HEARING LOSS ASSOCIATION- OF AMERICA QUIET CORNER CHAPTER NEWS
JUNE 2008
A Publication of Hearing Loss Association of America of the Quietcorner, 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, June 10 th at Ashford Senior Housing (across the street from the Town Hall), our speaker
will Ralph Compagna of Ampilsound,
The August Picnic will be at the Baptist Church on Rt. 44 very near to where we hold our meetings. It will be held
on Saturday, August 9th- Rain or Shine. They have a hall we can use if it rains.
Last Meeting
Debbie Baker talked on some of the things National has available to help Individuals and the chapters. She strongly
suggested that if we can ever attend a National meeting to do so. The information and the technology on display are well
worth seeing and meeting others from around the country is very interesting.
.
Did You Hear That? ----Learning to Live With Tinnitus--
Healthy Hearing Staff Writer
12/3/2007
As many as 17% of us may have experienced
tinnitus. Ringing in the ears, unexplained noises that only you can hear. You hear it, or feel it in your head, even though
there’s no real source of noise out there. It’s the kind of thing that’ll drive you nuts – and does
for those who have serious cases of tinnitus. It gets so bad that these people can’t work or lead normal lives.
Imagine
a ringing in your ear that never goes away. Ever. Day and night. It might unnerve you, right? You bet it would and that’s
the problem. People with tinnitus may experience ear pain but, along with that, it’s normal for these patients to feel
anxious and stressed all of the time. Can you blame them? In fact, many people with tinnitus are treated for stress and anxiety.
These medications may treat some symptoms but they don’t treat the root cause of tinnitus.
Natural
hearing takes place when sound waves make their way through the ear canal to the ear drum, which vibrates in synch with the
sound waves. This sound energy, in turn, is ultimately delivered to the cochlea, a snail shaped, fluid filled organ that translates
sound waves into electrical impulses that are sent to the hearing centers of the brain for processing. From sound wave to
brain wave is almost instantaneous, but what if there is no sound, but the cochlea is still sending signals to the
brain. You get the idea.
Tinnitus is caused by lots of different conditions: certain illnesses, the natural
aging process, trauma to the delicate mechanism of hearing within the ear, a build-up of ear wax, caffeine, even a benign
tumor – all of these can create a ringing in the ears.
In many cases, tinnitus goes away all by
itself. In some cases it doesn’t.
NVRC News, December 13, 2007
CNET TV Adds Closed Captioning
We received news today that CNET TV on the Internet has announced it is adding captioning or text to its videos. CNET
TV is part of cnet.com, a popular website for news and reviews about technology such as cameras, computers, TVs and software, as well as things
like vehicles.
Ah, the irony! This video announcement about captioning is not captioned. Debbie Jones, our tech/resource
specialist listened and provided this summary.
A consumer (CM) wrote in to encourage C-Net TV to add captioning or text to its videos. Molly Wood is pleased
and proud to announce that closed captioning is now available on CNET TV, and thinks they might be the first video site to
offer this feature online. In the lower right hand corner of the video interface (display), there will be a CC
button. You can click it to activate the captioning.
The captions will not always be available the exact second the video goes up because the transcribing takes a little
bit of time, but if they're not there right away, they should be within a few days at the most.
Bilateral Cochlear Implants: A Case When Two Are Definitely Superior To One
A study of cochlear implant patients seen by Indiana University School of Medicine physicians is the first research to
show evidence that cochlear implants in both ears significantly improves quality of life in patients with profound hearing
loss and that the cost of the second implant is offset by its benefits.
The study, which appears in the
May issue of the journal Otolaryngology- Head and Neck Surgery, found that improvements in factors that contribute
to quality of life including such critical abilities as hearing in noisy environments, focusing on conversations, and speaking
at an appropriate volume resulted when cochlear devices were implanted in both ears.
This study may have
a significant impact for profoundly deaf individuals who hope to have their health insurance providers pay for bilateral rather
than the standard single cochlear implant. The study authors found the benefits of the second implant outweighed the added
cost of the second device.
"We didn't know that cognitive skills and emotional issues would so significantly
improve with the implantation of a second cochlear device. In addition to the physiological improvements we saw in patients
who had bilateral implants, we found that patients were able to function better in noisy environments and definitely felt
better about themselves," said senior study author Richard Miyamoto, M.D., Arilla Spence DeVault Professor and chairman of
the Department of Otolaryngology- Head and Neck Surgery.
Dr. Miyamoto is the immediate past president
of the American Academy of Otolaryngology- Head and Neck Surgery. First author of the study is Bradford G. Bichey, M.D., MPH,
a former research fellow and resident at the IU School of Medicine and currently an otolaryngologist in Marion, Ind.
"Profoundly
deaf individuals who were born with hearing, their families, physicians, and health insurance providers now have the data
they need," said Dr. Miyamoto. "There is definite improvement after one implant and there is a significant added bump in sound
and speech perception after the second implant. Emotional well being improves. And we found a favorable cost utility analysis.
Our hope is that with these findings more health insurance companies will cover the cost of bilateral implants and bring a
superior quality of life to a large number of individuals. "
Approximately 1.4 million American are deaf
in both ears and experience significant impairment in communication with the hearing world according to the study authors.
The IU School of Medicine cochlear program is one of the largest in the country. IU physicians have implanted more than 1,500
cochlear devices over the past quarter century at Indiana University Hospital and Riley Hospital for Children.
This
study was funded by the IU School of Medicine's Department of Otolaryngology- Head and Neck Surgery.
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Please complete this form with your check payable to QUIET CORNER SHHH, INC., return to QC SHHH @ P. O. Box
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HLAA of the Quietcorner
PO BOX 314
ASHFORD, CT 06278
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
Ruth Mensing (860) 646-7039
