Editor: I excerpted this from HEAR is a Four-Letter Word by Ciwa Griffiths, Ed D. More invisibility. Have you ever heard of Dr. Ciwa Griffiths? She made being hard of hearing invisible. Before Dr. Griffiths, hearing aids were not used until children were 7 years old or older. These children had deaf speech and had a great deal of difficulty in school. After Dr Griffiths, hearing aids were put on children as young as week old infants. They developed normal speech and their educational levels were the same as their hearing peers. She is the Mother of the Auditory Verbal method. She is almost invisible online. Google Auditory Verbal, and her name is not mentioned at all. There is almost nothing in Wikipedia. The Wikipedia article was written by a German, and when translated is difficult to understand. For instance, what does this mean ‘Apply Vollzeithörverstärkung in babies’? LOL Why? A woman? Hard Loss is a minor subject? Hearing Loss is invisible even online? Dr. Griffiths was born in the Fiji Islands. She was the ninth of ten children. Ciwa means nine. Her father was Editor of The Fiji

Times. Her mother studied law and graduated from the University of Texas in 1890 when she was 15. When she was not allowed to take the bar exam or practice law because of her gender, she became a suffragette. From then on Women’s Rights consumed her with a passion. To get better educations for her children, the family moved to Australia, then to Texas and then to California. In 1934, Dr. Griffiths met the Work family, who had a deaf 3-year old daughter Johnita. Dr. Griffiths says, ‘”I was fascinated with Johnita. She was like quicksilver, her eyes darting from one person to another, pulling at her mother for further explanation if she needed it. Little did I know that the bubbly mite of humanity that I hugged to me that night was to change my life and its direction forever.” When Johnita was five she needed to begin school. At that time, there was no testing for residual hearing. Hearing aids, if used at all, were put on seven year olds. Often deaf children were sent away at five years of age to a residential school for the deaf, such as the California State School for the Deaf in Berkeley. They taught only sign language. The nearest oral school for the deaf was in St Louis Missouri, teaching lip reading and speech through lip reading. Her mother believed that she should be part of the hearing world, and she did not want to send her five year old daughter away to boarding school. Dr Griffiths wondered why Johnita did not wear a hearing aid. The doctor said she was totally deaf and it would not help. Was her hearing tested? No. She was two years old when she was diagnosed and she didn’t respond to any of the loud tones he tried. At five, Dr Griffiths had Johnita’s hearing tested and found she was severely hard of hearing, but not deaf. She began wearing a hearing aid in a leather purse bag across her chest. In those days a hearing aid weighed one pound. Dr Griffith’s first teaching job was teaching elementary school in a one room schoolhouse in central California. There were 10 students, one deaf Johnita, and two English as a second language. She taught several years. Every summer she continued her education, taking Johnita with her. They went to Wayne University in Illinois taking courses in the education of the deaf, where Johnita would be tutored by a credentialed teacher of the deaf. Wayne University disapproved of Johnita’s wearing a hearing aid and felt it was cruel to

A QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER - WINTER 2014

CIWA GRIFFITHS, Ed.D (1911-2003) Founder of HEAR Center, Mother of Auditory-Verbal Method

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burden her with the one pound instrument. What could be wrong with wearing a hearing aid? Shouldn’t every little advantage be used? They spent a year at the Clarke School for the Deaf in Massachusetts, Johnita as a residential student, and Dr. Griffiths as a teacher in training to earn her credential to teach the deaf. Clarke is primarily a residential school, ages three years to 21 years. When they graduated they were at the eighth grade level scholastically. Johnita’s hearing aid was taken away. Only about 10 out of the 200 children had aids. It was explained that Johnita had a profound loss and children with that profound a loss did not benefit from amplification. Johnita changed from a happy nine year old into a sad sack ten year old. She was segregated from the hearing world, locked in a rigid atmosphere. Dr. Griffiths found out that she did not want to teach in a school for the deaf. Johnita was now ready to begin high school and Dr Griffith said firmly that Johnita did not need her any more. In 1944 she applied for and got the new position of California State Department of Education, Coordinator of the Hard of Hearing. She was told she was free to set up her own guide-lines. On the staff was Mr. Stevenson, Superintendent of the California School for the Deaf in Berkeley, the only residential school for the deaf in California. It provided the deaf population a free education and board and room from 5-21 years of age. Mr Stevenson fanatically believed in manualism for the deaf and was antagonistic to the use of hearing aids. She was fired after one month Why? Mr Stevenson did not approve of her views and felt she proceeded too abruptly. She offended members of the staff who had been there much longer and had much more experience in the field. She was then hired as the Coordinator of Special Education, San Diego County Schools, and stayed for six years. Within the first year the hearing of 20,000 elementary school children was screened and those who failed the original test were retested. Workshops for teachers in the rural areas were set up. Speech therapy and lip reading lessons were organized district by district. She provided services for all the handicapped and began placing handicapped children in regular classrooms. When she entered a classroom and had difficulty picking out the handicapped child, she knew all was well. She was invited to teach the 1947 Summer Session at Vassar in NY and again in 1948. She was asked by PS 47 School for the Deaf to rewrite their course of study. The course of study book was four and one half inches of spiral bound pages. The deaf children read at third grade level at 12 years of age whether they started in a school for the deaf at age 6 or age 3. Her first advice was, “Throw away your course of study book”. In 1950, she got a part time job at the John Tracy Clinic at USC. She recommended hearing aids for every child. Why did you recommend a hearing aid for every child? Because every child had a hearing loss and needed an aid. Then JTC explained their program. We do use hearing aids, but only after we have seen a child for a year and repeatedly tested him to be sure our audio-gram is correct and that he has enough hearing to benefit from

an aid. The same old story—delay, deliberation and denial. During a course in behavioral psychology, she had an insight. It’s the maturation period that has been missed in the education of the deaf. The normally hearing child’s maturation period for learning to listen and to speak is between birth and three years of age. Nobody had ever used hearing aids at that period of development. It stands to reason that if a child can hear, he’ll learn to talk. If the aids are used during the maturation period he will utilize that sound and speech to better advantage. Speech and language will follow naturally and easily. Dr. Griffiths had never had the opportunity of working with infants under three. She went to London to study the specialized education of deaf children under Dr. Whetnall and other educators who were performing ground-breaking research. It was there that Dr. Griffiths first observed the impact of early amplification. From 1969-1973, she did a clinical investigation, fitting deaf infants ages birth to eight months of age with hearing aids. She found that 67% of the deaf infants were able to discard their aids and became normal hearing. This study was replicated in Hungary and 81 % were able to go on to normal hearing. This only worked if the infants were under 8 months old. At nine months it was too late. She founded the HEAR Foundation (Hearing Education through Auditory Research Foundation) in Eagle Rock, California in 1954. In 1959 it would become the HEAR Center and move to Pasadena where it still stands to this day. Close friends of Dr. Griffiths and true believers in her vision, Glen and Margaret Bollinger, founder of Sparkletts, gave significant funding to the HEAR Center to help her achieve her vision. The HEAR Center has become internationally recognized for its innovative and extensive testing and therapy programs. She began a new way of doing things. The lives of countless children have been changed because of her work. She made learning to speak and to hear a positive and FUN experience, by providing a large space with interesting play areas, similar to pre-school programs, so children could move freely around the room, the play areas to be age and child related with slides, building blocks and easels. No circle of chairs. She pioneered giving babies and toddlers full time amplification, fitting a one month old baby with hearing aids. At the time, hearing aids were not considered for children under the age of seven years. She pioneered the idea of optimizing a child’s residual hearing

within the natural environment (the least restrictive environ-ment)—in the home and in mainstream schools with normally hearing peers. Deaf children with hearing aids who remain in an environment of deafness, exposed to only deaf voices will all sound deaf.

