SUCCESS – CALIFORNIA RAISES $62,000 IN FIRST ANNUAL HEARING LOSS ASSN OF AMERICA

WALK 4 HEARING

TTHEHE H HEARINGEARING L LOSSOSS C CALIFORNIANALIFORNIAN Summer 2006

by Willy D. Stern Marching in teams or in tandem on May 6th, approxi-mately 300 friends of the Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA) braved the frigid winds of the San Francisco Bay to make HLAA’s first annual Walk 4 Hearing a smashing suc-cess. United in a desire to raise awareness and funds to help those living with hearing loss, fortified by cookies, muffins, bananas and other goodies, both hard of hearing and hearing walkers gathered at 8 a.m. in Crissy Field. An hour later, with the Golden Gate Bridge forming a backdrop, co-chair Ronda Bonati cut the ribbon and they were off. Ranging in age from under one to over eighty, many easily completed the 5km route, while the faint of heart (or the scant of clothes!) opted for the 2km path. Barbara Tucker, Lorraine Fanizza and Sandi Streeter drove up from Southern California, while Willy, Val and Ai-dan Stern and Grace Tiessen with her son, Leonard Edmondson, formed another Southern California team. Participants happily embraced long-absent friends, pe-rused the assistive technology displays and hearing-dog booths, and were entertained by a juggling clown and brass band. But perhaps the sweetest sound of the day was the tune to which pledges surpassed targets: $62,000, more than double the hoped-for $25,000. All the proceeds will be used to fund local and national programs to help people with hearing loss and to raise public awareness of the day-to-day challenges we face. Raegene Castle was the California Chair, while Ronda Bonati and Esther Snively were the Walkathon co-chairs. Chapters that organized and conducted the walk were:

• Diablo Valley Chapter • Peninsula Chapter • San Francisco Chapter • San Jose Chapter

Almost all the chapters in the State participated. The Walkathon Committee will not be announcing how much each chapter collected, but will tell them individually when their check for 25% of the amount that they raised is sent. The committee also voted to give every California chapter $100 for chapter needs. For those chapters that par-ticipated, this amount will be in addition to the 25% of the amount they raised.

Ronda Bonati cuts the ribbon

Grace’s son, Leonard Edmondson, Grace Tiessen, Valerie, Willy and Aidan Stern

Checks will be mailed in early June after the books are closed and all income and expenses have been accounted for. These are the sponsors who gave more than $1,000 in cash contributions:

• Noroian Capital Management • Danford Foundation • Sprint • Hearing Centers Network • Verizon • Stanford Audiology • Castle Insurance • The Uccelli Foundation • Bay Area Bank

Oakland Museum and Hearing Loss Association of California gave more than $1,000 in in-kind donations. All told, the Walk4Hearing proved a fun and productive endeavor for everyone, this author observed. Even the biting cold seemed to nip a bit less by midmorning. Or perhaps it was just in comparison to what we imagined the dogs chasing tennis balls into the frosty surf must have been feeling.

The Hearing Loss Californian Page 2, Summer 2006

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE By Marilyn Finn, President, Hear-ing Loss Association of California What is the Hearing Loss Associa-tion of California? With twenty-nine chapters in California and approximately thir-

teen hundred national members, we have an impact. With one in ten citizens in our state having a hearing loss signifi-cant enough to change their lives, we have a very long way to go. In order to really help people who are hard of hear-ing, we need to be a known voice in our state. As a state association, what are we doing about that right now? Just what is our state association? The Hearing Loss Association of California is an incorporated organization. We are an affiliate of the Hear-ing Loss Association of America and our membership is made up of all members of the HLAA in our state. There are fourteen volunteer members of our board of trustees, all hard of hearing with the exception of Carol Waechter, our vice-president and a longtime advocate for hard of hearing people. The 2006 officers are: Marilyn Finn, President; Carol Waechter, Vice President, Mary Clark, Secretary, Gene Cox, Treasurer, and Sandi Streeter, Immediate Past President. Our contact information is in every newsletter. Functions: Support our 29 California Chapters.

• Support our two volunteer state chapter coordinators, Barbara Tucker in the South and Cindy Jagger in the North. They in turn nurture and support existing chap-ters in their part of the state and help new ones to form.

• Presented Chapter Leadership Trainings 2005, in the North and in the South with a committee of three in charge: Marilyn Finn, Sister Ann Rooney, Carol Waechter and Keynote Speaker, Barbara Tucker.

• Offered Six Month Free Membership Program 2005 to new chapter members through the work of committee chair Don Senger.

• Maintain the DESK program, listed in The Hearing Loss Californian Newsletter to put chapters in immedi-ate touch with an expert to answer specific questions or suggest speakers on their topic.

Educate the public on our issues and what our organiza-tion does, is, and can do.

• Distribute awarding winning The Hearing Loss Cali-fornian newsletter. Each issue goes to 3900 homes and hearing health care offices in California, four times a year. Our editor is Grace W. Tiessen.

• Maintain award winning website. Visit it at www.hearinglossca.org. Grace W. Tiessen is our webmaster. In 2005 we had 4300 visitors and 26,000 hits a month.

• Exhibit at state conferences for audiologists and hear-

ing health care professionals. Delia Itanen chairs this committee. New Program.

We have a new name—Hearing Loss Association of California. We want to get that new name out there.

• State trustees and chapter members will staff our booths together.

• First conference coming up is in San Jose in September. Trustee Raegene Castle will be a presenter. Our display materials are on order for our booth. ◊ Host a state conference every other year. ◊ Last year we met in Buena Park, CA. It was out

standing. ◊ The 2007 Conference will be at the Hilton Oakland

Airport on February 16, 17, 2007. Be there! Learn! Socialize! Enjoy! Trustees Jim Montgomery, Don Senger, and their committee of chapter representatives are working hard. More information is coming your way.

Represent hard of hearing people on state issues.

• Support national issues though the national office. Educate and advocate making sure that our representatives know who we are and why our issues are important.

• Brand new legislative committee is forming to study, edu-cate, and testify when education is needed on hearing loss issues. Four members so far. ◊ Two hearings on hearing aid legislation and one on

telecommunications will take place in April and will need representation.

