September 2006 Entries
As hard as it is to believe, we're not the only place on the web
to find hearing loss news and stories. Here are some of the week's best
links:
Hearing Loss is Common, but Often Untreated
This
New York Times article is the first in a two-part series. It takes a
comprehensive look at the causes of hearing loss, different types of
hearing aids and common reasons for not seeking solutions.
"Some
people do not know - or they deny - that they have a hearing problem,
complaining instead that everyone seems to mumble or talk too fast.
Even those who get a yearly physical rarely have their hearing checked.
Others are embarrassed to wear a hearing aid. About 30 percent of
people who have hearing aids don't wear them daily."
Come Out of Silence
The
Charlotte Observer tells the story of Karen Dortschy, who experienced a
severe noise-induced hearing loss until she got cochlear implant
surgery last year. Now, along with her husband, she has started a
charity to help provide hearing devices for college students who can't
afford them.
"Dortschy's condition got so bad that
in July 2005 she underwent surgery for an electronic device called a
cochlear implant, which profoundly improved her hearing.
The first post-implant sound she heard: crickets chirping.
'It was very emotional,' said Dortschy, 47, marketing manager
for a Charlotte book, music and DVD distributor. 'I hadn't heard
crickets in 20-some years and had to process what it was. It was an
amazing thing to be able to hear something.'"
Hearing Conservation: It's Not Just for the Workplace Anymore
From Occupational Hazards, this article takes a look at best practices for hearing conservation at work and at home.
Posted by John Hawbaker, Clarity
Technorati tags:
Hearing Health,
Hearing Loss,
Hearing Aids,
Cochlear Implants,
Life,
Work,
Students
Let’s talk about Noise Induced Hearing Loss. It’s the number one cause of hearing loss in our society today, affecting over 36 million Americans-- that figure is expected to grow by 52 percent over the next 25 years. Now, I want you to think about how you use your iPod or MP3 player...
Continue reading...
For many years, my grandfather served our country in the Armed Forces. As a fighter jet trainer, he served in War World 2, where he was exposed to extremely loud, constant noise, which led to a severe noise induced hearing loss.
For years, my grandfather denied he experienced any kind of hearing impairment, a fact my grandmother, Margaret, hotly contested. Eventually, it was with her help that my grandfather purchased hearing aids. Knowing how severe his hearing was, my grandmother wanted him to have the best technology available and bought him a $2,000 pair of hearing aids.
Needless to say, he still couldn’t hear it thunder. Every time I called him, we would spend 10 minutes trying to help him understand who was on the phone. Most of the time he simply got fed up and said, “Here, talk to Margaret.”
Then, I got him a C430 for Father’s Day. I easily installed and programmed the phone for him without telling him it was a phone for the hard of hearing. I simply explained to my grandmother that I would call my grandfather during lunch, and asked her to make sure he picked up the phone.
As lunchtime rolled around, I dialed the number, and sure enough, grandpa said, “hello.”
“Hey grandpa, whatcha doin,” I asked.
“Nothing, kid,” he replied. “When you coming over?”
Posted by Kelly Cagle, Clarity
Technorati tags: Hearing Loss, Hearing Aids, World War 2, Veteran, Father's Day, Clarity
One of the scariest places for many people to talk about their hearing loss is the place they need to be the most upfront about it: the office. Many people struggle with being able to hear in meetings, on conference calls or even in one-on-one interactions with their coworkers, but are afraid to say anything. The fear of being ostracized or of being discriminated against is a very real concern for millions of people in the workforce.
Tuesday’s issue of The Arizona Republic has an article entitled “Working It Out” which chronicles the stories of several people who “have found ways to manage chronic health conditions in the workplace without compromising their relationships with co-workers, job productivity or overall well-being.” While the article doesn’t specifically deal with hearing loss, it’s an inspirational piece that provides good advice about how to handle health issues at work.
