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SHHH International Conference Expands AwarenessOverview: SHHH (Self Help for Hard of Hearing) International Convention, June 21- 24, 2002The exhibit hall had over 100 booths featuring cell phones, assistive listening devices, alerting devices, hearing aids and displays by cochlear implant companies. Even the Energizer battery company was demonstrating a hearing aid battery dispenser called EZ Change, which is a wonderful idea for those arthritic hands that have difficulty with the tiny batteries that hearing aids use. My favorite item was the captioning telephone: The display window has the words printed while you use the telephone "normally," with the phone to your ear instead of on a TTY device. All the workshops had CART (captioning in real time), sign language interpreters and assistive listening devices. Workshop OverviewsWorkshop 1: Bearing Witness to Ordinary EvilMichael Harvey, Ph.D., presenter "Ordinary evil" doesn't make the news. What ordinary evil is is disrespect, abuse of power, deceit and prejudice. Evil is different from ignorance. It is the stories of oppression of what people who experience disabilities, are hard of hearing or deaf face every day. Examples: When I meet someone new and don't understand what they tell me and I say that I am hard of hearing instead of repeating exactly what they said they say it differently or even say never mind. The long-term effects of "ordinary evil" are insidious and devastating if left unrecognized. Once "ordinary evil" is recognized and managed properly "ordinary evil" can be a vehicle for growth. The benefits of bearing witness to ordinary evil are increased self-esteem, resilience, better moral development and valuing human connections. Dr. Harvey has a Web site, www.michaelharvey-phd.com, which had the complete article on which this workshop was based. I just read it again for a refresher and was able to clarify why bearing witness to ordinary evil improves self-esteem and provides the other benefits mentioned above. Please contact him for further exploration of this topic. Dr. Harvey also has a book, Odyssey of Hearing Loss — Tales of Triumph, which can be ordered at www.dawnsign.com. Workshop 2: Outreach Services for Urban and Rural Settings: The Arizona ModelRandy Collins and Sherri Collins, presenters This workshop focused on ways to expand hard-of-hearing outreach in rural and urban settings. Arizona has the Arizona Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, and Arizona Technology Access Program (AzTAP). Through these two programs demo sites were developed to have FM systems, neckloops, induction loop systems, pocket talker and other hard-of-hearing assistive technology available to loan for a trial period. The program was so successful that in its first one and a half years, the programs have seen an 80 percent increase in equipment use. The program also uses independent living centers for equipment storage and distribution. Sounds like something we need to do here. Workshop 3: Ototoxic DrugsNeil Bauman, Ph.D., presenter The presenter of this workshop shared that 663 drugs can injure hearing, and of the top 200 prescriptions written in America in 2000, 83 percent could be ototoxic. Ototoxic drugs can damage the inner ear (cochlear and vestibular systems), but damage may also extend to the outer/middle ear. An article is available at www.hearinglosshelp.com/ototoxicdrugs.htm. Dr. Bauman has also published a book, Ototoxic Drugs Exposed, which is available from GuidePost Publications. Their Web site is http://www.hearinglosshelp.com/. Dr. Bauman listed 24 factors that increase your risk of ototoxic side effects, one of which is having a sensorineural hearing loss, balance problems or some other form of preexisting ear damage. He also listed ways to reduce the risks when taking theses types of drugs: Number one is to educate yourself about early warning signs of ototoxicity, such as tinnitus, your hearing gets worse, or you develop vertigo. For more information on ototoxic drugs, check out his Web site (see above). Workshop 4: Hearing Loss in the WorkplaceMary M. Clark, Teresa Blankmeyer and Patricia Miskemin, presenters In this workshop, each presenter told how she got her hearing loss accommodated in her workplace. For example, one of the presenters works in a cubicle in which she cannot position her desk to face the entryway. So she had a wireless doorbell placed on the doorway of her cubicle with an alerting light to let her know someone is at her door and would like her attention. I didn't really get an answer about my struggle with the work phone other than what I already knew. I did learn that a text pager is a better substitute for a cell phone, and also that energy saving/security devices that operate on motion sensing systems in offices can interfere with assistve listening device that use radio waves/FM systems. One suggestion the presenters made is when asking for accommodations to use the analogy of when you have the a radio on in the car and you have traveled so far from the signal that turning up the volume does not help the clarity. Other suggestions included ways to state that a person has a hearing loss and what accommodations are needed to participate fully in a conversation. For example: I understood you up to this point (describe), but can you repeat what you said after that? ResourcesOrganizations
Training Resources for Captioned Films/VideosThe Captioned Media Program, which is funded by the U.S. Department of Education and administered by the National Association of the Deaf: www.cfv.org. This organization has been around for many years, and has an extensive library of movies and training materials — and ALL of them are open captioned. This means that the captions are displayed automatically. No decoder or TV setting is necessary to see the captions. Assistive Listening
Hearing Loss in the WorkplaceCornell University has a Web page with advice for employers, as well as success stories of employees who have overcome hearing loss problems: www.ilr.cornell.edu/ped/accessforall/hearing.htm?page=story3 (there are multiple stories, substitute the numbers 1 through 7 in the URL) Mark Ross has written many articles, which he has allowed anyone who needs them to copy freely. Below are selected topics and links:
From the Federal GovernmentU.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission brochure: The Americans with Disabilities Act: Your Employment Rights as an Individual With a Disability From the National Center for Law and Deafness Gallaudet University From the House Ear Clinic From SHHH OregonCathy Sanders
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