◊ Four other issues, both state and national need our sup-port.

◊ Phil Kaplan will serve as an advisor. Others advisors will be invited also.

Support the Hearing Loss Association of America, our na-tional organization.

• Founder’s Day Financial Support • Walk4Hearing.

◊ The walkathon is a national pilot program in four states. ◊ Over $25,000 has been collected in CA sponsorships

alone. ◊ The money collected in the walker envelopes will be

added to that amount. ◊ Both the national office and the chapters will benefit

from this event. It is put on in California through the hard work of a dedicated committee and the support of chapter members.

◊ Trustee Raegene Castle is chairperson for this, with three other trustees on the four-chapter committee.

Each of us on the board is proud to serve you. We are extremely proud of the work done in the chapters to help change the way that people think about hearing loss and the way that people with hearing loss think about themselves.

Page 3, Summer 2006 The Hearing Loss Californian

HANDS OFF THE INTERNET TELL CONGRESS

WE LIKE IT JUST THE WAY IT IS Telecommunications giants are moving to control how you surf the web. This is a battle of the Titans. AT&T, Veri-zon and Comcast vs. Amazon.com, eBay, Google, InterAc-tiveCorp, Microsoft, Yahoo and people like you. What if you logged on to the Internet only to find that you couldn't connect to your favorite blog, news, or website? This might sound absurd, but this could be a reality for all Internet users in the near future. Please take action. A Congressional panel just voted to make it easier for phone and cable companies to block or slow your access to sites and services on the Web. Companies like AT&T, Veri-zon and Comcast are pressuring Congress to pass the "Telecom Reform Bill" that would allow them to restrict or slow down your access to certain websites on the internet. Why? Because telephone and cable companies own the lines that connect you to the Internet, they can control where you go and how fast you get there. By blocking or slowing access to Internet-based services that compete with their own offerings like Internet-telephone, music, and video downloads, they reduce competition and increase business. As an example, last year, Canada's version of AT&T--Telus--blocked their internet customers from visiting a web site sympathetic to workers with whom Telus was

negotiating. This controversial bill would create a similar situation in the U.S. whereby telephone and cable companies would have increased power to control how well (or poorly) specific websites, including those operated by nonprofit organi-zations, would function on your computer.. Paul Misener, Amazon's vice president for Global Pub-lic Policy, told lawmakers, "the phone and cable companies are going to fundamentally alter the Internet in America unless Congress acts to stop them. They have the market power, tech-nical means and regulatory permission to control American consumers' access to broadband Internet content, and they've announced their plans to do so. We are extremely concerned that this legislation would deny consumers unfettered access to the tremendous scope of content, applications and services that are available today on the Internet and that will be developed in the future.” eBay, Google, Microsoft, Yahoo and IAC/Interactive all share Amazon's concerns. The current construction of the internet allows everyone to compete on a level playing field. This is the reason that the internet is a force for economic innovation, civic participation and free speech The internet must be kept free and open. We cannot let the democratic nature of the Internet fall into the grip of corporate America--AT&T, Verizon and Comcast. Please speak up NOW or Congress will hand over con-trol of the internet to these telecommunications monopolies. Email/phone Senator Dianne Feinstein, Senator Barbara Boxer, and your Representative. Google “Congress, Cali-fornia” to get their contact information.

The Hearing Loss Californian Page 4, Summer 2006

EMERGENCY - HLAA NEEDS YOUR $$$ HELP

by Grace W. Tiessen Auditory-Verbal International, Inc. folded in 2005 and joined AG Bell. Cochlear Implant Club International folded in 2004 and joined Hearing Loss Association of America. We cannot let this happen to HLAA. HLAA’s bottom line must be our top priority. Their expenses have remained constant, but their revenue has de-clined. Their programs will remain as strong as they can for as long as they can, but they cannot live with deficit spend-ing. Most unfortunately, if their revenue stream continues its current trend, they will be forced to make decisions that im-pact their future effectiveness in helping every current or po-tential member. People are always telling me how much they love HLAA (SHHH) and that it saved their lives. Well, we are go-ing to have to support HLAA if we want it to be around for the future. It takes MONEY to keep a quality organization going. We have to get into the habit of giving on a regular basis. Since they are The Nation's Voice for People with Hearing Loss, they are a not-for-profit organization. Their purpose is to make it possible for you, for me, and for thou-sands of other people with hearing loss to remain in the main-

stream and lead full and productive lives. How can you help? Join the Premiere Club. This is our monthly giving program. You support HLAA by providing monthly pre-arranged gifts of a set amount through your credit card. In this way you play an active ongoing part in providing a reliable and predictable revenue stream. It’s convenient and hassle free. You can give as little as $12 a month. I have $50 charged to my credit card every month, and I don't even notice it among all the other bills I have. But, these small do-nations add up to a healthy sum for the organization. Give at www.hearingloss.org; click on donations; click on monthly giving. Show your love for Hearing Loss Association of America by showering it with dollars.

BEWARE – Flashlight, never needs batteries, just shake.

CI users should never use this type of flashlight. This flashlight is advertised on TV, saying that it never needs batter-ies, never needs bulbs, is waterproof and floats in water. Sin-gle/double super coils create the charge with every shake. The problem is that there is a magnet in it which can erase the maps from a cochlear implant or corrupt computer hard drives. Please pass the word, better to be safe than sorry.

