Published on HeraldNet.com: 3/23/04
Shhh,
someone's listening
Group provides support for hearing-impaired folks
By Christina Harper, Herald Writer
Myrna Kain sat listening to the tap of raindrops on the roof of her car two years ago. She was amazed to hear that sound. The Everett resident later heard another sound for the first time: the sizzle of food cooking.
|
|
|
Austin, Myrna Kain's dog, alerts her to the ringing of the telephone by jumping into her lap. Kain, of Everett, is the president of the Everett chapter of SHHH, Self Help for Hard of Hearing. |
|
|
|
Photo by Michael O'Leary/The Herald |
"I never did hear that before," Kain said.
Kain, 54, is one of about 38 million Americans who are deaf or hard of hearing. Until two years ago she wore hearing aids, which didn't help her with subtle sounds.
She first heard the raindrops and the food cooking two years ago, thanks to one cochlear implant, an electronic device designed to help deaf people who get little or no help from the use of hearing aids.
Kain's kindergarten teacher realized that the young Myra wasn't picking up what was being said, but she wasn't fitted with a hearing aid until she was 7.
The hearing aid in one ear helped Kain hear birds sing for the first time.
"It was amazing," Kain said.
Kain's hearing loss progressed until she needed aids in both ears. But it wasn't until 1992 that she found a support group that helped her realize that she wasn't alone.
The Everett chapter of Self Help for Hard of Hearing meets once a month for those who are deaf or hard of hearing, and their families.
People who are hard of hearing often feel isolated. They begin sitting by themselves or staying home, or they appear to be stubborn. Families and friends of those people don't always understand, said Dave Pearson of Marysville.
Pearson, 51, joined SHHH more than a decade ago. He remembers being thrilled to see a listing for the Everett group in a hearing loss magazine. He even served a stint as president of the group.
"I was amazed to see so many people with hearing aids," Pearson said.
Pearson has been hard of hearing all his life. Like Kain, he had his first hearing aid at 6 or 7 years old. It was the box type with wires.
"I hated those," Pearson said. "Especially when I was playing."
By the time Pearson reached his teens, he needed two hearing aids.
"Everybody has different hearing loss," Pearson said.
People of all different ages from all different backgrounds people gather once a month at SHHH meetings. Deaf and hard of hearing people get to meet others in similar situations. They understand what the others are going through.
"The group is very important," Pearson said.
SHHH helps by providing speakers who talk about coping with hearing loss, new technology and the latest in hearing devices. At first Pearson had no devices. Now he has a blinking light in his house that tells him that someone is at the front door. He uses closed captioning for television and captioning for telephone conversations.
Members of SHHH also share the latest news from the group Hearing Aid Insurance Legislation on bills being passed to help those with hearing issues.
For instance, many insurance companies don't pay for hearing aids, although Pearson's does. The cost for his analog hearing aids is $1,900. His insurance company covers $500 every three years. He has a $100 deductible.
The group recently went to Olympia to talk about hearing aid insurance.
When a new person comes to the group, members understand their feelings of frustration.
"A lot don't even know what closed captioning on TV is," Kain said.
Kain's self-assurance came in part when she got involved with the group. She sees other hard of hearing people being helped by the support too.
"Their self confidence is built up a little bit," Kain said.
Kain, now the president of the Everett Chapter, remembers when she first found the group and how relieved she was to find other people who faced the same problems: the difficulties communicating with people every day, making sure people could see a button or card saying that she could lip read.
There are many types of hearing loss. Some people lose their hearing overnight, some have hereditary hearing loss and some have hearing difficulty because of noise pollution.
One of the things Kain used to do so people didn't see her hearing aids was arrange her hair to cover them. Now she doesn't care.
Since her cochlear implant, Kain wears only one hearing aid.
"Hearing aids are great," Kain said. "Nobody should be without them if they need them."
Reporter Christina Harper: 425-339-3491 or harper@heraldnet.com.
Our Trip
by Lou Touchette
I've written numerous articles for the EAC Newsletter
in the past about my travel experiences. There just always seems to be something
else to write about and here's a bit more on my latest travel.
Linda and I flew overseas a few weeks ago, returning late last night. We thought
we'd beat jet lag if we upgraded to business class for our (747) flights over
to, and return from, Asia. In business class they have nice wide seats that
recline nicely so you can sleep.. well, sort of. Flying and ground time over was
26 hours and on the return it was 25 hours (we had a tail wind, ha!). Each seat
had it's own video monitor and control panel. I even had the foresight, or so I
had thought, to bring my neckloop so I could enjoy music and movies. They offer
about 6 choices of movies, a number of other video choices and more than a dozen
choices of music channels.
Guess what!!!! Airlines design their aircraft so people CAN NOT bring their own
headphones and listen to sound. The headphones they provide (Free for Business
and First Class passengers) have two jack plugs integrated into a single plug, a
small jack and large one which have to both be inserted into a receptacle in
order to hear. My neckloop WOULD NOT not work. Airplanes are quite noisy because
of wind noise so understanding words using a standard headphone was out of the
question. Also, there are no Base or Treble Control adjustments which "may" have
possibly helped since I have a high frequency hearing loss. Nor, do they have
Closed Captioning! As a result, I was not able to enjoy music or movies for 51
intolerably long hours on this trip.
On all (most?) airplanes, flight attendants and flight crew members periodically
make announcements over the PA System. I can not tell you how many years it has
been since I was able to understand a single word they have spoken. Thank God
there have been no emergencies. I'd be in trouble. However, Linda tells me
(repeats) what was said. But, I can't help but feel frustrated when I hear that
they have said "We will be encountering some turbulence, please fasten your seat
belts" or "There will be three choices of meals today, blah blah, blah blah and
blah blah" or "We are passing out customs forms and if you are blah blah you
need to fill out a blah blah form" any way, it goes on and on! Even inside the
terminal area the announcements are impossible for me to understand. On this
trip I was very blessed to have Linda with me to "be my ears" but what if she
hadn't been along to help me? The thought petrifies me!
I think there should be additions to the ADA that require captioning on aircraft
video monitors. Airplane Audio jacks should be neckloop compatible, and in
flight announcements should be typed onto a keyboard that displays words on the
video monitors. Same thing inside airport terminals. Did you know that in flight
announcements ARE NOT fed through the audio system!!!! The sound only comes out
of the overhead speakers!!!! Even a neckloop, had I been able to use it, would
not have helped. Boy is there room for improvement... and how long has it been
since ADA went into effect. Geez, what's the problem here?
Linda and I spent a lot of time in hotels during the 14 days we were in
Singapore and Malaysia. In those countries they do not have Closed Captioning
requirements for televisions. I have never been so frustrated as I was during
those two weeks over there. There are actually quite a few American/English
programs televised in third world countries these days, since the advent of
Satellite TV broadcasting. Bless the USA and ADA that we can enjoy Captioning in
OUR country. Pity people in other countries who do not have such luxury!
It's great to be back home, believe me! God Bless the USA and ADA!!!!
Lou Touchette