Naturally, it got us thinking: how are you coping with your hearing loss at work? Do you have a story that might help others, or tips on how to improve interactions with coworkers? Send us your stories and we’ll publish them on MyHearingHealth.com!
Posted by John Hawbaker, Clarity
Technorati tags: Hearing Loss, Work, Coping, Life
From the minute I stepped into Ann Carroll's School of Dance, I knew I was a dancer. My parents knew, my teachers knew, everyone knew I was meant to dance. When I was twelve, I watched one of the older dancers graduate and get into Oklahoma City University. From then on, I dreamed of going there. So, my senior year I went and auditioned and got in. The way I am now, the person I am and the way I communicate, all come from my life in dance. I learned how to read lips forwards, backwards, sideways, upside down and into the mirror because of being in dance studios. I learned to listen to the beat and rythym of the music because I was not able to understand words. I also learned how to become stubborn, unfortunately, and never give up. The minute someone told me I couldn't achieve something because of my disability, I refused to hear it and was determined to prove them wrong.
Unfortunately, OCU ended up not being the place I was meant to be in. God showed me that it was time to move on somewhere else. Because I was part of a sorority, Alpha Phi, it was a very hard decision for me to make. My purpose for the decision has not been shown yet, but I ended up back home in Nashville, and I am now at Middle Tennessee State University. Right off the bat, I had formed my own group of friends and immediately felt like this was where I belonged. I am on the Middle Tennessee Lightning Dance Team and I also am taking a jazz and modern class. I am looking to major in Interior Design, but I will not start those classes till next semester.
My way of life has changed, but I feel I have grown stronger in my ability to communicate, and take care of myself. It's those little things that count, like in band practice, the band director talks through a microphone from the top of the stadium. Naturally, I can't understand a word he is saying, but I learned how to watch around me, and talk to my teammates to know what was going on. I am so happy to be around friends who understand my situation, and are able to help me out when I need it. I also have found other things to rely on, like text messaging on my cell phone, and the CART program for my biology and math class.
I am back in an enviornment where I feel like my passion for dance is slowly returning, and I still feel a desire to be a professional dancer when I graduate. It's just that now, I would prefer to have a solid career to fall back on. But I give so much credit to The Ear Foundation for even giving me the opportunity to attend OCU last year. It was a most memorable experience that I could never forget, and I will never regret taking that chance.
About Guest Author Erin Spencer:
In 2005, Erin Spencer became a Minnie Pearl Scholarship recipient. While born profoundly deaf, she was a determined young woman who was described as extremely reliable and self-reliant as well as passionate and hard working by her peers and teachers. With a lifetime of mainstreaming, she had maintained a spot on the honor roll as well as remained active in school programs such as theater, the yearbook and the dance troupe. When the time came to make a decision about her area of study, there was no question in her mind that dancing would be her focus. Her passion for dance was assisted by the Minnie Pearl Scholarship when she was accepted to the prestigious dance program at Oklahoma City University where she studied successfully for her freshman year. Now Erin brings those skills closer to home at Middle Tennessee State University where she continues her training on the Lightning Dance Team while maintaining her 3.8 GPA.
Technorati tags: Deaf, College, Dance, Life, Determination
It may seem odd to most that by providing technical assistance over the phone, I get a sense that I am making a positive impact in people's lives. But it's true; and, over the past several years, I’ve been fortunate enough to have heard first hand what a difference we can make here at Clarity. One recent instance really stands out in my mind above the rest.
I was speaking with a man who called on behalf of his wife, who uses an RC200 remote control speakerphone. The phone had worked flawlessly in the past, but then the outgoing transmission had stopped working and they’d tried everything they could think of to restore the RC200 to its previous condition. After a bit of troubleshooting, I found out that they had recently added DSL internet servicde to their phone line. Instantly, I knew: this is it: I recommended that he install 2 DSL filters together on the phone jack. I stayed on the line as he installed the first one and the phone still did not work. After installing the second filter, the transmission came back and his wife could speak to me. She began to cry as she told me how grateful she was and how much it meant to her and her husband to be able to use the phone again.
