Fall 2004
Hearing Loss Network News
Ear We Are!!!
How’s your hearing? If it hasn’t been so good lately, now hear this - we’re Hearing Loss Network, we’re new and we’ve got news you can use! While we may be new to the scene, we are NOT new to living with hearing loss. We understand the many challenges that arise, and not only for the individual with hearing loss. Many others are affected, including friends, family, coworkers, and significant others. Many people are unaware of what it means to have hearing loss or what they can do about it. We’re here to provide those kinds of services.
We offer a variety of workshops to enhance coping and communication skills; these workshops are wonderful for people with hearing loss and for anyone in their lives. It’s also important to educate the general community about hearing loss issues and the special needs that this disability creates. To address this need we maintain an active outreach program and also provide Speakers and Advisors Bureaus. Our goal is to be both a resource and an advocate for San Diegans with hearing loss. Please do contact us if you’d like to discuss your hearing loss issues. Remember, we’re here for you and we’d like to HEAR from you!!
Fired Up!!!
Imagine not being able to enjoy your favorite TV program because you can’t understand what they’re saying. Think about missing the joyous sounds of children playing or seasonal music during the holidays. Treasured moments, indeed, which can’t be replayed. But what if something serious or even life threatening was being missed? Perhaps a siren meant to alert everyone to evacuate when it is sounded. Maybe a bell or other alarm meant to offer advance warning of an impending danger. While many can appreciate and are thankful for these and other warning devices, what if they were unavailable or taken away?
We all remember the devastating fires of last October (2003) and the feelings of helplessness, anxiety and fear. Lost in “thousands of stories” told in the San Diego area those days and nights was this one. Many people with hearing loss who rely on TV captioning to provide warnings and other information were left in the dark during the fire emergency, because the local broadcast stations did not provide captioning in a timely manner. The situation was particularly serious on that first morning as the fires approached the city, because captioning was virtually unavailable. We’ve been working with some of the local stations over the past year and are happy to report that they have actively embraced their responsibility to the hearing loss community and have established procedures to ensure that people with hearing loss will have access to information during future emergencies.
Links
www.hearinglossnetwork.org
- Nonprofit service organization for hard of hearing and late-deafened San
Dieganswww.alda.org - Support and social group for hard of hearing and late deafened persons - local chapters in San Diego and Los Angeles
www.hearinglossweb.com - Website devoted to providing information of interest to people with hearing loss; includes discussions of technology, issues, www.mcalisterinstitute.org - ‘Signs of Life’ program for drug/alcohol/health education for San Diegans with hearing loss
www.shhh.org - Support and social group for hard of hearing and late deafened persons
www.saywhatclub.com - Online support and social group for hard of hearing and late deafened persons
Sound Off
Here’s your chance to get an answer to your hearing questions. See the contact information at the back of this newsletter.
Next Issue’s Question
Are there any cell phones that are hearing aid compatible?