She gave parents a choice—the knowledge that most deaf or hard of hearing infants can be of the hearing world, no matter what the degree of hearing loss. If a deaf child can hear when young enough, then the child will learn to speak naturally. She believed in extensive parental involvement and taught parents to be informed, involved and assertive.

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Learn to listen and to speak. Don’t concentrate on individual speech sounds, but rather develop rate, rhythm and language.

Harassment started early. Two members of the faculty of USC joined the Board of the HEAR Center. Within two months the President of USC contacted the faculty members, disturbed that they were serving on the HEAR board. He had it from a good source that the woman who had started it was taking advantage of the poor parents, selling hearing aids to deaf children who could not possibly benefit from them. After all, USC offered courses in the education of the deaf and the John Tracy Clinic was the demonstration school where the students did their student teaching. But that wasn’t the end of it. JTC said she was encroaching on their territory, offering services to the pre-school deaf. She might damage a child’s hearing. She is advocating hearing aids at an age before accurate audiograms can be obtained. And she is advocating hearing aids regardless of the degree of loss. Some of the children are totally deaf and the hearing aids will be a needless expense to the parent. Dorothy Chandler, publisher of the Los Angeles Times gave the edict that nothing about the HEAR Foundation was to be published in the Times and for years nothing was. They could get no publicity for their events or affairs. As the years went by the antagonism became stronger. The thought that there might be a better way than that which had been learned and practiced with devotion to the deaf threatened the very center of competence. She was ostracized, attacked, discredited by those in power who clung to outdated notions. Yet without the insight and single minded dedication of Dr. Griffiths, hearing impaired children throughout the United States might still be denied the benefit of hearing aids. Thousands of present day deaf adults who live productive lives in the hearing world would have been consigned to a deaf culture, stuck in menial jobs, isolated from the rest of society. Fortunately for them, Dr Griffith relied on her observations and intuition rather than the established assumption about a hearing impairment which was if a child was ‘deaf’ his deafness was total. She reasoned that some residual hearing had to exist and it should be used rather than discarded. Improved auditory testing in recent years has proven her intuition correct: over 97% of those in schools for the deaf have been found to have enough residual hearing to benefit from amplification and speech instruction. But back when she first began to teach, she was an anomaly, scorned by deaf educators throughout the country. Her successes with children who learned to talk normally sustained her in her battle against educators ‘deaf’ to new ideas. By persisting and while initially scoffed at by the medical establishment of the time, Dr. Griffith's Auditory-Verbal Approach, has become standard operating procedure. In the 1970's Dr. Griffiths organized the world’s first two international conferences on using auditory techniques for children who are deaf. Leaders from the United States and around the world participated and out of these beginnings, a new organization, Auditory Verbal International, was born.

Deep Sleep in the Big Apple

By Nanci Linke-Ellis Life in the pre-digital, uncaptioned world was always an experience. And being young, fearless, and definitely clueless in the 1970’s was not always a good combination. I didn’t really overthink my hearing loss. That’s not to say, I didn’t stress about it, but once I was hired to do something -- whether it required working ears or not -- I forged ahead. I was hired to work as a production assistant on a live television special in New York. For reasons too numerous to go into here, the entire videotaped event was a sheer disaster. What was intended as a live two-hour star-studded event turned into an overnight marathon of technical mishaps and producer-induced blunders. The network had us all stay in the New York Hilton for the event. (This way they guaranteed we’d never leave until it was over). Exhausted, we finally ended at 3 am, and I got to bed around 4 am. Checkout was 12 noon. In the pre-ADA kit era, there were no wake-up solutions. Nor did I have any intention of waking up until I was good and ready. Fast forward to a few hours later. I slowly opened my eyes as I felt a set of gentle hands on my shoulders. Someone was pulling the sheets off of me. I thought it was my husband rousing me. Instead, I looked into the eyes of 4 or 5 Hilton Hotel housekeepers. All I saw was the rainbow logos on their uniforms. As bizarre as it sounds now, in my fog, I asked them, “May I help you?” They screamed and fled the room. I thought that was odd. I headed to the bathroom, all the lights in the room were blazing, drapes opened wide, message light flashed on the phone. And the security lock on the door was cut. I recalled that the room wasn’t like this when I went to bed the night before. This was even weirder, I thought. I threw my clothes together, put on my hearing aids, and went downstairs to check out. The front desk attendants passed alarmed, awkward looks amongst themselves and checked me out fast as fast as they could. They mumbled, “Thank you for staying at the New York Hilton”, handed me the bill, and rushed away. I shrugged it off, grabbed a cab, and went home where I slept the rest of the day. A few days later, I lunched with the Associate Producer for a post mortem and to discuss the show edit schedule. I related my departure from the hotel and her mouth flew open with a gasp. “That was you?” she said. “You were the suicide?” “Huh?” I replied. There was brouhaha at the desk as she checked out. Security was escorting maintenance people with a lock cutter upstairs. The lobby crowd had mumbled “Guess it’s another suicide.” She was shocked at the time. Despite a pair of hearing aids parked right next to me on the night table, the thought never occurred to the staff that I might have been deaf. They looked for evidence that I had killed myself, or worse, had been murdered without any evident mess or fuss.

I guessed that they never read the deaf versions of Sleeping Beauty.

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CAPTIONING Movies, Internet, Scoreboards

By John Waldo, Attorney focusing on hearing accesssibility. After being the subject of bitter disputes and considerable litigation for the last decade, the issue of movie captioning appears headed for a surprising but deeply satisfying outcome – an agreement between the theater owners, on the one hand, and advocacy groups for the hearing-loss population on the other hand. I reported for the last issue on the proposal by the federal Department of Justice to require all movie theaters that have converted to digital projection to purchase and use equipment that will show captions on individual viewing devices. (The studios provide the captions for almost all movies, and furnish them free to the theaters, which must provide the display equip-ment). That rule, if adopted, would enable those of us with hearing loss to read the dialogue and “hear” with our eyes at every showing of every movie without altering the movie-going experience for people who don’t need the captions and might find them distracting. Because I have been involved in this issue for the past six years, I drafted a proposed response and circulated it to the various national advocacy organizations – the Hearing Loss Association of America, the National Association of the Deaf, the Alexander Graham Bell Association and the Association of Late Deafened Adults. The groups all agreed that the proposed rule gave us essentially everything we could reasonably expect to achieve. With that done, the next step was to see whether there were any areas about which we and the theater owners could agree. After the organizations agreed that there would be no harm in trying, I sent a query to the National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO) suggesting that we all meet to discuss areas of agreement and disagreement. NATO agreed. Two meetings took place in September and October in Washington, D.C. Lise Hamlin represented HLAA, and the other national organizations sent their representatives. The meetings had an amazingly positive outcome. Our primary interest was ensuring that all auditoriums in all theaters be made capable of displaying captions. The theater owners did not have a problem with that. Their problem was with the portion of the proposed rule specifying the number of viewing devices each theater would be required to purchase. They pointed out that in those theaters that currently do offer caption-viewing equipment, most of the devices sit idle, and argued that they should not be required to buy even more of them. Because we have heard of very few reports of theaters running out of devices, we essentially agreed with that. We believe, though, that as awareness of the availability of the devices increases and as the population ages, the demand for caption-viewing equipment is likely to increase. Our position was that requiring a specific (and somewhat arbitrary) number of viewing devices at the outset, the important thing is for the theaters to adjust the numbers according to demand. The theaters agreed to a formula that would require them to furnish enough devices to meet 150% of average weekend demand. Additionally, NATO will encourage its owner members to