It made me emotional thinking about how important the phone was for this customer and how terrible it must be to feel like you are prevented from reaching others. It's small moments like that— where a simple part of your day can have such a profound impact on another person's life— that make me happy to call Clarity home.
Posted by Karen Rogers, Clarity
Technorati tags: Technical Support, Phone, Life, Clarity
There’s been a lot of talk about user guides in the blogosphere lately. Kathy at Creating Passionate Users has three recent posts on the subject: Are your users stuck in “P” mode?, Why marketing should make the user manuals, and How to get users to RTFM. All three shed light on the subject from their unique perspective – going beyond helping people understand a new product to creating passionate users and advocates for a product.
User guides have become a major discussion topic here at Clarity. We’re currently in development on three major new products, and we decided to take this opportunity to completely revamp our user guide format.
Who likes to read a user guide? I don’t. Most guides are too long, contain too few graphics and are hard to follow. A great deal of them just end up in the trash. One of the most common complaints we receive from our customers is that our manuals are confusing and hard to understand. Our customers have asked for more pictures and common, everyday language. We’re listening. Each new Clarity product will come with a more straightforward user guide as well as a quick start guide.
An effective user guide should only have to be read once to be understood. User guides should also be laid out so that a customer can find the answer to their question in seconds. Our new user guides will be activity-centered, with illustrations for each activity. In addition, bolded keywords and headlines throughout the text will help people find and understand the information they are looking for.
Quick start guides are another solution we’ll be implementing in our newest products. They will serve as introductions to the setup and most commonly used features of each product. Not only will they be brief– two pages maximum– but they will primarily consist of illustrations. While working on the first of these quick start guides, it was challenging to decide what to keep and what to cut because I wanted to explain every function of the phone. After a lot of discussion and edits, we had a short graphic guide that will allow someone to master the basic functions of the new phone without ever opening the full user guide.
We’ll be giving you a closer look at the new and improved user guide formats over the next few months as we get closer to the launch of these new products.
Posted by Deondra Dodson, Clarity
Technorati tags: User Guide, Usability, Users, Illustration, Products, Clarity,
Well, it's that time again: grandparents' day is right around the corner. We can think of a million things that could truly and positively impact the lives of our grandparents: Doggie Steps, Chia Pets and the Lil' Rascal. (Okay, that last one's on our list for races down the hall in the office.) Well, why not break free from convention this year?
Our grandparents face a multitude of challenges in their daily lives. Little things the rest of us take for granted or simply ignore become extreme obstacles to millions of people as they age. From mobility issues affecting a person's ability to get out of the house, to hearing issues that prevent older people from hearing clearly and comfortably on the telephone, our grandparents may be easily forced into a life of isolation.
With grandparents facing potential depression due to a hearing loss related isolation, why not take a moment to arrange a trip with your parents or grandparents to a hearing health professional? In fact, there are many locations where people may get a free hearing test. Miracle-Ear, for instance, offers free in-store hearing tests, and both Audibel and Beltone offer online hearing tests.
See, the best gift you could ever give may not even cost you anything more than a gallon of gas- and that'll be the best $50 you ever spent. (Except for the money you spend buying our Lil' Rascal.)
As always you can find more information about issues affecting mature Americans at www.earfoundation.org
Posted by Chris Dutton, Clarity
Technorati tags: Grandparents' Day, Hearing Test, Hearing Loss, Health and Wellness, EAR Foundation
In a study conducted in 2004,
Clarity
and
The EAR Foundation
found that
a startling number of Americans experience a hearing loss
. It was a shocking finding which made Clarity wonder— is there a place where these individuals can come together as a community? And for the most part, a
Technorati
(
a what?
) search on the term “hearing loss” says ‘no.’