Page 5, Summer 2006 The Hearing Loss Californian

AUDIOLOGISTS

T-COIL BASED LOOP SYSTEMS

faction, we have recently begun to include a home loop sys-tem with all new fittings. The demonstration takes only a few minutes since the hearing aids are ready (T-coils) and the room is ready. Every day we have patients tell us that they haven't heard television this well in years. We believe that having hear-ing aid compatible devices to augment the benefit gained from well fitted digital hearing aids is very important. Installation may at first appear to be a barrier. However, loop systems are easy to install and require only a few tools and "handyman skills". It has been an extra benefit to find in-stallers who really enjoy the work. We actually started using our son, who at 17, showed some interest and aptitude. He is now off to college and installing loops for a practice near his university. Other practices have used family members and/or retired patients. It has turned out to be a nice side job for a young person who needs the employment or an older person who wants to stay active. The loop system we use comes with an easy to read in-stallation guide and in many cases, patients are able to handle the installation on their own. You can probably tell that we are really excited about home looping and believe that it is good for the patient, good for our practice, good for our installers and ultimately good for the reputation of hearing instruments, in general. Reprinted with permission from www.HealthyHearing.com - The Homepage of Hearing Healthcare

by William Diles, M.A. and Christine Diles, Au.D. Question: I am very impressed with Loop Systems, but marketing and selling them has been a real challenge for me and my practice associates. How do I get patients to try T-coil based Loop systems, and how can I compel patients to install them in their homes? Answer: The first step in getting more loops in more homes is having a good demo situation set up in your office. We actually have 4 loops in our office, one in the reception area (with a direct audio connection so there is no acoustic signal) and one in each of our fitting rooms. As patients are waiting to be seen, they can't possibly miss the silent television with the sign next to it that reads "to hear the TV put your hearing aid on the T position". If patients are wearing T-coil equipped hearing aids, they flip the switch (or press the button) and are amazed at how well they are able to hear. If they are not using hearing aids or don't have T-coil equipped hearing aids, our front office per-sonnel are well trained in explaining the technology. During a hearing aid fitting appointment, the loop demonstration is a regular part of the orientation. Since we have seen the difference they can make in hearing aid satis-

The ordinary telecoil is perhaps the most common and most underestimated assistive listening device avail-able for hearing impaired individuals today. Never buy a hearing aid without one. Imagine sitting down in front of your television, switching your hearing aids to the "telecoil" position, and hearing the TV sound as clearly as if the speaker was playing it right into your ear. Installing a loop system in your home can make this possibility a reality. It can also help you with virtually any other listening situation. Audiologists William Diles, M.A. and Christine Diles, Au.D. have been in private practice in Santa Rosa, CA since 1981. In the beginning, they sold the loop as an added feature, but after they conducted a survey and found that over 90% of their clients reported higher satisfaction with their hearing aids when combined with an installed teleloop, they decided to include the loop with every fitting. They have now successfully looped over 500 homes in their county. Don't you wish YOUR audiologist followed this advice? Maybe you should suggest it. Mary Frintner, AuD. of La Canada has contacted Bill Diles and is very in-terested in getting started with looping for her clients. Contact Christine Diles, Au.D. & William Diles, M.A. Kenwood Hearing Center, 52 Mission Circle Suite 203, Santa Rosa, CA 95409 707-538-1000, csgdiles@aol.com. For more information regarding home looping see www.goodhearing.com and www.hearingloop.org.

2007 BOARD OF TRUSTEES ELECTION

Deadline September 15, 2006 The Hearing Loss Association of California Nomina-tions Committee announces applications will be accepted to fill three Board of Trustees’ positions. An applicant must be a member of Hearing Loss Association of America and a resident of California. The term of office is three years with two Board meetings a year in February and August. Reason-able travel expenses will be reimbursed. Applications may be obtained online at www.hearinglossca.org, click on Board of Trustees. Or from Mary Clark, Secretary, 6160 Salem Road, Yorba Linda, CA 92887, phone 714-529-0218, mclark@hearinglossca.org. Completed applications must be postmarked no later than September 15, 2006.

WHAT?? HEARD IN THE SOUND-PROOF BOOTH

She was having her hearing tested by listening to sen-tences. The sentence was "Supper at six would be wonderful!" That’s easy! "Supper and sex for one and all!" The audiologist fell out of her chair as she was laughing so hard. She had to stop the tape and start over. Her husband sitting there for moral support, turned red as red could be.

Page 6, Summer 2006 The Hearing Loss Californian

MARION DOWNS INDUCTED INTO COLORADO WOMEN’S HALL OF FAME

World renowned audiologist Dr. Marion Downs was inducted into the Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame in 2005. Downs, 92, was recognized for her work of over 60 years to get every hospital in the U.S. to screen infants for hearing loss. The earlier you put hearing aids on a hard-of-hearing child, the better their speech and language development. Downs, who used bells and whistles to test a baby’s hearing 50 years ago, invented a better test and made it her life’s mis-sion to promote universal newborn screening. Now over 90 percent of all the babies in this country are being tested at birth. With a federal grant, the University of Colorado recently established the Marion Downs National Center for Infant Hearing. The Center was established to blend the perspec-tives of parents, children, physicians and researchers to give patients exposure to a variety of communication methods and programming options. Downs worked to improve infant hearing tests and pro-vide universal access to them. When Downs was first testing infant hearing in the 1950s, audiologists used various observa-tional techniques to assess the hearing capabilities of babies, but the testing was inaccurate. In the 1960s, Downs requested the formation of a National Joint Committee on Infant Hear-ing to work on developing infant hearing tests Then in the 1970s, technology caught up to Downs' vi-

sion. Two techniques expanded the ability of doctors to under-stand the mechanics of the human ear and auditory system. The first technology is called auditory brainstem response (ABR). ABR works much like an EEG to measure the brain’s response to sound. The other technology, otoacoustic emissions (OAE), detects if the ear itself is functioning properly. The ear has tiny hairs called outer hair cells, that produce extremely faint sounds when outside sounds are processed. The sounds pro-duced are somewhat like an echo but they are not bouncing sound waves, but in fact independent sounds. By using OAE, specialists can detect if the hair cells are active. California Assembly Member Dave Jones has authored AB 2651 which would extend the Newborn Hearing Screening Program (NHSP) to all birthing hospitals in California and would remove the “offer” provision from the law (hospitals would just go ahead and perform the screening unless the screening was objected to on religious grounds). Hearing loss is the No. 1 birth defect in the United States. California is cur-rently screening close to 75 percent of newborns, but if this bill is passed, California’s program would be universal. However, on a disappointing note, President Bush’s pro-posed budget for 2007 would completely eliminate funds for universal newborn hearing screening. The $10 million pro-gram, administered by the National Institutes of Health, helps states provide newborn hearing screening for poor families.