accommodate unusually large groups, such as attendees at a convention, by either turning on the open captions visible to everyone or by rustling up caption-viewing devices from other locations upon advance request. We also agreed to requiring theaters to publicize the availability of captioning on a movie-by-movie basis, and we agreed that both NATO members and the organizations would urge movie studios to caption all of their movies and the movie previews. The theaters agreed to inform patrons about the devices at the theater. They also agreed that the regulations should require staff training and proper device maintenance. The result of those meetings is that instead of everyone filing their own comments arguing about the proposal, we are planning to submit a joint comment from the theater owners and the national organizations. We believe that if we do so, there is a strong chance that the Department of Justice will adopt the agreed-upon positions as binding rules. Is this a perfect outcome? No, it isn’t – many people with hearing loss would prefer to have the captions displayed on the screen. But that is simply not achievable – the Department of Justice and even those courts that have given us favorable decisions have bought into the argument that open captions are a distraction to others. And none of the presently available caption-viewing devices are perfect either. But what the regulations will give us is meaningful access to virtually all movies at all theaters all of the time. It’s been a long time coming, but it looks like the fight is over. Two other developments are worth mentioning. I reported in the Spring 2014 issue about the case of Greater Los Angeles Agency on Deafness (GLAD) v. CNN. GLAD sued CNN, asking that it caption all of its on-line content, including information that had not been shown on television. (Federal law already requires material that has been shown on television to be captioned). CNN struck back hard. It invoked a California statute designed to deter people from filing frivolous lawsuits aimed at stifling free speech. Under that statute, a defendant sued for actions involving free speech can demand that the party instituting the suit prove at the outset that it has a significant probability of prevailing. Failing that, the party that filed the initial action must pay attorneys’ fees for the defending party. The case went well at the trial level. The trial court ruled that captioning – simply putting into writing what CNN was saying out loud – had nothing to do with free speech. But the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which includes California and other Western states, disagreed. It said that any case challenging the manner of presentation triggers the operation of the California statute. The appeals court then considered whether GLAD had any probability of prevailing. Because the Ninth Circuit has declared that the Americans with Disabilities Act does not apply to the internet, GLAD brought its case under two California state laws. One of them, the Unruh Act, applies to all businesses, but only if the discrimination is intentional. GLAD contended that CNN’s refusal to provide captions after being requested to do so amounts to intentional discrimination. But the appeals court disagreed,

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saying that a failure to do something is not intentional discrimi-nation even though the failure may only impact people with disabilities. The federal appeals court then asked the California Supreme Court to decide whether the other California law – the Disabled Persons Act – extends to the internet. Before the California Supreme Court could act, everybody blinked. GLAD agreed to dismiss its appeal. In return, CNN agreed that it would not ask for attorneys’ fees and costs. In my estimation, this conclusion is unsatisfactory but was necessary. Had the California Supreme Court decided that the Disabled Persons Act does not apply to the internet, GLAD would have had to pay CNN’s high-powered and likely high-priced attorneys. Doing so would have imposed a severe and perhaps fatal financial burden on a small non-profit organization. On the other hand, CNN might have thought that it didn’t want to take a chance on establishing what it likely viewed as a bad precedent if the California court ruled against it. Or CNN might have realized that it would look like the bad guy if it put GLAD out of business. This was not a wonderfully helpful case. But it could have been a lot worse. And everyone lives to fight another day. The second development involves the manner in which captions are displayed at sporting events. Several years ago, deaf football fans sued the Washington Redskins, asking that the public-address announcements and other aural information be captioned. They prevailed. While the Redskins argued that fans don’t need to understand the announcements to enjoy a football game, the court was correct in saying that public-address announcements and other aural information is presented for a reason, and that if it is good enough for the hearing audience, it is good enough for deafened fans as well. The unanswered question was how the captioned information is to be presented. A number of teams and stadiums offered hand-held viewing devices that display captions transmitted wirelessly over the internet. But fans who tried those devices found them unacceptable for a number of reasons, and asked instead that the captions be shown on a scoreboard. In a recent case from Maryland, a federal court agreed that hand-held devices may not be adequate. The deaf fans in that case observed that hand-held devices can be difficult to read on a sunny day, that it is difficult to focus on the captioning then back to the field and that the devices often cut out as other fans absorb internet band-width sending messages and photos to their friends. The court said that those concerns were sufficiently plausible to require a trial, and we believe that in the wake of that decision, the university settled. This is an area where we have enjoyed really good success through simple persuasion. When we have explained to teams why hand-held devices don’t work, virtually everyone has agreed to provide captioning for the aural information and to display the captions on a scoreboard. At last count, ten of the twelve universities in the Pacific 12 conference either are offering or will be offering scoreboard captioning at football games, and some are doing so at other events as well. We have miles to go before the world becomes universally accessible to those of us with hearing loss. But we have come a long way as well.

JOAN IRELAND, 1931-2014

Editor: I had the good fortune to have Joan as my room mate at the last two conventions--2013 Portland, OR and 2014 Austin, TX . Joan Ireland of Rancho Bernardo, CA, passed away on October 20, 2014, at home, with her husband holding her hand. As a young woman, she participated in charity and social organizations in Gary, IN to make a difference in her world. As she encountered progressive hearing loss she became a strong advocate in the hearing loss community, eventually receiving two cochlear implants. Joan was SHHH-CA Board of Trustees Corresponding Secretary in 1995, President in 1996, and a member from 1993-1997. She was a friend to many, and an inspiration to all. She lived her life with joy and purpose. Discovering that her life had an end date, Joan focused on writing personal notes to those who had touched her life and attended her final HLAA convention in Austin, TX. Friends and family gathered in her honor in November 2014 in Escondido, CA. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Hearing Loss Assn. of America, 7910 Woodmont Ave, Suiite 1200, Bethesda, MD, 20814. She will be missed.

RUFUS (WES) WESLEY, 1933-2014 We have lost a good friend and valued colleague, Rufus Wesley. Wes passed away on October 27, 2014 at Good Samaritan Hospital in San Jose. He was a very active and long time HLAA-Silicon Valley Chapter member and served on different positions on the board and/or committees throughout the years. Rufus was SHHH-CA Board of Trustees Corresponding Secretary in 2004, and a Board of Trustees member from 2002-2004 Wes enjoyed his free time with loving family and friends, camping, fishing, and traveling. His funeral service was in San Jose in November in the Chapel of the Oaks, with burial at Oak Hill Memorial Park. He will be missed.

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BRAND, BABY, BRAND

Can you imagine NIKE coyly hiding the SWOOSH on Page 4 when they could really strut their stuff on the Cover?

