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Current NewsAwards and Recognition are listed at the bottom of this page. In addition, we had the following highlights of 2009-2010:
Disaster Preparedness, June 16, 2010 RecapOn June 16th, Jonathan Brown, Chapter Vice President, presented suggestions on how to better prepare for a disaster with special emphasis on communication issues. His focus was based on the City of Norwalk's program for people with Special Needs during a disaster, which includes lessons learned from hurricane Katrina. Wilton Schools Workshop May 27, 2010 RecapFor the third consecutive year, Marcia Zola and Alan Gould designed and delivered our successful hearing loss program to 363 Fourth Graders at Cider Mill School in Wilton. There were two modules: How to Communicate with the HOH, and Dangerous Noise: Protecting Your Ears. Pat Gould and Pat Bailey assisted in the delivery. Future plans are being discussed for additional school systems and adding delivery resources from Sacred Heart University.The Opera Life of Betty Jones, Chapter Member and Opera Singer -- May 15th
Doug Jones, Betty's husband, presented her opera career to our chapter on May 15th. In the mid-seventies, when in her 40s, at the Wilton Playshop, Betty sang the contralto Madam Flara in The Medium, a short (one hour long) two-act dramatic opera. This launched her singing career around the world. George Shank gave Betty a scholarship to go to New York and develop her skills. Subsequently, she sang The Messiah in the local church, Bloody Mary of South Pacific in South Africa. She then performed in San Francisco, Seattle (singing Aida), Phoenix, Washington (D.C. -- singing Valkerie), West Virginia, Mexico City, and Germany. In 1973 she sang Rosen with Pavarotti at his first appearance. In 1978 with 5 hours notice, she sang in Carnegie Hall. She sang with Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops. She sang Tosca in Weisbaden, Germany, on their opening night after renovation. Starting in the late 80's, she gradually lost her hearing, which forced her into retirement. Doug and his family helped Betty adjust to her loss. Watch for Betty's book on the subject when it is published. Doug's summary of Betty's career was truly entertaining and remarkable.
Mark Hall, Caption Mic, April 17th Recap
Mark Hall discussed the Caption Mic (pronounced "Mike") software and other products that he markets then answered questions about TV, theater (both types of) captioning. Caption Mic is speech recognition software, used locally or remotely, that lowers the cost and increases the availability of captions for live events. It can be used in classrooms, broadcasts, webcasts, distance-learning, and pre-production applications. Typically there is a 1.5 second delay on the TV screen, compared to a 3 to 5 second delay using other captioning means. In two hours, the user trains the system to recognize his/her voice, then reiterates the speakers words into a special microphone, adding punctuation and other tags as they go. He/she then saves the text file, optionally formats it, and distributes or broadcasts it to the audience.
Mark went on to discuss recent FCC rules pertaining to captioning specifications and new rules that TV broadcasters must follow. They can be found at www.fcc.gov. Both Mark and Barbara made the case for being captioning advocates with content providers, theaters, and the FCC.
Dr. Rob L. Weiss, Healthy Hearing and Balance, March 20th Recap
Dr. Weiss gave an informative
presentation and fielded questions on a broad range of topics. It
started with the anatomy of physical process of perceiving sound. It
included: hair cells, presbycusis, challenging hearing environments
including military acoustic trauma, tinnitus and candling. On the
balance topic, he discussed the balance mechanism including
one's eyes, one's vestibular system (located in the ear) and one's
proprioceptors (sensors in one's feet). He mentioned tests his office
does for balance, and described BPPV – a common balance problem he
treats where the patient has “rocks loose in the head.”
Dr. Andrew Parker, Audiology and
Hearing Aid Services of Fairfield County, February 20th
Dr. Andrew Parker discussed a
wide-range of hearing aid innovations, hearing disorders and the
Lyric hearing aid, in particular. He said the latter was a new
approach that was not for everyone. The aid is totally invisible
since it sits deep in the ear canal. At $1750 per ear for a year's
service no matter how many aids one needs (at least 3), no one can
argue with Dr. Parker. In the informative talk, he discussed some of
the principles of volume amplification and achieving clarity in
hearing. Our questions and answers covered such diverse subjects as
brain fog, bi-cross aids, new noise filters, and lipoflavoids, which
aid Tinnitus sufferers.
City of Norwalk Emergency and Disaster
for Those with Special Needs Roundtable – January 26th
Barbara and Jonathan attended this
roundtable with about 60 other agency and social services
representatives. We discussed the special needs of vulnerable groups
during emergencies and disasters. The roundtable breakout sessions
that were organized into the Preparation, Response and Recovery
phases brainstormed and discussed needs for Communications,
Sheltering and Evacuation, and Maintaining Independence. The leaders
asked each group present to complete a plan focusing on these issues.