Page 7, Summer 2006 The Hearing Loss Californian

INTRODUCING JULIE CROWTHER CODIE HOH SPECIALIST

The Center On Deafness – Inland Empire (CODIE) started the Spring sea-son with wonderful news for the hard of hearing community by hiring a Hard of Hearing Specialist for Riverside County: Julie Crowther. Julie became hard of hearing at the age of five due to ototoxicity. She grew up oral in the Los Angeles area. All her edu-cation was done in a mainstream setting. Through years of personal struggles--isolation in school as a child, communica-tion difficulties with family, lack of ser-vices in the community, lack of support and understanding--Julie developed a pas-sion to help other hard of hearing individuals avoid unneces-sary struggles. Julie is very excited about her new job of providing support and services to her community. She will provide direct peer counseling on a one-to-one basis, work with fami-lies and their coping process, address an individual’s. need to become knowledgeable about his or her hearing loss, provide assistance in transitioning from being hearing to hard of hearing, lead support groups, provide linkage to other re-

sources such as advocacy related to health care, diagnostic clinics and develop relation-ships with agencies providing early interven-tion and other services. CODIE is a non-profit community-based service agency whose mission is to en-able deaf, hard of hearing, and late deafened adults to live independent, productive lives, with full access to the services and opportuni-ties available to people who hear. Established in 1994, GLAD-IE was established to provide quality services to the Inland Empire's deaf community. At the beginning of 1997, the name was changed from GLAD-IE to the cur-rent CODIE. CODIE employs 11 field spe-

cialists and a cadre of volunteers. Appointments with Julie can be scheduled by dialing (951) 275-5000 (TTY/Voice) or emailing Julie directly at jcrowther@codie.org. Her office is at 3576 Arlington Avenue, Suite 211, Riverside, CA 92506. Scorecard – HOH Specialists. There are now four HOH Specialists in the ODA agencies—Julie Crowther at CODIE in Riverside, Valerie Stern at GLAD in Los Angeles, Colette No-ble at NorCal in Sacramento and Susan Coulter at DHHSC in Fresno.

Celebrate Fun in the Sun in Orlando, FLA, our 2006 International Hearing Loss Association of America Con-vention, June 29 – July 2, 2006. Real time captioning and assistive listening devices will be provided at all meetings. This convention is fully communications accessible every-where. When will the real world become accessible to us? The State Board of Trustees meeting will be held on Saturday, August 19, 2006, in Northern California at the San Leandro Marina Inn. The 2007 HLA-CA Conference will be at the Hilton Oakland Airport Hotel on February 16-17, 2007. Don Sen-ger and Jim Montgomery are co-chairs. Be there! Learn! Socialize! Enjoy!

MARK YOUR CALENDARS

Page 8, Summer 2006 The Hearing Loss Californian

By Valerie L. Stern, MSW, Hard of Hearing Specialist at GLAD In 2004, I completed my Master’s in Social Work. One of the requirements was to write a thesis. I chose to write my thesis on something close to my heart, the impact of hearing-loss on people between the age of 15 and 45. Feel free to contact me if you are interested in reading the whole thesis (vstern@gladinc.org). This article is a very simple summary of my findings. It does not list any refer-ences, a literature review or statistical tables. To collect my data, I devised a survey of 60 questions. There were 5 sections comprising questions related to:

• Psychological factors (Do you often feel left out?) • Social support (Do you feel your family tries to help

you?) • Hearing-loss types (sudden vs. progressive) • Professional support (Do you feel that knowledgeable

professionals who can help you deal with your hearing loss are easily accessible?)

• Demographics (age, sex, income, etc.)

To measure the psychological impact, I used 5 sub-scales: self-acceptance, anger, stress, discouragement and withdrawal. To measure the level of social support, I used data related to family, significant others and friends. These questionnaires were confidential and they were sent to peo-ple belonging to hearing loss support groups such as Hearing Loss Association of California and ALDA chapters. A total of 268 questionnaires were sent out, and 163 were received (60.8% return rate!!!). Out of the 163 ques-tionnaires received, only 112 met the selection criteria (to be between the ages of 15 and 45 at the onset of hearing loss).

Demographics. The age of the respondents ranged from 27 to 84, with a mean of 53.1 years. Over a third of the respondents were between 41 and 50. Of those surveyed, 74.1% were female and an overwhelming 86.6% of respon-dents were European American. The majority had a college degree or an advanced degree. A little less than half reported an income greater that $60,000 per year while 9.4% reported an income of $20,000 or less. Hearing loss onset occurred the most in the 26-35 age bracket. Findings

Personal Adjustment. Of all difficulties in personal adjustment encountered when dealing with hearing loss, withdrawal was the most significant issue limiting hearing impaired persons’ involvement with their environment. Iso-

lation becomes a dominant theme, and strategies to reconnect become important. Following withdrawal comes stress. The constant need to be on the alert to changing situations and the feeling of loss of independence due to diminished communica-tion abilities create a good deal of stress. Anger and depression were also associated with late life hearing loss. Depression is the one that lingers the longest and which can be triggered re-peatedly over time. Older adults are more accepting of their hearing loss, and suffer from less discouragement and stress. It is probable that growing older helps with rationalization of, or resignation to the loss.

Social Support. People who have social support from friends show less stress, less withdrawal, less discouragement, less anger and more self-acceptance. People with strong social networks show more positive attitudes and better adaptation. Having many friends with whom to socialize may help a late-deafened person feel accepted and adequate. Family social support is related only to less withdrawal. If patterns of per-ception between family members change, it may lead to more stress, frustration and negative feelings. Personal communica-tion with significant others usually suffers and stress in mar-riage is particularly disruptive for those affected by late-life hearing loss, leading to lack of sexual intimacy, withdrawal from the social scene and stressful feelings.

It seems that in order for a late-deafened person to adjust, an effort must be made by both sides, the family or significant other and the hearing impaired person. However, communica-tion about needs and expectations from both parties does not always occur, and frustration and anger may ensue.