Hearing Loss Magazine NOT BRANDED

HLAA CONVENTION, St. Louis, MO June 25-28, 2015

Meet Us in St. Louis. Join us for our 30th annual Convention in St. Louis! It’s a big year for HLAA as we turn 35 this November and kick-off a year of commemorative activities. It will be four days of interesting workshops plus the opportunity to greet old friends and to make new ones. Join us at the Opening night Get Acquainted Party. Early Bird Registration is open. As a special incentive to leaders, the number of chapter delegates a chapter may have is being expanded this year from one person to five people to include four officers plus one additional deserving designate. The lowest special rate for Chapter Delegates ends January 31 and the overall delegate opportunity closes March 31. Veterans with Hearing Loss. Welcome to HLAA and Convention 2015. We are pleased to offer a complimentary registration (education package) for veterans with hearing loss attending the HLAA Convention 2015 for the first time. Convention Hotel. Built in 1894, the St. Louis Union Station, a National Historic Landmark, was once the busiest and largest train station in the country. You will marvel at the attention to detail devoted to the renovation and restoration of this architectural masterpiece. Book early because this block is bound to sell out! One of the most popular new features of the hotel is the Grand Hall where every evening on the hour between 5 - 11 pm a 3D light show is projected on the domed ceiling. Watch as flowers sway, fireworks burst and other images dance around the 65-foot ceiling of the Grand Hall lobby in a state-of-the-art show designed specifically for this St. Louis hotel. Created by Technomedia, an award-winning collaborator with entertainment company Cirque du Soleil, the 3D light show is the first of its kind in the US. Opening Session Keynote Speaker, Charles A. Laszlo, PhD, the founding president of the Canadian Hard of Hearing Association, will deliver his speech, Advances, Obstacles and Solutions in a Changing World, at the Opening Session. He is a biomedical engineer with experience both in academe and as an entrepreneur. He is professor emeritus of electrical engineering and past-director of the Institute for Hearing Accessibility Research at the University of British Columbia. He is the co-founder of several companies developing and manufacturing assistive listening devices, heart valves and other cardiovascular devices. BASEBALL fans. Off-site event for only $25. Route 66 Rivalry: St. Louis Cardinals vs. Chicago Cubs at Busch Stadium Educational workshops on interesting and current topics such as hearing technology, advocacy issues, and relationships. Exhibit Hall full of cutting-edge technology and services. Free exhibit hall passes available Symposium: Employment Issues for People with Hearing Loss, focuses on everything from interviewing to the laws that protect you in the workplace to how businesses can accommodate he needs of their employees with hearing loss in a proactive manner, and demonstrate the positive impact that accommodating employees with hearing loss has on the bottom line Saturday evening banquet. Rocky Stone: Operation 35 Celebrate the 35rh anniversary of HLAA and honor Founder Rocky Stone. Awards Breakfast and Ceremony.

Hearing Loss Magazine BRANDED

waiting, waiting, waiting, waiting, waiting, waiting, waiting waiting, waiting, waiting, waiting, waiting, waiting, waiting waiting, waiting, waiting, waiting, waiting, waiting, waiting waiting, waiting, waiting, waiting, waiting, waiting, waiting

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How Do You Wear Your “Deaf”? Jennifer Stuessy at www.soundforlight.com. It never fails. The moment you look away from a group of hearing folk is when they start asking you questions. Of course, when you turn back, they are all waiting for an answer. Do you: Scream and point to an area beyond the group indicating a

large insect or rodent is on the loose. Pretend not to understand English Explain your Deafness and ask them to repeat. Wing it. “Starbucks” is a decent multi-use response. Depending on how the mood strikes you, chances are you went with Explain. Being Deaf in a hearing world, we do this over and over. Explain our Deafness. It’s inevitable, really. Like anything else, after awhile it becomes easier to do, and there’s a way to do it in your own unique fashion. We use labels to describe, but how we carry ourselves with Deafness seems to be an art itself. Just like our clothes, it can say a lot about us: our personality, mood, level of confidence, taste – our style, basically. So, it begs the question: How do you wear your “Deaf”? My observations are summarized in these 5 main styles: Undercover. Prefers to skip the explanation altogether and conceal deafness, using hair or hats to hide hearing devices, if worn. May be difficult to pull off depending on hearing level. Says, “What?” a lot. Bluffer. Might have attempted to Wing It. Depending on level of bluffing skill, this guy could also seem medicated. Arty Type. Heavy into colored ear molds and sparkly add-ons. Children are usually somewhere nearby having just asked where they got said ear molds and add-ons. Convenient since Arty Types are the ones usually hosting the Signed Story Hour. Flying Fig. A real come-as-you-are type. No concealing or raging about it. This guy’s doing his life and is happy enough to be Deaf. He’s too busy crafting new ways to pull off his shenanigans. Loud and Proud. A Passionate Advocate and Super Hero. Revolutionizing Deafness for the Greater Good. Usually has an attorney. The reality is, of course most of us are not just one of these, but there are pieces of each in all of us depending on theday. When it comes down to it, I want to communicate effectively through positive interactions. The means we use to achieve that are diverse and is what gives us our unique style in how we go about it. People take their cues from us. Let them see what’s great about our community. So wear your Deaf with Pride. Wear it with Passion. Wear it with Confidence. Wear it with an Open Heart. Wear it with Love.

SPEAK OUT for HR 3150 Medicare to pay for Hearing aids

A new Congress convenes soon and there's talk of making revisions to Obamacare. One change should be adoption of HR 3150, the Help Extend Auditory Relief (HEAR) Act. It requires Medicare to cover aural rehabilitation and hearing aids. With twenty-three co-sponsors, it was sent to the Health Subcom-mittee last year. It's now “invisible” waiting for a public outcry for its review and passage. Sign a petition at MoveOn. Go to www.http://petitions.moveon.org and enter “To Pass HR 3150” to join the nearly 6,000 others who have documented their support for revising Medicare to cover hearing health care including the cost of hearing aids. You can go another step. Go to http://www.house.gov/representatives find/ and use your zip code to find the home page for your Representative. Then send your Representative an email, a letter, or visit. Ask your Representative to become a cosponsor of H.R. 3150. Let us work to pass HR 3150. This would be a major step forward for people with hearing loss.

Santa Barbara gives Three Awards for Hearing Accessibility

The tenth annual Mayor’s Awards honored three local businesses that made a concerted effort to accommodate employees and customers with disabilities. Otojoy, The Lobero Theatre and DuPont Display received awards from Mayor Helene Schneider. The outstanding effort award went to Otojoy, a local company founded by Thomas Kaufmann that specializes in hearing loop design and installation. Otojoy promotes Loop Santa Barbara, a campaign to spread hearing loop technology. Since its establish-ment two and a half years ago, Otojoy has installed loops in more than 20 venues throughout the city. The Lobero Theate received the design accessilbility award for last year’s renovations that made the theater friendlier to those with mobile and hearing disabilities. Some of the large renovations include additional wheelchair seating, enlarged accessible restrooms, and a hearing loop in the auditorium. The employment accommodation award went to DuPont Display, a research and development company, for its reflection of the spirit of the ADA employment practices. Dupont did whatever it took to retain a now 12-year employee, Cherie Alvarez, and help her do her job despite her hearing loss. When offered a promotion at DuPont, conference calls became a regular part of her work, for which she requested and got a captionist. Cherie (bilateral cochlear implants) is President of the HLAA-Santa Barbara Chapter. She has two goals--to hold a local Hearing Health Expo to raise awareness about hearing loss and to start an education program in the schools that teaches children how to protect their hearing.

