League Buzz

Issue 4

You’re reading the League Buzz, Issue 4.
The League for the Hard of Hearing’s mission is to improve the quality of life for infants, children and adults with all degrees of hearing loss.

We accomplish our mission by providing hearing rehabilitation and human service programs for people who are hard of hearing or deaf, and their families, regardless of age, ability to pay, or mode of communication, and by striving to empower consumers to achieve their potential. We hope that you enjoy the League Buzz, our premier email newsletter!

Go ahead…spread the buzz.

RING, RING, RING…HELLO?
No need to miss a word when communicating with a friend, colleague or family member over the phone. For all you hearing aid users, the first step is to make sure that when you order a hearing aid, ask your audiologist about a t-coil. This can help greatly with phone use, as well as making it possible to easily use other assistive devices. It is much less expensive to order a t-coil when first getting a hearing aid than retro-fitting one afterward.

Here are some other methods to help individuals with hearing loss use the telephone:

Amplifiers: Amplifiers can be built into or added to a telephone to amplify the incoming voice.They can be used with or without a hearing aid.
Speakerphone: This enables the listener to use both ears with their hearing aids to hear a conversation, along with freeing up hands.
TTY/TDD: A telephone typewriter is used along with a standard telephone and allows a conversation to be conducted visually. The message is read by another TTY user.
Relay: If the person on either end of the conversation is not a TTY user, a relay operator reads the words to the person on the other end of the line.
Voice Carry Over (VCO): This is a variation on using the relay system. The individual with a hearing loss chooses to speak directly to listener, bypassing the relay operator, while receiving the message via text on their TTY.
Text Messaging: A system of communicating instantly via typing a message into a mobile phone or pager.

For more information about these devices and others, visit SoundBytes located in the League’s Office at 50 Broadway, New York City, or call 917-305-7924 and tell them that the League Buzz sent you! If you’d like to receive information directly from SoundBytes about online specials, please email info@soundbytes.com.

SPOTLIGHT ON LEAGUE ALUMNA
Amanda Massab, a client of the League since 1985, has a profound hearing loss and is a junior at Rochester Institute of Technology, majoring in Business. She is excelling at RIT as evidenced by the fact she just received another scholarship for her outstanding grade point average. This summer, Amanda is interning at the Carnegie Foundation. Although commuting from Brooklyn in the hot summer heat is no picnic, the trip is worth it to work for Vartan Gregorian, the President of the Foundation. Amanda is enjoying the internship very much and has learned a great deal from this hands-on business experience.

The Carnegie Foundation has worked with Amanda to assist with any special requests to ensure effective communication with all staff. Amanda requested that staff use email to communicate with her; everyone at the Foundation has gone out of their way to accommodate this request and make sure that Amanda is comfortable and happy in her job. Amanda is sad to leave the internship but is looking forward to cooler weather and a return to school in upstate New York this fall.

The League provides FREE Hearing Screenings…come on in, it takes 5 minutes
Every Tuesday, noon - 2pm
Every Thursday, 4pm - 6pm
Location: 50 Broadway, 6th Floor
Call 917.305.7766 or email appointments@lhh.org to reserve a screening time. (Tell them that the League Buzz sent you!)

PLACES PLEASE
Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo? (Theater…Captioned!)
Based on a play by William Shakespeare, Two Gentlemen of Verona will be playing at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park from August 16-September 11. For all of you who enjoy going to the theater with open captioning, the Sunday, August 28th performance is the hot ticket to get! To learn more information about directions and how to get tickets, visit the Public Theater website at www.publictheater.org.

Encore, Encore
Would you like to know when the next open captioned theater performance will be in New York, New Jersey, Boston, Philadelphia or Washington D.C. or learn more about theater captioning? c2 (caption coalition), inc, a nonprofit organization co-founded by Don DePew and David Chu, has a website, www.c2net.org which provides information about captioning, has a calendar of open captioned theater performances and additional helpful information. Check it out!

Give my regards to Broadway
TDF’s Theater Access Project (TAP) is designed to provide access in New York City to the performing arts for individuals with disabilities. TAP annually distributes 10,000 tickets to an estimated 75 different productions, including Broadway, Off-Broadway, Music and Dance. Approximately 25% of TAP’s yearly ticket sales are for sign language interpreted and open-captioned performances that benefit people with hearing loss. To learn more visit www.tdf.org/TAP. To find an application for TAP, visit www.tdf.org/TAP/EMAIL/index.html. (this information was obtained from the Theater Development Fund’s website)

THE FEAST WITH FAMOUS FACES – September 26th
On Monday, September 26th at 270 Park Avenue from 6:30 - 9:30pm, over 30 of New York's most celebrated chefs, celebrity newscasters and daytime television stars will join forces to host the 13th annual Feast With Famous Faces, one of Manhattan's most exciting and glamorous culinary benefits. The Feast, hosted by JP Morgan Chase, which benefits the League for the Hard of Hearing, is a gastronomical event that promises to be astronomical fun!