Professional Help and Organizations. Results from this research show an important lack of qualified mental health professionals and difficulty accessing them. Many profession-als seem ignorant and poorly trained. Too many professionals seem to assign trivial importance to hearing loss, a mere techni-cal problem that can be fixed with hearing aids or medical pro-cedures. Few audiologists or treating doctors refer their hear-ing-impaired clients to social workers or psychologists to help them deal with the psychosocial impact that hearing loss may have on one’s life--an astonishing fact considering the amount of psychological distress involved. Many participants report having to train the therapist on how to communicate (be articu-late, face the person, etc.). Results from this study show that organizations such as the Hearing Loss Association of America are crucial in helping newly deaf people adapt to their loss. They put newly deaf or hard of hearing people in contact with people who have had to cope with the same problems. Recounting experiences and advice from people who have lived through a hearing loss, seem to assist more than advice from a hearing professional. Please note that there were some biases in the sam-pling method of this study. It was not random, because sub-jects volunteered to participate; its results cannot represent all hearing-impaired persons. Also, most participants were drawn

THE IMPACT OF LATE-LIFE HEARING LOSS

The Hearing Loss Californian Page 9, Summer 2006

by Grace W. Tiessen

I have been the editor of this newsletter for the last five years and have tried to bring you a variety of informa-tion and articles. I have mostly focused on advocacy as it is so important to our well being and future. With this new column, I would like to introduce some emotional and hearing health topics for people with hearing loss. Los-ing one’s hearing is too often a lonely emotional process. It is my hope that by creating this column, people will feel free to ask the questions they never had a chance to ask. The new column will be entitled Ask Valerie. In each issue, Valerie Stern, M.S.W., will answer questions regarding hearing loss and emotional health. As many of you already know, Valerie is the current HOH specialist at the Greater Los Angeles Agency on Deafness, Inc. (GLAD). She is HOH herself, uses a cochlear implant, and has been focusing on the emotional needs and health of the HOH community for the past several years. She is the cur-rent president of the Los Angeles Chapter of the Hearing Loss Association of America. Please send Valerie your questions as soon as possi-ble. The column is planned to begin in our Fall 2006 issue. Questions can be related to any topic, such as anger, depres-sion, tinnitus, real life solutions, or you could choose to share something positive, a good idea or experience on which she could expand. You can email her at vstern@gladinc.org or send your questions by mail to Val-erie Stern, GLAD, 2222 Laverna Avenue, Los Angeles, CA

from support groups, therefore their answers are biased as they have already felt the need to reach out. Finally, these results may not be generalized as participants were mainly white women. Can we put this summary into a current perspective? YES. Proposition 63, also known as the Mental Health Services Act, passed in November 2004 in California. It allows the state to impose a 1% tax on all those earning $1 million or more. The money collected is then redistributed to each county to pro-vide better mental health services to families in need. It is esti-mated that $280 million will be distributed to Los Angeles County during the coming 3 years (Department of Mental Health Fact Sheet, http://dmh.lacounty.info/stp/index.html). For the fiscal year 2005-2006, $89,792,800 has already been distrib-uted to different mental health organizations. Do you know how much of this money was allocated to the Deaf and HOH community? NONE. GLAD is currently writing a proposal to make sure some of these funds are going toward our constituents. What do we want and need?

1. A centrally located agency where deaf and HOH individuals can get evaluated by a licensed mental health professional and referred to a quality mental health professional who knows about the specific issues of the D/HOH community. Funds to train mental health professionals on the specific needs of the D/HOH community.

2. Mental and emotional health is crucial to the well being of the D/HOH community and yet there are only a handful of qualified professionals. We need to unite, and combine our voices to make sure we are not forgotten when it comes to harvesting these funds and helping our constituents.

New Column, ASK VALERIE SEND VAL YOUR QUESTIONS

AUDITORY-VERBAL JOINS AG BELL Auditory-Verbal International, Inc. (AVI) has joined with the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (AG Bell). AVI members voted in December 2005 to dissolve their organization and integrate with AG Bell. AG Bell and AVI share a vision that every child and adult with hearing loss should have the opportunity to learn to listen, talk and live independently in mainstream society. Together, they plan to expand their efforts to increase public awareness, develop educational programs for professionals and families and advocate that people with hearing loss have the opportunity to participate fully in mainstream society. As part of the unification, AG Bell recently launched the Academy for Listening and Spoken Language. The academy will develop and manage certification programs for teachers and professionals who provide services to deaf or hard of hearing children and adults. The academy will offer the Certified Audi-tory-Verbal Therapist designation, previously offered through AVI.

THANK YOU, GLAD Hearing Loss Association of California would like to thank the Greater Los Angeles Agency on Deafness for stepping to the plate and providing appropriate and much-needed services to our hard of hearing community. GLAD recently hired qualified and motivated staff to work only with HOH and LD people. Thank you GLAD, and we look forward to develop-ing a strong partnership.

Page 10, Summer 2006 The Hearing Loss Californian

Page 11, Summer 2006 The Hearing Loss Californian

JOIN HLAA Chapter leaders. Do 100% of your members belong to our national organization, The Hearing Loss Association of America? It’s only $25 for an individual/couple/family. Audiologists. Invest in the success of your clients. Add a $25 membership in HLAA to your hearing aid delivery so your clients can continue to find support and information about hearing loss. Help them become successful hearing aid users. Audiologists. Do you belong to the Hearing Loss As-sociation of America? It’s only $50 for a professional mem-bership. Socialize with others who have hearing loss. Share your insights, coping skills and frustrations with those who understand. A membership gives you the bi-monthly magazine, Hearing Loss Journal, and the free quarterly newsletter, The Hearing Loss Californian. You can sign up online at our secure site, www.hearingloss.org. Click on Join and Renew. Or make a check payable to HLAA and mail to HLAA, 7910 Wood-mont Ave., Suite 1200, Bethesda, MD 20814.

HLA OF ESCONDIDO AWARDS SCHOLARSHIP

Hearing Loss Association of Escondido is pleased to announce the award of a $1000.00 scholarship to Sub-Tae (Tony) Kim, a deaf International student. This award will as-sist Tony to reach his goal of preparing himself for a career in art at the Maryland Institute College of Art, a prestigious un-dergraduate and graduate college of art. Tony is a Rancho Bernardo graduating Senior of extraor-dinary talent and accomplishment. He has an impressive art portfolio. Tony is an accomplished violinist, playing in orches-tras and ensembles, even though he cannot hear the music. He only feels the vibrations. This follows HLA’s mission to encourage and assist peo-ple with hearing loss to live comfortably within the mainstream hearing world. For more information, email Dorthi@cox.net or call 760 747-3813.