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By Better Hearing Institute Listen up, boomers: Do you want to stay active? Vibrant? Socially engaged? Professionally successful? Most of us do. So maybe it’s time to do something about your hearing. Chances are, if you’re like many baby boomers, you’ve rocked your way through your fair share of concerts, night clubs, and ear-blasting parties. And you’ve enjoyed years of other noisy recreational activities to boot. Simply: You’ve been enjoying life. You’ve spent decades doing it. And it’s been loud. So now, it’s not always so easy to hear the conversation around the table at the restaurant or dinner party – maybe not even in the conference room at work or on those teleconference calls. Face it. All that enthusiastic living has been hard on your ears. And now they’re screaming for your attention. You should give it to them. In fact, addressing hearing loss is one of the best things you can do to improve your quality of life and keep up a youthful pace. Fortunately, for most people with hearing loss, today’s state-of-the art hearing aids can help. In fact, eight out of ten hearing aid users say they’re satisfied with the changes that have occurred in their lives due to their hearing aids. Many boomers are surprised to learn that dramatic new techno-logical advances have revolutionized hearing aids in recent years. Many hearing aids are virtually invisible, sitting discreetly and comfortably inside the ear canal. And they adjust to all kinds of noise environments, picking up sound from all directions. Some are even waterproof. Perhaps best of all, seamless connectivity is now the norm. Today’s hearing aids are wireless and stream sound from your smartphone, home enter-tainment system, and other electronics directly into your hearing aid(s) at volumes just right for you. Here’s what getting a hearing test and using professionally fitted hearing aids, if recommended by a hearing care professional, may do for you: 1. Unlock your earning potential. Hearing your best at work helps you do your best. One study found that using hearing aids reduced the risk of income loss by 90 to 100 percent for those with milder hearing loss, and from 65 to 77 percent for those with severe to moderate hearing loss. And people with hearing loss who use hearing aids are more likely to be employed than their peers who don’t. 2. Open the door to greater intimacy. Don’t let those sweet nothings go unheard. Feeling emotionally close to your partner is one of the most satisfying aspects of any intimate relationship. But it rests on good communication. When hearing loss goes unaddressed, it can make even the most loving partner seem remote or unresponsive. Luckily, research shows that using hearing aids can help improve interpersonal relationships – including greater intimacy.

3. Pull the plug on stress and boost your mood. People with untreated hearing loss often feel angry, frustrated, anxious, isolated, and depressed. But research shows that when they use hearing aids, their mental health often rallies. Many regain emotional stability, become more socially engaged, feel a greater sense of safety and independence, and see a general improvement in their overall quality of life. 4. Bolster your self-confidence. Using hearing aids can enhance emotional well-being. Research shows that when people with hearing loss use hearing aids, many feel more in control of their lives and less self-critical. One study found that the majority of people with mild and severe hearing loss felt better about themselves and life overall. 5. Improve cognitive functioning. Studies out of Johns Hopkins linked hearing loss with accelerated cognitive decline in older adults and found that seniors with hearing loss are signifi-cantly more likely to develop dementia over time. BHI studies found that many people with hearing loss report improvements in their cognitive skills with the use of hearing aids. So go ahead. Revitalize your life. Do something about your hearing. It just may help you feel forever young. For more information – and to take a free, quick and confi-dential online hearing check to determine if you need a compre-hensive hearing test by a hearing care professional - visit www.BetterHearing.org.

STAY FOREVER YOUNG Treat hearing loss--Revitalize your Life

14 The Hearing Loss Californian - Winter 2014

A GOOD IDEA Young Adults California Meetup

This is a great idea. Who would like to organize it? Here is the flyer for the Chicago/Midwest Meetup that was held in October. Sounds like fun! Let’s have a Young Adults California Meetup Now!

First Annual Midwest Meetup

10/10/14 – 10/12/14, Chicago, IL

WHO? HLAA young adults (Mostly Midwesterners, but all are welcome!)! WHAT? Hang out downtown, connect with young D/HoH adults who will probably think you are kind of a big deal, and go back home with epic stories to share! ! WHERE WE STAYIN’? Oh yeah, that … Holiday Inn Express & Suites Chicago O'Hare; 6600 N. Mannheim Rd., Rosemont, IL! BUT WHY? Because friendship.! HOW ON EARTH? Plane, train, or automobile. Or Batmobile, if you can swing it. ! INTERESTED? OF COURSE you are! Nonrefundable deposit required to reserve a room. $56 for two nights (Fri-Sun) or $101 for three nights (Thurs-Sun) due by Friday, Sept 26. Costs cover total hotel stay, assuming 4 persons / room. Contact us at Midwest-Meetup@gmail.com for more information and to arrange payment (Check/Paypal).! More details on our Facebook event page: www.facebook.com/events/1459393487

Marvel Comic Book, Sound Effects The Children’s Hearing Institute has announced a unique partnership with Marvel Custom Solutions to produce a custom comic book entitled SOUND EFFECTS along with a Teacher’s Guide for children in grades 3-7. Released in October, the Marvel custom comic book and Teacher’s Guide reached approximately 150,000 students in the New York City schools using Marvel’s In-School Network Distribution System with plans for further expansion outside of the New York five boroughs. SOUND EFFECTS features the world famous Marvel Comics’ Avenger, Iron Man as he teams up with Blue Ear (a Super Hero with hearing aids) and a newly created Super Hero Sapheara (a super girl with bilateral cochlear implants.) In an action-packed storyline, they work to save New York City while addressing some very important issues such as: bullying, hearing loss awareness, and the dangers of loud audio that this generation is exposing themselves to. To further enforce the message of the Marvel custom comic book, CHI has created a Teacher’s Guide that will be distributed along with the custom comic book that will have fun facts and activities that directly relate to the comic. Blue Ear comic debuts. A six year old Salem boy, Anthony Smith, has become the original Blue Ear. He has reached superhero status on the pages of a new Marvel Comic book. Anthony decided he didn’t want to wear his blue hearing aids because “super heroes don’t wear hearing aids.” In response, Marvel created Blue Ear, a Super Hero with hearing aids. For 75 years, Marvel has shown the world that everyone can be a hero, proving that again by teaming with the Children’s Hearing Institute on this all-new, action-packed adventure. Readers of all ages will see Iron Man streak into action against his diabolical foes Klaw and Blackout, but they'll also witness Blue Ear's first comic book appearance and the dynamic debut of Sapheara, the world's first Cochlear implant-wearing Super Hero! Modern Marvel thrills combined with a positive message that can help kids around the globe. Does anything sound better than that?