For more information about the Feast with Famous Faces, contact Susan King, Director of Special Events, at sking@lhh.org. For information about sponsorships or prize donations to the Feast Grand Raffle, please contact Reisha Goldman, Marketing Manager, at rgoldman@lhh.org.

IT’S SUMMERTIME, GET ACTIVE!
By Ellen Lubin-Sherman, Personal Marketing Coach, LAUNCH

What was I thinking? For the last twenty five years, I’ve limited my outdoor activities because of my hearing aids. I dreamed about kayaking and white water rafting and biking in the rain but never did anything about it because I thought it would ruin my hearing aids. I blame my ignorance and I blame my hearing aid specialist who looked at me as a middle-aged woman whose needs did not include “Super Seals” or Neoprene Headbands.

Then, three years ago I got very lucky. My hearing aid specialist retired and I looked around for someone to help me that had a more sophisticated worldview. In our first meeting together, my audiologist realized that I was letting my hearing aids dictate the scope of my life. She immediately got up and brought over a catalogue filled with devices and products that would open the door to outdoor activities.

I think my eyes got wide and moist as we poured over the catalog, putting together a list of the must-haves which would enable me to get out there and do it. And boy, did that make a difference. Just this past weekend, in Rhinecliff, NY, my husband and I rented single kayaks and spent the entire day on the Hudson River. Sure I was nervous about capsizing but I also knew that I was properly outfitted with Seals and the Ear Band-It and if it would happen, I had my DryNStore ready to handle the dehumidification.

Kayaking is amazing fun and so is our tandem bike. My husband and I have been biking for the last three years and we can spend six hours on the bike if the weather cooperates. If it doesn’t, I keep a biker’s headband in the bike bag which I can whip out and wear around my ears, giving me some protection from the rain.

In addition to having a shopping bag filled with all the necessary accoutrements for water-oriented activities, the most important element that’s changed is my confidence. I’m confident that nothing dire is going to happen if I get my hearing aids wet. I feel like I can do anything I want to do (within reason, of course). I’m back in the game of life and that, my friends, is what everyone should strive for.

For more information about any of the hearing aid accessories mentioned above or information about water resistant hearing aids, please email info@lhh.org.

TRIVIA QUESTIONS

Who is quoted as saying the following? “If people identify me as a deaf golfer, that brings attention to the deaf community. And those people look up to me for motivation for themselves and their lives. If they identify me as a deaf golfer, that’s fine. Eventually people will identify me as just Kevin.”
Our eyes are always the same size from birth; what two parts of the face never stop growing?
Did you ever notice anything funny about Mickey Mouse’s ears?

DID YOU HEAR THAT? Save the Date!
Cochlear Implant Support Group – please note: no meeting in August.
Next Meeting: September 22, 2005, 50 Broadway, 2nd Floor, (Classrooms E/F), 5:30 - 7pm. Light refreshments will be served. Please bring your questions, comments and personal experiences. For more information, call or email the Audiology Department at 917.305.7751

The League’s NF2 Support Group
Next meeting: August 11, 2005 at 50 Broadway, 6pm, room TBA. Individuals with Neurofibromatosis Type 2 and their families continue to meet every two or three months. Meetings are captioned, light refreshments are served, and all are welcome! Please join us. For more information, call or email Ilene Miner at Voice/TTY 917-305-7730 or iminer@LHH.org.

RENEW VOWS?
League Parents, Kassie and James DePaiva are involved in a couples-only weekend getaway event from October 20-24. The weekend getaway, organized by Ladies Home Journal, features a golf tournament to benefit The League for the Hard of Hearing and the worlds largest wedding vow renewal ceremony. To find out more, log on to www.lhjweddingvowrenewal.com

THANK YOU FOR READING THE LEAGUE BUZZ
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For more information on the League for the Hard of Hearing, visit www.lhh.org or call 917-305-7700.

DID YOU GET THEM RIGHT? TRIVIA ANSWERS:

22-year-old Kevin Hall who made his PGA Tour debut in the US Bank Championship at Brown Deer Park in late July. Hall lost his hearing at 2 ½ after a month-long battle with Haemophilus Influenzae Meningitis. He communicates with his caddie and playing partners by reading lips, writing in a notebook or typing sentences into his Sidekick (which combines a phone, email, instant messaging and web-surfing) [information from the Associated Press posted on Foxsports.com]
Nose and Ears never stop growing.
Mickey Mouse's ears are always turned to the front, no matter which direction his head is pointing.