Jonathan volunteered to participate on their Communications
subcommittee and some of our SC members are drafting our plan and
framework, to be presented, in part, at our June meeting.
January Chapter Meeting Roundtable –
January 16th Recap
About 35 members volunteered topics and
discussion points on the following topics: Restaurants, specifically:
How to Turn the Music Down, Where to Sit, and How to Hear the Names
of Specials. Other discussion topics included: New ALD
Developments, Public Meeting Protocols, CaptionMax Equipment (Voice
Captioning), Induction Loops and T-Coils. Jonathan and Barbara
moderated the meeting. Pat Bailey found mention of the “Acoustic
Cloud” baffling device especially useful for her community. Alice
Bianco, from Darien, mentioned Mark Hall as a potential speaker.
Holiday Party – December 5th Recap
About 40 members, spouses and guests
attended our annual holiday party at the Four Points Sheraton in
Norwalk. Vendors donated great door prizes that were greatly
appreciated. After a sumptuous meal, we were treated to an
entertaining magic show. Good camaraderie and fun for everyone.
Thanks to Mary, Barbara, Peg and others for this great way to
kick-off the holiday season.
Barbara Nagot - Cablevision's "12 on Health" November 21st and 22ndBarbara Nagot,
appeared on Cablevision's "12 on Health" this weekend in our outreach effort. Gillian Neff interviewed Barbara on topics pertaining to hearing loss, and our www.hearez.org web page was displayed to inform viewers where to get additional information.
Erica Nair, November 21st RecapErica Nair, Au.D., Territiory Outreach Specialist, Cochlear America, made a return visit to our chapter and presented the latest developments in cochlear implants (CIs). Cochlear America is the smallest of three companies in the U.S. to make these devices. With 32 million people having hearing loss, just over 1 million benefit from a cochlear implants. A typical correction improves a person's hearing from a severe-profound loss level to 20 dB with excellent speech recognition. In fact, CIs do a much better job than hearing aids at the high-pitch frequencies where speech recognition occurs. The oldest person to receive an implant in Connecticut was 101 years old, and babies are being implanted as young as 6 months. Erica discussed many aspects of CIs and the implanting procedure. We had five chapter members with CIs in the audience, so it was an exceptionally informative session.
Dr. Natan Bauman, October 17th Recap
Dr. Natan
Bauman, Ed. D., M.S., Eng., FAAA and is Founder/Director of the Hearing
Balance and Speech Center, with locations in Norwalk, Branford, Bristol
and Hamden CT. His presentation included a very understandable
description of the ear parts and their functions. He talked about
different types of hearing loss and what he looks for when giving a
hearing evaluation to better match a hearing aid to each individual.
Also, he talked about his newest innovation called the N&V Earpieces
that are custom made receivers for each individual. Using high fidelity
electronics, N&V Earpieces can produce sound that is "tru to life,"
clearer, and give the wearer the ability to hear different sound
pitches that standard hearing aid receivers cannot do. He also had a
hands on display that included the N&V Earpiece and ALD's. Many asked
if they could have a personal consultation in his office to discuss
some of the devices. Elaine Abrams, Safe Steps, September 12th Recap
The September 12th Chapter Meeting welcomed Elaine Abrams, RN, MPH in a return visit.
She discussed "Safe Steps," a program backed up by Yale research that described hands-on ways to prevent falls and create a safer home environment. Risks include difficulty in walking, getting up or sitting down, losing your balance; taking four or more medications on a regular basis; drops in blood pressure, dizziness; problems with vision, hearing, numbness in feet, memory, confusion; foot pain and ill-fitting shoes; and hazards at home including lighting, slippery surfaces, etc. She offered many strategies and resources including www.fallprevention.org. Awards We Have Received Our chapter
has received the following awards:
- Our monthly
Newsletter was recognized as the "Best Overall Newsletter" at the 2008
National Convention.
- This website was recognized as
the "Best Website" at the 2009 National Convention. Jonathan Brown
coordinated this effort with the help of the Steering Committee.
- Our efforts in
the community were recognized as the "Best Outreach Program" at the 2009
National Convention.
Recognition to the CommunityOur
chapter presented the following award:- Our chapter
recognized two eighth-grade Wilton students for their contribution about
hearing loss at the Middlebrook Annual Science Fair in March 2007. Paul
Juhasz and Andy Sandor created a hearing screening project named
"What's All the Buzz About?" The students, their parents, and teachers
were invited to a luncheon at the Senior Center.
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