www.sprintcaptel.com) and hear the person on the other
line using their own cell phone, desk phone, cordless phone, or even an amplified phone. The user (if they have any residual
hearing) hears the person speaking through any telephone, not through the internet or web browser. During the call, captions
appear on the user's web browser and computer screen (and you can make the words as big as you want, a real boon to those
with limited vision.)Both incoming and outgoing call can be captioned this way, and as with regular CapTel, there is no charge
of using this service (your regular long distance charges still prevail) . First time users do need to sign up for this service-
which is quick and easy to do, just go to http://www.sprintcaptel.com/ and follow the easy prompts. If HLAA members have any questions, please contact my office at http://us.f805.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=Michael.r.finneran@sprint.com or call me at 860.242-7989
Letter to our dear members and friends of HLAA
I do like to jot down things that have happened to me in the course of daily interaction with people out there in the “hearing”
world. Yesterday I had one of those experiences; Call me an advocate for people with hearing loss- or just someone who
feels that his rights granted to all of us, has been compromised, stepped on or curtailed.
Here is my story: Yesterday- I was having some blood drawn at the Quest Labs on White Plains Rd in Trumbull CT for my annual
cholesterol check-up. I picked my number from the holder and proceeded to the waiting area. (I was # 14) – With maybe
3-4 people ahead of me. I knew it wouldn’t be a long wait. I tried to sit in the most accessible spot to hear (or speech
read) in the room.
Unfortunately- the “caller” was sitting in another room, and I was just able to know that a number was being
called, but not what the number was. I went to the desk of the person responsible for alerting people that it was their turn,
and I complained that I was unable to hear accurately, and asked her to help me out.
Help me out! Ha; this turned out to be her suggestion, that I should ask a hearing person sitting close to me- when #14
was being called.
GRRR..And folks, doesn’t or won’t that attitude make us appear as 2nd class citizens, or having
a disability that requires us to bring a “hearing” person with us to act as our crutch. I did ask this same lady,
what do other people with hearing loss do, how do they manage?. She said while she sympathizes with my predicament, there
was nothing she could suggest or was willing to do! (Other then me asking for help from someone close by)
Anyways, when I went home- I went to the Quest Laboratory’s website, found their ‘contact us’ response,
and commented on how I was made to feel, and suggesting that they put some kind of VISUAL ALERTING device in the waiting room,
something you see in every grocery store, at every deli, where you take a ticket and wait for that numbers to appear on the
lighted screen.
Within 12 hours I received a call back from their home office asking more questions about my experience. The person I talked
to was very sympathetic (she told me she has a deaf brother) and promised to look into the matter. Will anything happen?.
Maybe if enough of us complain! So therein lays my story for the day.
Has anybody else had similar problems at Quest Labs (or your doctor’s office) ?, I would love to hear how you dealt
with it…because if we all talk about our experience , write the letter, walk the walk, then maybe something can (lets
be positive) will be done!
Thanks for letting me vent
Mike Gravitz
’. HLAA Quiet Corner has started a lending library for members.
Members may borrow books by signing their name and title of book taken, then return book the following month.
Go Green
If you use battery-powered hearing aids, here is something you should know: never throw
your used batteries in the trash. By law, you are not required to recycle hearing aid batteries, but battery users are encouraged
to do so because of the hazardous components – zinc and mercury – that pose proven risks if batteries end up in
the waterways or in a landfill. Some stores, hearing aid retailers, or hearing clinics will accept the batteries for recycling.
In
general, all batteries should be disposed of carefully. Why? Because improperly discarded batteries may eventually
end up in the food chain, causing serious health risks to humans and animals.
The Environmental Protection
Agency estimates that more than 350 million rechargeable batteries are purchased annually in the United States. Not all of
them are the same and they require specific instructions to ensure that each type of battery is properly discarded or recycled.
If
you are not sure where and how to safely discard your batteries, ask your local authorities.
This may seem
like a chore, but until and unless all our batteries are rechargeable with solar power, that is a sound advice to heed.
This article appeared in the February issue of HEALTHY HEARING
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QUIET CORNER SHHH, INC.
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Officers
President - Norman Babbitt (860) 923-0171 nbabbitt0171@charter.net
Vice President Nance 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
David Kovarovics (860) 429-4690
Nancy Palhus (860) 423-4784
Patricia Rock patrock1944@sbcglobal.net
Daniel Rock patrock1944@sbcglobal.net
CAN Operator
Kathy Rivers (860) 202-5297