TURN ON THE CAPTIONS YOURSELF

Leslie, who just had her CI turned on, took two day-long, defensive driving courses to lower the cost of her auto insur-ance. The first time, she asked for captions but the instructor had no idea how to turn them on, or whether the video was captioned in the first place. She sat through the videos and heard some of it, but was angry that accommodations were not automatically provided for deaf and HOH drivers. The second time she took this course, she decided that she wasn't going to just sit there while not being able to under-stand the video. She got up, asked for the remote control to the

TV and figured out how to turn the captions on herself. She found out that the video was captioned but the TV just hadn't been adjusted for it. So, get the remote control, hit the menu button and try to get the captions turned on. Let's be proactive!!

TRYING TO BELONG By Leone Miller, HLA Lane County, OR

So…you think my hearing’s gone Cuz I bought weeds for your lawn, And the buttons that I bought won’t fit your boat? If I didn’t get it right Doesn’t mean that I’m not bright, It just means that I’m trying to belong. I laugh when I hear wrong And my words don’t fit your song, But the brave smile you see isn’t real.

For it hurts when people shout, But it’s worse to be left out. I’m just trying hard to belong. Please help me to fit in. When I stumble, then just grin. Help me understand the things that I can’t hear. Just encourage when I try And I know that by and by I will feel that I truly still belong.

Page 12, Summer 2006 The Hearing Loss Californian

Page 13, Summer 2006 The Hearing Loss Californian

HEARING LOSS CHAPTERS ACROSS CALIFORNIA

Los Angeles Cochlear Implant Chapter Diane Rott, dianeshear@msn.com 451 E. Rowland #29, Covina, CA 91744 626-331-7547 Los Angeles Chapter –Pasadena Valerie Stern, valstern@verizon.net 310-477-7256 Mission Viejo Chapter Lola Attinger, Lattinger@cox.net 949-858-9024 V 12 Amantes, Rancho Santa Margarita, 92668 Pril Kirkeby, pwkirkeby@cox.net 949-855-6786 V Orange County Chapter –Orange Mary Clark, frozsquash@yahoo.com 6160 Salem Rd. Yorba Linda, CA 92887 714-529-0218 Orange County Cochlear Implant Chapter-Orange Jack A Belt, JABELT@aol.com 1225 N. Harvest Walk Dr. Valinda, CA 626-934--0127 Redlands Area Chapter-Redlands Jim Koski, jkoski@surfcity.net 18711 Tereticornis Ave, Lake Elsinore, CA 92532 951-674-5901 V Riverside Chapter Shari Cone, Pugsandco@yahoo.com San Fernando Valley Chapter –Encino Phil Kaplan, philillini@aol.com 19262 Pebble Beach Pl, Northridge, CA 91326 818-368-1303 Santa Barbara Chapter Dorothy Holland-Kaupp, dorothyh@west.net 5140 San Lorenzo Dr, Santa Barbara, CA 805-967-5241 Santa Monica Chapter Nanci Linke-Ellis Nanci.LinkeEllis@insightcinema.org 310-452-8700 SHHH-4-Lunch Chapter –Encino Diane Gross, shhh4lunch@yahoo.com 15455 Glenoaks Blvd. #355, Sylmar CA 818-367-8360 V, 818-367-2062 TTY

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA Northern CA Chapter Coordinator Cindy Jagger, cjagger@hearinglossca.org 1213 Pheasant Dr, Suisun City, CA 707-422-3753 V/CRS

Diablo Valley Chapter-Walnut Creek Jim Montgomery Jmontgomery@hearinglossca.org 925-684-2731 V/TTY/Fax

East Bay Chapter -Oakland Barbara Bishop, ptownmoma@aol.com 33 Linda Ave, #2502 Piedmont, CA 94611

510-601-9828 V/TTY Dorothy Brookover Tulipup007@cs.com

Fresno Chapter Susan Coulter susanc@dhhsc.org 5340 No. Fresno St., Fresno, CA 93710 599-225-3323 V 559-225-0116 Fax North Bay Chapter -Napa Bern Klein, ZBCKLEINZ@aol.com 3200 MacLeod St. Napa, CA 94558 707-226-9832 V Peninsula Chapter -Redwood City Raegene Castle, raegeneandjack@aol.com 827 Mohican Way, Redwood City, CA 94062 650-369-4717 Sister Ann Rooney, annrooney@sbcglobal.net Marjorie Heymans, 650-593-6760 V 1505 Ralston Ave. Belmont, CA 94002 San Francisco Chapter Ronda Bonati, RondaBonati@sbcglobal.net 935 Diamond Street, San Francisco, CA 94114 415-705-0550 V Marilyn Finn, mfinn@hearinglossca.org San Jose Chapter Rufus Wesley, shhhsj@pacbell.net 369 Manila Drive, San Jose,CA 95119 408-229-1041 Bruce McClelland, BMcClell@aol.com SHHHasta Chapter -Redding Sharon Hunter, sleehunter@sbcglobal.net 530-242-1574 Marion Peterson, bomarx@aol.com P.O.Box 864, Anderson, CA 96007 530-365-0790 V

