When Stephanie contacted me, I had actually never heard of Mother Father Deaf Day, which is this Sunday. It’s probably not well known in France, and that’s a pity. On the other hand, everybody these days is talking about “La famille Bélier“, a movie which features children of deaf parents. It is funny and moving, and allows everybody to discover the world of silence. People are astonished and ask me if it’s realistic. And I have to say it is! Continue reading “Son of My Deaf Parents”
Hearing Dogs Do Sound Work
I’m sure everyone has an idea of what they think a Hearing Dog does in terms of helping a recipient – but when I spent two days at the Beatrice Wright Centre for my assessment for a hearing dog, I learnt they did even more than I thought.
I knew they alerted you to fire alarms, door bell and telephone (if you use one) and, while at the fun dog show Pup Aid in London in 2014, I’d seen a Hearing Dogs demonstration, starring Sue Perkins from the Great British Bake Off in the role of a deaf person. The crowd oohed and ahhed as the demo dog ‘woke’ Sue from her bed when an alarm clock sounded and when they displayed amazing recall and obedience skills.
On top of this, I’d met a couple of hearing dog recipients who told me having a hearing dog was the best thing that had ever happened to them — and they shared with me the boost in confidence and independence their dogs give them on a daily basis. Both encouraged me to pursue an application and so I did.
Innovative “Modern Family” Episode Gets Sound Help From Phonak
Modern Family is one of my favorite shows, so moving abroad and not having access to US television stations was a bummer, until I got Apple TV and I was able to stream my favorite shows again.
A couple months ago, the sitcom made headlines for doing something brand-new for television: filming an entire episode using Apple iPhones, iPads and MacBooks.
So when I recently heard that Phonak also played a role in the making of the episode, it was exciting.
It may not be what you expect — Jay hasn’t developed hearing loss and needs Phonak hearing aids, or Luke and Manny haven’t taken part in a wild stunt that left their hearing damaged -– rather, all of the actors used a special a Phonak product called invisity during filming.
Watch Stephen Tibbo, the Sound Mixer on Modern Family, explain in the video below, or read the Phonak press release.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1KzljwWRAg]
Programmes: Want Them But Never Use Them
When I got my first pair of hearing aids, I was hesitating between a smaller and slightly cheaper model, and a somewhat larger and more expensive one. I honestly wasn’t sure the sound quality was better in the more expensive one. I thought it was, but I wasn’t sure.
What tipped the balance was that the more expensive hearing aids had a button that I could use to switch between programmes. And I wanted that. I was frustrated by the lack of control I had as a user on the hearing aid settings, and so the idea of having programmes I could switch between gave me something to hang on to.
What Colour Are Yours?
I’m always interested to know what motivates people to choose a particular colour of hearing aid. My first one was a flesh-coloured NHS in-the-ear device. My first pair were also what passes as ‘flesh-coloured’ and were the only colour available. But when I went to buy my first pair of Phonaks, there was a choice of colours — but I didn’t get to choose. I was given a pair on loan and when I liked what they did for me acoustically, I just got to keep them.
My audiologist chose the colour closest to my hair colouring, which seemed a logical choice at the time, but the trouble with having chestnut brown hearing aids is that when you put them down on dark wooden furniture, they’re pretty hard to spot.
Also, if they fall on the floor onto a dark carpet, they’re also hard to find. I’ve had this happen when brushing my hair, as the CROS aid can easily be flipped off the ear and onto the floor. (This is because I opted for a tiny retainer rather than a dummy in ear dome/CROS tip fitting to secure the aid.)
Once, when looking for the CROS, which I’d dropped on the floor, I noticed my dog had something in her mouth. Eek! It was my aid!
The Name I Call Myself
Picking a term to describe our hearing is fraught with implications.
The idea behind “hearing impaired” is that we are lesser human beings and must be fixed to function.
Those who suffer (dare I use “suffer”?) from mild to moderate hearing loss do not necessarily identify with the term deaf—a word that is historically loaded and also carries a distinction between capitalized and lowercase “d”. Uppercase “Deaf” reflects a community and a culture of identity, and carries pride similar to that of ethnic and religious groups. Lowercase “deaf” can reflect only severe to profound hearing loss, or hearing loss on the whole, depending who you ask.
Introducing My Mom and her Audeo Ventures
In addition to being the Territory Manager for the state of Virginia at Phonak, I am also the daughter of a wonderful woman who is currently wearing the new Audeo V90 10 (yes, ruby red!) hearing aids. My mother has a moderate to severe sloping hearing loss in both ears. Her hearing loss began years ago and has been slowly declining the past 8 years since she was originally fitted with hearing aids. I tell you, it has not been an easy counseling process, getting her to wear her hearing aids regularly, but now, she can’t take them out! Here is what she has to say…
Continue reading “Introducing My Mom and her Audeo Ventures”
Hearing Loss in Percentages and Decibels
For years, I’ve been mystified when hearing people refer to their hearing loss in percentages. “I have lost 37% hearing in my left ear.”
Since I was thirteen and had my first audiogramme, that is how I’ve been thinking of hearing loss. In decibels, presented as a graph of how loud a sound needs to be so I can hear it, at various frequencies. I’ve showed my audiogramme on Open Ears already but here it is again:
As you can see, at 500Hz I don’t hear sounds below 50dB, but at 4000Hz (higher pitch sounds) my left ear has almost “normal” hearing, as I can hear sounds as soft as 20dB. As is the case for most people, my hearing loss is not the same at all frequencies.
Sit. Wait. Off You Go. The Training Regime of a Hearing Dog.
Assistance dogs have a reputation for being well-behaved and there’s a reason for this: they have a LOT of training!
At the UK charity Hearing Dogs for Deaf People, puppies are socialised by volunteer Puppy Socialisers who work with the pups to get them house-trained, confident in various settings, comfortable around people and other dogs and happy to walk on a lead. They also start them off with the basic commands of ‘sit’ and ‘wait’ and train them to come when called.
Continue reading “Sit. Wait. Off You Go. The Training Regime of a Hearing Dog.”
Dating with Hearing Loss: the Good, the Bad, and the Stories that Make You Say, “What?”
The audiologist will tell you many things when you get your first hearing aid. Keep it dry and don’t wear it with wet hair. Put it in a desiccating box, and change the gel packs every six weeks. Blue stickers mean the left ear, and red stickers mean the right. Come back once a year to get it re-adjusted to your latest decibel range. Cover it up to keep from getting sweaty during sports practice. Always leave your hearing aid at home when going to the beach. Clean off the wax as often as you can so the microphone does not get clogged. No one can hear anything if their hearing aid is full of wax.
Absent from this long list of warnings are instructions on how to proceed through the infamous dating game with a hearing loss.