The Hearing Loss Californian - Winter 2014 15

BALLOT - Deadline January 15, 2015

The Hearing Loss Association of America-California Nominations Committee is proud to submit the following well-qualified candidates for the HLAA-CA Board of Trustees. The term of office is three years. Successful candidates will begin their term at the February 2015 Board of Trustees meeting. Please vote for no more than four candidates by entering an "X" in the space next to the candidate's name. Note: Only members in good standing of the Hearing Loss Association of America National organization may vote. Qualification will be based on the list obtained from HLAA National office showing current members as of December 1, 2014. The return address is the only identifier used, so it is important that your return address match the membership records of HLAA. Family memberships are identified as Mr. and Mrs. or as two names on the membership records from HLAA National. In this case, each member is entitled to vote. Return envelopes containing ballots must show the voter's name and address in the return address area of the envelope, but not on the ballot. Envelopes not bearing a return address and/or postmarked after January 15, 2015 will be considered invalid and will not be counted. Please send your completed ballot to: Susan Shaffer, 9341 Gordon Avenue, La Habra, CA 90631-2457 __________Lynne Kinsey. HLAA-Silicon Valley Chapter. Incumbent In my chapter over the years, I have served as First Vice President (Program); Secretary (currently); on many committees, including Library, Hospital Kits, Bylaws, Budget, Walk4Hearing, State Conference, Scholarships and Membership. I have attended or been on planning committees for three State Conferences, a National Convention, several Leadership Training Workshops, and three Walk4Hearings. I have successfully advocated for looping in facilities near me. Representing HLAA-CA in the community-at-large, Looping Advocacy and Awareness Advocacy, are areas in which I have personal interests. I see an urgent need to spread information about new assistive devices, medical treatments, coping strategies, and books (nonfiction & fiction) dealing with hearing loss. I carry FACE ME buttons and HLAA information to share with people I meet or who express an interest or need. Serving on the HLAA-CA Board of Trustees would allow me to continue and broaden this involvement __________Gail Morrison, HLAA-Long Beach/Lakewood Chapter. Incumbent Over the years, I have served on the Board of Directors of seven different organizations, holding nearly every officer's position including President. From 2008-2010, I served on a multi-million dollar corporate Board of Directors as Press and Public Relations Chairman for the Assistance League of Long Beach. I have been promoting publicity for HLAA-Long Beach/Lakewood Chapter and the American Association of University Women (AAUW) since 2008 by sending out press releases to 14 media newspapers/online sources on a monthly or as-needed basis. In February 2011, I was appointed to serve on the Disabled Resources Center, Inc. (DRC) Board of Directors in Long Beach. My past activities can easily be transferred to service on the Board of Trustees for the Hearing Loss Association of California. __________Debra Rogers, HLAA-San Diego Chapter. I have an MA in Nonprofit Leadership and Management. I am an advocate by nature and training. While new to hearing loss, I will be a role model for others with my positive attitude, intuitive problem solving and organizational skills. My intention for joining the board is to serve as a hearing loss advocate, including issues of hearing loops and the need for continued support for individuals with varying degrees of hearing loss. I am currently doing research on “hearing loops” in the San Diego area (there are too few!) and would like to start a “Let’s Loop San Diego” so our chapter can advocate for and educate others about the importance of providing hearing loops in our local community for hard of hearing people. If you want an engaged, capable board member and a great team player who will provide a fresh perspective, I will be a perfect choice for the HLAA-CA Board of Trustees. __________Ann Thomas, HLAA-Diablo Valley Chapter. I am a dynamic, versatile, experienced, award winning, nonprofit professional with training in fundraising and development. I wear two hearing aids and have a progressive hearing loss. I joined Hearing Loss Association of America and the Diablo Valley Chapter in 2008 and have been an officer of the Diablo Valley Chapter since 2009, President since 2010 and Newsletter Editor since 2009. During this time I have worked arduously and collaboratively to increase awareness about hearing loss in Contra Costa County and throughout the state by working with county and city governments, state organizations and public venues; educating about the needs of people with a hearing loss; the rights of people with a hearing loss for effective communication under the ADA and CA Unruh Acts; and the need for improvement in the required accommodations under those acts. Additionally I was a Leadership Development presenter at the Hearing Loss Association of America Convention 2012. My presentation Getting the Word Out: Promoting Chapter Identity and Creating Marketing Collateral can be viewed on the national web site: www.hearingloss.org. I would like Hearing Loss Association of America-California State Association to become a household word and believe I have the skills and vision to move that agenda forward.

RESOURCES FOR HEARING LOSS QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS Hearing Loss Resource Specialists Jennifer Stuessy, Greater Los Angeles Agency on Deafness (GLAD), Los Angeles 323-478-8000, jstuessy@gladinc.org Pauline Gaeta, Center on Deafness

Inland Empire (CODIE), Riverside 951-275-5000, pgaeta@codie.org

Colette Noble, NorCal Services for D/HoH, Sacramento, cnoble@norcalcenter.org Sr. Ann Rooney, LMFT, Burlingame

annrooney@sbcglobal.net Bruce Harris, Berkeley bjharris@ieee.org Ann Thomas, Walnut Creek

AThomas@hearinglossdv.org Lisa Mira Lawson, LMFT, Psy.D Marriage and Family Therapist linda.lawson21@twc.com, 310-454-5138 Valerie Stern, LCSW, Sunland Psychotherapist - hearing loss and grief, certified equine assisted psychotherapist 310-936-0939, www.valeriesternlcsw.com Alison Freeman, PhD, West LA. Sherman Oaks Psychologist - hearing loss, trauma and crisis counseling, stress management and teletherapy, 310–712-1200, www.dralisonfreeman.net For Parents California Hands & Voices, Parent driven Nonjudgmental support for families with D/HoH children Family camps, Mom’s Night Inn www.cahandsandvoices.org National, www.handsandvoices.org info@cahandsandvoices.org Parent Links, Parent to Parent Support

for families with D/HoH children Parent Mentors are Parents of D/HoH children, www.myparentlinks.com Find Mentor myparentlinks.com/Local_Parent.html Audiologists send family to Parent Links myparentlinks.com/Makeareferral.html

Oral Deaf Education, Oraldeafed.org Free Parent handbook, DVD, videos For Youth Training & Advocacy Group (TAG), LA

Self-Advocacy group for D/HoH children & teens, www.tagkids.us

HEAR YA NOW. Young Adults Group Social events, online community www.hearyanow.tumblr.com

NO LIMITS. Individual therapy, literacy, parent education thru educational center, National theatrical group, for ages 3-18, All services free, 310.280.0878. www.nolimitsfordeafchildren.org Cochlear Implants Cochlear Americas www.cochlearamericas.com Med El www.medel.com Advanced Bionics www.advancedbionics.com

Clinics UC Irvine, Cochlear implant services

714-456-5853, www.ent.uci.ed The HEAR Center, Pasadena Hearing/speech therapy, Community out reach, hearing aid dispensing. All ages, www.hearcenter.org, 626-796-2016 House Ear Clinic, Los Angeles Hearing Aids, Cochlear Implants Ear surgery, 213-483-9930, www.hei.org Stanford Univ, Cochlear implant services cochlearimplant@stanford.edu, 650-736- 4351, www.med.stanford.edu/ohns Hearing and Speech Center, San Francisco 415-921-7658, info@hearingspeech.org www.hearingspeech.org Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, Stanford Pediatric hearing loss 650-498-2738, jwinzelberg@lpch.org John Tracy Clinic Pediatric hearing loss, low cost services world wide, www.jtc.org, 213-748-5481 Oberkotter Foundation Pediatric hearing loss, free materials, oral schools, www.oraldeafed.org Financial Aid Audient Alliance audientalliance.org, 206-838-7194 Let them Hear Foundation, Palo Alto 650-462-3143, http://www.letthemhear.org Career Counseling/Employment Services HLAA Employment Toolkit

www.hearingloss.org/ advocacy/Employment.asp#jobtoolkit

GLAD/EDD GLAD/Employment Development Dept www.gladinc.org 213-478-8000, info@gladinc.org Dept of Rehabilitation, (DOR)

Deaf/HoH Advisory Comm (DHHAC) Stephanie.stansell@yahoo.com

Vocational Rehab provides clients with hearing aids/devices necessary to secure or retain employment. www.dor.ca.gov Deaf/Disabled Telecomm Access (DDTP) Administrative Committee (TADDAC) Nancy Hammons, (Late Deafened) hammonsn@aol.com Equipment Program (EPAC) Brian Winic (Hard of Hearing), lovetwohear@aol.com Free Telephones (CTAP) www.ddtp.org/ctap Lawyers David Grey, david@greyslaw.com Special education law John Waldo, john@wash-cap.com Captioning of movies/theatre Gaylord & Nantais, gaylordnantais.com Hearing Loss Claims

Hearing LOOP & ALDs Directory List & Find your Loop and ALD www.aldlocator.com All about Loops www.hearingloop.org

Lip Reading Classes www.hearinglossca.org/communication Online Videos HLAA, www.hearingloss.org/content/video- series-learn-about-hearing-loss www.hearingloss.org/content/video-series -hearing-assistive-technology Listen and Speak, children www.oraldeafed.org/movies/index.html Captions Captioned movies search engine Captionfish.com Captioned Netflix instant library www,phlixie.com Captioned videos of world’s leading thinkers. TED.com Captioned/looped theatre Griot Theatre, griottheatre.org Captioning Advocacy Group www.CCACaptioning.org