Sacramento Chapter Colette Noble, Cnoble@norcalcenter.org 916-349-7500, leave message Jean Collop, 916-334-9406 Tri-Valley Chapter –Pleasanton Hiram Van Blarigan, 925-455-6591 716 Katrina, Livermore, CA 94550 Hvanblarigan@hotmail.com SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA Southern CA Chapter Coordinator Barbara Tucker, btucker@hearinglossca.org P.O. Box 761,Beaumont, CA 92223 951-849-9315 V Burbank Chapter Leo Maggio, leowmaggio@cs.com 23410 Kittridge, West Hills, CA 91307 818-340-1503 V/TTY/Fax Coachella Valley Chapter- Thousand Palms Betty Weiss, bmweiss1@earthlink.net 760-343-3828 Escondido Chapter Dorothy Wormser, dorthi@worldnet.att.net 851 Concerto Glen, Escondido, CA 92025 760-747-3813 V 760-737-9149 Fax Hi-Desert Chapter –Victorville Kathy Bates-Polster, kbatespo@dor.ca.gov 760-243-1209 V/TTY Inland Empire Chapter –Beaumont Sandi Streeter P O. Box 483, Beaumont, CA 92223 951- 845-5174 TTY or Relay sstreeter@hearinglossca.org Irvine Groves Chapter –Irvine Lorraine Fanizza, hear@hearpros.com 5200 Irvine Blvd., #308, Irvine, CA 92620 714-669-0401 V/TTY/FAX Leisure World /Laguna Woods Chapter Woodley Butler, woodjr@teambase.com 2248-A Via Mariposa East, Laguna Woods, CA 92653-2179 949-859-4088 V 949-699-2931 Fax Long Beach/Lakewood Chapter Louise Allen, LAllen7099@aol.com 3033 Chatwin Ave.Long Beach, CA 90808 562-429-7099 V

Where/when do these chapters meet? See www.hearinglossca.org/html/

Telecommunications Access for Deaf and Disabled Administrative Committee (TADDAC)

Philip Kaplan Chair Philillini@aol.com 19262 Pebble Beach Place Northridge, Ca 90326 818-368-1303 Mark Finn (Late Deafened) mfinn000@gmail.com

California Relay Service (CRSAC) Colette Noble (Hard of Hearing) cnoble@norcalcenter.org 916-489-9958

Equipment Program (EPAC) Christine Seymour christine.Seymour@dcara.org Free Telephones (CTAP) CA Telephone Access Program http://www.DDTP.org/CTAP Combined Vision & Hearing Loss Diane Gross, SHHH4Lunch@yahoo.com 15455 Glenoaks Blvd. # 355, Sylmar CA 818-367-8360 V 818-367-2062 TTY Work Related Issues: Getting and Keep-ing a Job When Hard of Hearing

Robyn Tenensap 310-641-3214 TTY; 310-417-8326 FAX MRTENENSAP@aol.com California Dept of Rehabilitation 8929 S. Sepulveda Blvd., Ste. 300 Los Angeles 90045

Youths with Hearing Loss T. Jordan Goulder, Ph.D. 858-623-2777 x408 V 858-552-1998 TTY tgoulder@alliant.edu 6160 Cornerstone Ct. E, San Diego 92121 Nick Nichols 760-745-4577 V NicknFreda@aol.com 819 E. 5th Ave., Escondido 92025

Page 14, Summer 2006 The Hearing Loss Californian

CONTACT THESE DESKS WITH YOUR HEARING LOSS QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS!

Desks are volunteers with expertise in sub-jects that interest hard of hearing people. They will answer your questions, give ad-vice or just lend an ear, depending on your specific needs. Advocacy/Access and Accommodation for Hard of Hearing People

Phil Kaplan PHILILLINI@aol.com

Assistive Listening Devices Eric Wormser 760-747-3813, ewormser@cox.net PO Box 301307, Escondido 92030

Audiology Issues/ Ethics/Training Kenneth I. Billheimer, AuD

925-484-3507 V; kenb@hearworld.com 4460 Black Ave. #C, Pleasanton 94566 Cochlear Implants Cindy Jagger (Northern CA) 707-422-3753 cjagger@hearinglossca.org 1213 Pheasant Drive, Suisun City 94585

Darlene Fragale (Southern CA) 909-882-4680 V dfragale@dslextreme.com 759 Orchid Drive San Bernardino, CA 92404 Combined Hearing and Vision Loss

Cathy Kirscher c/o Helen Keller National Center 6160 Cornerstone Ct. E, San Diego 92121 858-623-2777 x 389 V 858-646-0784 TTY; 858-642-0266 Fax ckirscher@alliant.edu Coping and Adjustments to Hearing Loss

Carren J. Stika, Ph.D. 858-623-2777 x386 V; 858-554-1540 TTY carrenjstika@aol.com 6160 Cornerstone Ct. E, San Diego 92121 Laine Waggoner, M.A., M.S. 173 Club Circle Drive, Palm Springs CA 760-324-4150 V LaineWaggoner@dc.rr.com Real Time Captioning at College

Colette Noble, cnoble@norcalcenter.org P.O. Box 360021 Milpitas, CA 95036 916-349-7500 (work)

Education: Hard of Hearing Children Grace Tiessen

gtiessen@hearinglossca.org Helen Walter 909-849-6713 V

rhijah@earthlink.net 4325 Mockingbird Lane, Banning 92220

Health Care Access and Advocacy Margaret Azcona 510-531-SHHH V FAX margazcona@aol.com Hearing Aids, Assistive Listening Device Ellen Baker, eblairb@aol.com 805-522-2159 V 2719 Bitternut Circle, Simi Valley, CA 93065

Lip Reading Contact Don Senger, d.senger@juno.com See www.hearinglossca.org Felice Kolda, CCC-AU 626-585-8766, Pasadena & LA 310-828-4389, Santa Monica 949-499-2740, Mission Viejo

Infant Hearing Screening Grace Tiessen, gtiessen@hearinglossca.org LILS-Locations with Installed Listening Systems (customized lists available for $3) Richard Panzer, rpanzer@juno.com 707-257-1718 TTY, V, Fax 1315 Loma Vista Dr., Napa 94558

Dogs for the Deaf Anne Hills annehills@sweep.com 440 Meadowview Dr. La Canada, CA 91011 818-790-5056TTY

HLA California Marilyn Finn, President mfinn@hearinglossca.org 101 Lafayette Circle, Apt. 1 Lafayette, CA 94549 925-284-2847 Canine Companions for Independence Joie Charm, jcharm@cci.org P.O. Box 446, Santa Rosa, CA 95402

To find an SHHH group near you or To start a new SHHH group:

Cindy Jagger Barbara Tucker See page 13 for address/phone

THE HEARING LOSS CALIFORNIAN. IT’S FREE. If you would like to receive the State newsletter, please send your mailing address to Grace Tiessen, 714 Prospect Blvd, Pasadena, CA 91103, gtiessen@hearinglossca.org.