Today that has changed. Do you, or someone you care about, have a hearing loss? Well, MyHearingHealth is for you. This is your space-- make it yours by commenting on blog posts and articles, or better yet, submit your own. We’re counting on you to make this a community as vibrant and diverse as you.
So, what led us to develop a blog in the first place? You can thank people like David Copithorne of
Hearing Mojo
, a PR veteran who has become probably the most well-known hearing loss blogger around. David covers everything from trends and technology to the experiences of dealing with hearing loss in the workplace. Another inspiration in the community is Dr. Brent Edwards, author of
Innovation Science
. Dr. Edwards’ blog is full of insights into hearing aid technology (naturally, since he is the director of the StarkeyHearingResearchCenter) as well as a wide variety of business and technology innovations.
We’ve also been watching the growing number of businesses and corporations entering the
blogosphere
. Two well-known trailblazers are
Jonathan Schwartz
, CEO of Sun Microsystems, and
Randy Baseler
, VP of Marketing at Boeing, who have built huge followings by speaking transparently and without pretense about their companies and industries. A long-time personal favorite is
Signal vs. Noise
, published by a web application development firm in Chicago. They’ve turned creating passionate users (and blog readers) into an art form. Bringing that kind of passion and value to everything we write will be our goal at MyHearingHealth… and we’ll trust you to keep us honest.
Posted by John Hawbaker, Clarity
Technorati tags: Blogging, Community, Hearing Loss, Health and Wellness, Baby Boomers, Clarity,
As another school year begins, many parents may be accustomed to hearing concerns about the coming months from their children. New teachers, new friends and new social challenges permeate every thought of the returning students, no matter how old. But, maybe, there are some others out there who find the return to school brings an entirely different set of concerns and challenges.
You see, there are millions of people affected by a hearing loss and millions more who may not realize they experience a hearing loss. It’s this second group that is of some concern every September. Suddenly a parent at home alone may not hear the doorbell that a child may have answered, they may miss important phone calls that once were caught, or they may miss the subtle cue of a timed meal. They are all minor issues, but symptoms of a much larger concern and one that should receive prompt attention.
If you have noticed, since your child returned to school, that you are missing some of the cues listed above, or are concerned by other symptoms of a hearing loss, don’t wait; see your doctor or hearing health professional as soon as possible. There is no reason to feel anxious about being in your home alone -- and your independence is something to protect. You can always find more information regarding a hearing loss by visiting
The EAR Foundation
.
Posted by Chris Dutton, Clarity
Technorati tags: Parents, Hearing Loss, Health and Wellness, Isolation
So, what is myhearinghealth.com? As much as I would love to tell you exactly what this site is, I can't. It's not that I am being evasive or cautionary, the real issue is I truly don't know what myhearinghealth.com is - you do. You see, this is your creation. Maybe you can relate to it in this way: Clarity is planting a seed and taking a back seat as all the elements come together to help it grow.
For the past several months we have been working with audiologists, hearing health professionals, advocates, designers and a multitude of our own internal staff. Any other day, that would be a description of how Clarity develops a new product; however, myhearinghealth.com is not a product. It's something more akin to a living, breathing thing - and it's up to you to give it life.
While Clarity has provided the funding to build and maintain this site, we are relying on the community - your community - to create something that will live outside the world of "Clarity". Right now you can submit material to be posted on the site. It's our hope that as the site grows over the coming months, we will be able to bring more immediate access, so you may post comments, links to exciting developments, insert images and communicate across boundaries: both real and ideological.
Clarity is not here to police, edit, revise or make this only about our products. Eventually we will have moderators who will ensure the tone of myhearinghealth.com is something positive for the community. And yes, Clarity will provide access to every submission as long as it isn't patently offensive or untrue.
So, welcome to myhearinghealth.com, whatever that may be. Whatever you may make it.
Posted by Carsten Trads, President of Clarity
Technorati tags: Blogging, Community, Advocacy, Hearing Loss, Audiology, Health and Wellness, Clarity,