Auditory Rehabilitation Angel Sound Online download http://angelsound.emilyfufoundation.org Request an installation CD via email angelvoice@emilyfufoundation.org i-phone/ipad application now available in the App Store: i-angelsound http://angelsound.tigerspeech.com/ angelsound_mobile.html Speech Therapy Lisa Roeder, MS, CCC-SLP, Walnut Creek Cochlear Implant or hearing aid users 925.945.1474 roeder@speechpath.com www.speechpathologygroup.com Mellisa Essenburg, M.S., CCC-SLP mellisaslp@yahoo.com, 858-232-5842 www.SanDiegoSpeechPathology.com Aural Rehab Group for CIs, San Diego Assistance Dogs for hard of hearing/deaf Canine Companions for Independence www.cci.org 800-572-2275 Sam Simon Foundation www.samsimonfoundation.com, 310-457-5898 See Resources, Page 17

16 The Hearing Loss Californian - Winter 2014

The Hearing Loss Californian - Winter 2014 17

Southern California Segerstrom Center – Costa Mesa Saturday matinee Once, August 30, 2014 Pippin, November 22, 2014 Grinch, December 13, 2014 Kinky Boots, January 10, 2015 Dirty Dancing, February 14, 2015 Nice Work If You Can Get It, March 21, 2015 Guys and Dolls, April 18, 2015 Annie, May 23, 2015 Motown, June 27, 2015 Phantom of the Opera, August 15, 2015 Ahmanson – Los Angeles Saturday matinee We Will Rock You, August 23, 2014 The Trip to Bountiful, October 25, 2014 Dame Edna & Barry Humphries’ Final Farewell Tour, March 14, 2015 Cinderella, April 25, 2015 Matilda, June 27, 2015 Pantages Theater - Hollywood Sunday matinee Jersey Boys, October 19, 2014 Pippin, November 9, 2014 Kinky Boots, November 30, 2014 Wicked. January 11, 2015 Newsies, April 12, 2015 Motown the Musical, May 17, 2015 Phantom of the Opera, June 28, 2015 Civic Theater- San Diego Sunday matinee Kinky Boots, September 28, 2014 Jersey Boys, October 26, 2014 Dirty Dancing, January 11, 2015 Cinderella, May 10, 2015 Motown the Musical, June 14, 2015 Pippin, August 30, 2015 La Jolla Playhouse Sunday Matinee Kingdom City, September 21, 2014 Hunchback of Notre Dame, November 23, 2014 The Darrell Hammond Project, February 22, 2015 Griot Theatre of the West Valley - Encino Sabah El-Amin, Executive Director Sabah@griottheatre.org www.Griottheatre.org Hollywood Bowl Two weeks advance notice requested Lili Herrera, Accessibility Services, 323 850 2125

Northern California Berkeley Repertory Theatre Sunday Matinee An Audience with Meow Meow, October 19, 2014 Party People, November 16, 2014 Red Hot Patriot, January 4, 2015 Xs and Os (A Gridiron Love Story), March 1, 2015 Tartuffe, April 12, 2015 Head of Passes, May 24, 2015 One Man, Two Guvnors, June 21, 2015 SHNSF (Orpheum, Curran, Golden Gate) – San Francisco Saturday matinee Motown the Musical, September 13, 2014 Pippin, October 18, 2014 Chicago, November 15, 2014 I Love Lucy, November 16, 2014 (Sunday matinee) Kinky Boots, December 27, 2014 Newsies, March 14, 2015 Matilda, August 8, 2015 Phantom of the Opera, September 26, 2015 Sacramento Community Theatre Friday evening Jersey Boys, November 21, 2014 Dirty Dancing, January 2, 2015 Joseph & the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, January 30, 2015 Rain, a Tribute to the Beatles, March 20, 2015 Once, April 17, 2015 Cinderella, May 15, 2015 Please support Captioned Live Theater for the effort they are making to accommodate us, and help spread the word to our hearing loss community. People with hearing loss who have shunned live theatre, need to get back into the theatre-going habit. Resources, from Page 16 Other Resources Hard of Hearing / Late Deafened Program

at DCARA www.dcara.org Better Hearing Institute www.betterhearing.org Living and Coping with Hearing Loss by Sam Trychin, sam-trychin@adelphia.net www.trychin.com Hearing Loss Information

www.HearingMojo.com www.hear-it.org

Hearing Loss Help E-zine www.hearinglosshelp.com neil@hearinglosshelp.com

Deafness in Disguise History of hearing devices. beckerexhibits.wustl.edu/did

CAPTIONED LIVE THEATER

HEARING LOSS ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA California State Association/Chapters

Find a chapter - www.hearinglossca.org/chapters Facebook: Hearing Loss Association of America – chapter name

POTENTIAL NEW CHAPTERS Culver City Chapter Nanci Linke-Ellis (2 CIs) nlinke-ellis@hearinglossca.org 310-922-3884 cell 310-829-3884 phone

Central Coast Chapter-Santa Maria Noni Smyth no_knee@charter.net Pass Area Chapter - Beaumont Sandi Streeter, S.Streeter@surfcity.net Nanci Linke Ellis nanci@linkeellis.com 310-92203884 Please join us. Meet others who are facing the challenge of everyday life with a hearing loss. Meetings are free and informal. Bring a friend or family member. Everyone is welcome. Hearing loss is a daily challenge you can overcome. You do not have to face hearing loss alone. Is your chapter on Facebook? Social networking has become the way to do outreach, get your projects known and recruit new members. Danny Tubbs metromann@yahoo.com of the HLAA-LA chapter will be glad to help you set it up. No chapter near you? Our Chapter Coordinators will help you to set up a local group. Northern CA Chapter Coordinator Janel Edmiston (CI) 916-208-8937 jedmiston@hearinglossca.org Southern CA Chapter Coordinator Nanci Linke-Ellis (2 CIs) nanci@linkeellis.com 310-922-3884 cell 310-829-3884 phone

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA Northern CA Chapter Coordinator Janel Edmiston (CI) 916-208-8937 jedmiston@hearinglossca.org Diablo Valley Chapter-Walnut Creek Ann Thomas HLAADV@hearinglossdv.org 925-264-1199 www.hearinglossdv.org East Bay Chapter - Oakland Janet Lyons 510-932-7978 je.lyons@comcast.net Napa Valley Chapter - Napa Jeannine Scott, 707-257-0509 jneen@napanet.net Peninsula Chapter - Redwood City Sally Edwards, 650-365-4868 info@hearinglosspen.org Bob Hall, 650-867-5256 RHall@hearinglosspen.org Sacramento Chapter Janel Edmiston, 916-208-8937 jedmiston@hearinglossca.org www.hlasac.com San Francisco Chapter Kenny Andrews, 707-291-9709 Kennyandrews6@gmail.com Josephine Schallehn, jschallehn@hotmail.com Shasta County Chapter - Redding Sharon Hunter, 530-242-1574 Sharon36lee@yahoo.com Silicon Valley Chapter - San Jose Earl Mizuguchi, 408-977-6377 earlmiz@sbcglobal.net Maggie Iller marjorie.iller@gmail.com