Audiologists/Chapter Leaders Reach out to HOH people

This is an easy way to spread the word about The Hearing Loss Association of California, to reach out to hard of hearing people looking for support and information. The following have ordered bulk copies of The Hearing Loss Californian.

• Orlando Hearing Loss Convention (50 copies) • Louise Allen, Long Beach /Lakewood Chapter (20 copies) • Louise Bratton, HLAA member, Carmel (10 copies) • Bev Gaines, San Fernando Valley Chapter (20 copies) • Nanci Linke-Ellis, Santa Monica Chaper (20 copies) • HoH Specialist Julie Crowther at CODIE (20 copies) • HoH Specialist Colette Noble at NorCal (20 copies) • HoH Specialist Valerie Stern at GLAD (20 copies) • Kaiser Audiology, Harbor City (20 copies) • Kaiser Audiology, Irvine (20 copies) • Kaiser Audiology, Redwood City (20 copies) • Kaiser Audiology, Sacramento (20 copies) • Arlene Patton, HLAA member, West Covina (15copies) • Evelyn Smith, M.S., CCC-A, HearUSA, Chula Vista (30 copies) • Esther Snively, San Jose Chaper (20 copies) • Margaret Waegell, HLAA member, Sacramento (20 copies) • Laine Waggoner, Hearing Loss Education and Relationships, Palm Springs (30 copies) • Chris Wilson, HEAR Center, Pasadena (30 copies)

Bulk copies of The Hearing Loss Californian for distribution.

If you would like to receive bulk copies of the State newsletter to distribute in hospitals, audiologists’ offices, senior centers etc., please email gtiessen@hearinglossca.org by July 20, 2006 to let her know how many copies of the Fall 2006 issue you could profitably use.

The Hearing Loss Californian Page 15, Summer 2006

Board of Trustees Marilyn Finn, President San Francisco Chapter 925-284-2847 mfinn@hearinglossca.org Carol Waechter, Vice President Long Beach/Lakewood Chapter 562-598-3850 Cwaechter@hearinglossca.org Mary Clark, Secretary Orange County Chapter 714-529-0218 mclark@hearinglossca.org

Gene Cox, Treasurer (CI) CIAI-LA Chapter 818-363-4518 gcox@hearinglossca.org Sandi Streeter, Immediate Past President Inland Empire Chapter 951-845-5174 TTY or Relay sstreeter@hearinglossca.org Raegene Castle (CI) Peninsula Chapter 650-369-4717 rcastle@hearinglossca.org Delia Itanen Hi-Desert Chapter 760-946-1586 ditanen@hearinglossca.org Jim Montgomery, (CI) Diablo Valley Chapter 925-684-2731 V/TTY/Fax

Jmontgomery@hearinglossca.org Sister Ann Rooney Peninsula Chapter 650-343-0114 arooney@hearinglossca.org Grace Tiessen, (CI) San Fernando Valley Chapter 626-796-0034 Voice/Fax Gtiessen@hearinglossca.org Don Senger, Emeritus (CI) Diablo Valley Chapter, dsenger@hearinglossca.org Cindy Jagger, ex officio (CI) No. CA Chapter Coordinator 707-422-3753 Voice cjagger@hearinglossca.org Barbara Tucker, ex officio (CI) So. CA Chapter Coordinator 951-849-9315 Voice btucker@hearinglossca.org Steve Noroian, ex officio National Board of Trustees 925-938-7235 Fax Snoroian@noroian.com

HLA-California publishes The Hearing Loss Californian quarterly in mid February, May, August and November Demographics. Our database consists of 3900 records--1250 California HLAA members; 1330 California audiologists; 100 CA Department of Rehabilitation Hard of Hearing or Deaf Counselors; 120 Itinerant Teachers of the HOH or Deaf; 30 Office of Deaf Access regional/outreach centers, 50 members of CIAI (Cochlear Implant Assn International), 20 members of ALDA (Association of Late Deafened Adults), 45 Costco Hearing Aid Centers, 25 HEARx Hearing Aid Centers, 50 Kaiser Permanente audiologists, 25 members of AG Bell (Alexander Graham Bell Assn. For the Deaf and Hard of Hearing), 135 Sonus Hearing Aid Centers and others interested in hearing loss issues. Editor: Grace W. Tiessen, gtiessen@hearinglossca.org, Layout: Lisa Rettino, leftylisa@pacbell.net Contributions are eligible for income tax deductions as provided in Section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Service Code. Mention of goods or 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 Fall 2006 issue are due no later than July 15, 2006 and should be sent to gtiessen@hearinglossca.org. Inclusion and/or editing will be at the full discretion of the Edi-tor.

Hearing Loss Association of America, Inc. is the largest consumer organization of hard of hearing people in the United States.

Our Mission Statement: To open the world of communication to people with hearing loss

by providing information, education, support and advocacy.

Watch your websites for the latest news. HLAA: www.hearingloss.org

HLA-California: www.hearinglossca.org Webmasters: Grace W.Tiessen & MBBDesign, www.Mbbdesign.com

Who We Are

Hearing Loss Association of America, (formerly Self Help for Hard of Hear-ing, Inc.) is an international, non-sectarian, educational, consumer organi-zation of hard of hearing people, their relatives and friends. It is devoted to the welfare and interests of those who can-not hear well but are committed to par-ticipating in the hearing world. HLAA 7910 Woodmont Avenue, Suite 1200 Bethesda, Maryland 20814 301-657-2248 V 301-657-2249 TTY 301-913-9413 FAX info@hearingloss.org www.hearingloss.org. HLA-CA, California State Association of Hearing Loss Association of Amer-ica, is affiliated with the national organi-zation headquartered in Bethesda, MD. Both are non-profit and tax-exempt. Anyone residing in California who has joined our national organization is a member of HLA-CA.

Grace W. Tiessen 714 Prospect Blvd, Pasadena, CA 91103

Address Service Requested

HEARING LOSS ASSOCIATION OF CALIFORNIA (Formerly Self Help for Hard of Hearing People, Inc.)

FOUNDER, Howard E. “Rocky” Stone Supporting HLA Chapters throughout California