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA Southern CA Chapter Coordinator Nanci Linke-Ellis (2 CIs) nanci@linkeellis.com 310-922-3884 cell 310-829-3884 phone City of Orange Chapter Marla Peoples, marla_peoples@yahoo.com Long Beach/Lakewood Chapter - Lakewood Bill Busch, Bill@buschfamily.org 310-540-6322 Gail Morrison, gail7go@gmail.com 562-438-0597 www.hlalongbeachlakewood.org Los Angeles Chapter - Pasadena Lisa Yuan, leesayuan@gmail.com Alicia Fernandez, alicia@blueskycreative.com www.HLAA-LA.org Mission Viejo Chapter Pril Kirkeby, pwkirkeby@cox.net 949-855-6786 George Grosz, 949-455-2740 ghgrosz@earthlink.net San Diego Chapter Larry Sivertson, larrysivertson@gmail.com www.hearinglosssandiego.org Santa Barbara Chapter Cherie Alvarez, cheriea@hlaa-sbc.org Jazmin Kildare, jazmink@hlaa-sbc.org www.hlaa-sbc.org Santa Monica Chapter Ken Cluskey, kencluskey@yahoo.com Maggie Whittemore, maggie_whittemore@yahoo.com Ventura County Chapter – Thousand Oaks Anni Settingsgard, hlaanni@aol.com

18 The Hearing Loss Californian - Winter 2014

Board of Trustees

President

Jim Montgomery, (CI) Diablo Valley Chapter

Jmontgomery@hearinglossca.org

Vice President, Zina Jawadi

Silicon Valley Chapter zjawadi@hearinglossca.org

Secretary, Karen Wheeler (Hearing) kwheeler@hearinglossca.org Treasurer, Jeffrey Chess jchess@hearinglossca.org Ram Kakkar (CI) Long Beach/Lakewood Chapter rkakkar@hearinglossca.org

Lynne Kinsey Silicon Valley Chapter lkinsey@hearinglossca.org Gail Morrison Long Beach/Lakewood Chapter gmorrison@hearinglossca.org

Bonnie Neylan Peninsula Chapter bneylan@hearinglossca.org

Susan Shaffer (2 CIs) sshaffer@hearinglossca.org

Don Senger, Emeritus (CI) Diablo Valley Chapter dsenger@hearinglossca.org

NoCal Chapter Coordinator

Janel Edmiston, ex officio (CI) 916-208-8937

jedmiston@hearinglossca.org

SoCal Chapter Coordinator Nanci Linke-Ellis, ex officio (2 CIs) 310-922-3884 cell 310-829-3884 phone nlinke-ellis@hearinglossca.org

National Board of Trustees Margaret Wallhagen, ex officio Meg.wallhagen@nursing.ucsf.edu

FOUNDER Howard E. “Rocky” Stone, 1925-2004. In 1979, Rocky Stone founded the organization as Self Help for Hard of Hearing People (SHHH). Renamed Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA) in 2006. JOIN US! Membership includes national and state memberships, Hearing Loss Magazine and The Hearing Loss Californian newsletter. Rates are $20 Student, $35 Individual, $45 Couple, $60 Professional. For international and corporate rates, please visit www.hearingloss.org. Please make check out to HLAA and send it to Hearing Loss Association of America, 7910 Woodmont Avenue, Suite 1200, Bethesda, MD 20814 (include name/mailing address/zip code/email/phone) OR you can join on line at www.hearingloss.org/membership/renew.asp. HEAR YA NOW is a network of young adults in California ages 18-40. We aim to unite young adults with hearing loss through social events and an online community where information is exchanged about resources, support, advocacy, and scholarship opportunities. Join our active Facebook discussion group HEAR YA NOW: http://www.facebook.com/groups/hearyanow. In order to join, email us at hearyanow@gmail.com with your name, brief hearing loss story, and why you want to join HEAR YA NOW. Website: www.hearyanow.tumblr.com; Twitter: www.twitter.com/hearya_now; YouTube: www.youtube.com/hearyanow

HLAA CREDIT CARD. Support HLAA with every purchase you make! Apply today! www.CardLabConnect.com/hlaa

SUPPORT ANNA GILMORE HALL & HLAA. Please join the Premier Club by giving an ongoing monthly pledge of $20 or more. Premier Club donations help HLAA predict their financial resources more reliably and manage their expenditures more wisely. ITINERANT TEACHERS OF HOH/D support your graduating seniors in their transition from high school by giving them a FREE trial subscription to The Hearing Loss Californian. Please send student name/mailing address/zipcode/email to gtiessen@hearinglossca.org. FREE newsletter, The Hearing Loss Californian. If you want it sent electronically (send your email address), if hard copy (send your mailing address) to Grace Tiessen, gracetiessen@gmail.com. FREE. Hearing Health magazine, a quarterly publication of Deafness Research Foundation. Sign up on line at http://www.drf.org. HLAA-California publishes The Hearing Loss Californian quarterly in mid February, May, August and November. The newsletter is available through mail, and on line at www.hearinglossca.org. Demographics. Our database consists of 5300 records--1250 California HLAA members; 1345 California audiologists; 1350 California Hearing Aid Dispensers; Dept of Rehabilitation HoH/D counselors; Itinerant Teachers of the HoH/D; Office of Deaf Access outreach centers; members of the Association of Late Deafened Adults; Kaiser Permanente audiologists; members of AG Bell Assn for the D/HoH; Costco Hearing Aid Centers; HEARx Hearing Aid Centers; Sonus Hearing Aid Centers and others interested in hearing loss issues. Editor: Grace Tiessen, gtiessen@hearinglossca.org Layout: Lisa Rettino, leftylisa63@yahoo.com Webmaster: Zina Jawadi, zjawadi@hearinglossca.org Contributions are eligible for income tax deductions as provided in Section 501(c)3 of the Internal Revenue Service Code.

Mention of goods and services in articles or advertisements does not imply endorsement, nor does exclusion suggest disapproval.

Any portion of this newsletter may be reprinted or disseminated, as long as credit is given to the individual author or to this publication. Submissions for the Spring 2015 issue are due no later than January 15, 2015, and should be sent to gtiessen@hearinglossca.org. Inclusion and/or editing will be at the full discretion of the Editor.

The Hearing Loss Californian - Winter 2014 19

Hearing Loss Association of America The Nation’s voice for people with hearing loss.

Hearing Loss Association of America opens the world of communication to people

with hearing loss through information, education, support and advocacy.

The national support network includes the Washington, D.C. area office, 14 state organizations, and 200 local chapters.

Our clear, straightforward message has changed the lives of thousands of people.

Hearing loss is a daily challenge you can overcome. You do not have to hide your hearing loss. You do not have to face hearing loss alone.

HLAA: www.hearingloss.org

HLAA-CA: www.hearinglossca.org Facebook: www.facebook.com/hearinglossca

Who We Are Hearing Loss Association of America, California State Association (HLAA-CA) is a state association affiliated with Hearing Loss Association of America. Residents of California who join our national organization automatically become members of HLAA-CA. Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA) is an international, non-sectarian, educational, consumer organization of hard of hearing people, their relatives and friends. It is devoted to the welfare and interests of those who cannot hear well but are committed to participating in the hearing world. Hearing Loss Association of America 7910 Woodmont Avenue, Suite 1200 Bethesda, MD 20814 (301) 657-2248 Voice (301) 657-2249 TTY (301) 913-9413 Fax info@hearingloss.org

Grace W. Tiessen 714 Prospect Blvd, Pasadena, CA 91103 gtiessen@hearinglossca.org

HEARING LOSS ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA CALIFORNIA STATE ASSOCIATION Supporting chapters throughout California

Hearing Loss is a Leading Public Health Issue

Non Profit U.S. Postage

PAID Pasadena, CA Permit #740

BALLOT ENCLOSED Page 15

Deadline January 15, 2015 You must be a paid up member

of HLAA in order to VOTE