STC AccessAbility SIG
A Blog About Accessibility and Technical Communication

Hearing accessibility topics include prelingual and postlingual deafness for profound deafness and hard-of-hearing. Information is also provided for presbyacousis (old-age hearing loss).

Reference Books and Resources

There are several excellent books related to hearing. See the suggested reading list for general information and detailed reference books for your library.

Recent and Relevant

Regenerated hair cells inside the cochlear of the ear can restore hearing

Mon Feb 14, 2005 4:01 PM GMT, By Karla Gale, NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - By transferring a gene that regulates fundamental cell development into the inner ear of deafened guinea pigs, researchers have regenerated so-called hair cells and partially restored the animals’ hearing. Hair cells inside the cochlear of the ear respond to sound waves and convert them into electrical nerve signals that the brain interprets as sound. Damaged or absent hair cells are one cause of profound deafness. More…

Sign Language Trivia

Alas, learning one sign language does not mean you are understood all over the world. There are "177 identified sign languages, dialects, and other sign systems" according to Sign Languages of the World. In spoken language, Norwegians, Danes, and Swedes can make themselves understood among themselves. Finnish is totally different, and only related to Magyar-Hungary! There happens to be a Scandinavian Pidgin Sign Language that covers all four countries. Thus, a Deaf Dane has a better chance of communicating with a Deaf Finn than a hearing Dane and a hearing Finn!

Closed Captioning definition.

Announcements

New Book Announcements

Title: Mental Health Care Of Deaf People: A Culturally Affirmative Approach (cloth with CD)
Subtitle: A Culturally Affirmative Approach
Author/Editor: Neil S. Glickman (editor) and Sanjay Gulati (editor)
Primary Subject: Clinical Theory & Practice
Secondary Subject: Therapy
ISBN: 9780805844696
Year: 2003. Published by Taylor & Francis Group.

Book review of Signs of Resistance: American Deaf Cultural History, 1900 to 1942, by Susan Burch, March 2003.

Ken Glickman, a.k.a. "Prof. Glick," proudly announces a new book, Deaf Proverbs. More information can be found at http://deafology.com You are invited to join Ken’s mailing list where you will be kept informed of his new book and other publications as well as his DEAFology comedy shows on a timely basis. It’s real easy to join (just do nothing and you are still on this mailing list), and it’s free!
E-mail:

TTY: 301-434-4040
Fax: 301-434-6626

In the Press

• The Silence Machine
The Electronic Controlled Acoustic Shadow System (ECASS), called the silence machine by its creator Selwyn Wright, an engineer at the University of Huddersfield in Yorkshire, UK, is the first device capable of blocking out a specified noise while leaving everything else audible. The silence machine works by sending out sound waves that are the opposite of those being generated by the offending noise source.

New Scientist has more information in their article, "Silence machine zaps unwanted noise." at http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn2094.

• "Targeting the Essential Skills: useful software" provides information about a number of software programs that can help in the development of essential skills. Much of the information is designed for children, but adults might find it interesting, too. One section, "Software for the Deaf," lists programs on CD ROM that have sign augmentation. See the Centre for Assistive Technology Newsletter, Issue no. 3, Term 2.

• "Deafened to Their Demands: An Ethnographic Study of Accommodation," by Michael Salvo, won one of the annual Best Webtext Awards from _Kairos: A Journal of Rhetoric, Technology, and Pedagogy. See http://english.ttu.edu/kairos/7.1/binder2.html?coverweb/salvo/map.htm

• An article published by Worldwide Employee Communications, Intel Corporation describes the innovations used at Intel’s Aloha Campus in Oregon to enable training for a hearing impaired employee. A copy of the article is posted here with permission: "Sign Language Services Unlock Technician’s Learning Potential". (28 K )

Personal Stories

New Technology Available Helps Hearing Loss

Suzanna Laurent, former STC Director-Sponsor Region 5, sent us her personal story. She gave us permission to use it and we thought you’d like to read about how her hearing loss has affected her life and how a new technology has improved it.

I was talking with a friend one day whose husband works for the FAA and is able to fly free. However, because it is a free flight, there is only one seat available and at times another person can bump you off the flight. My friend had a ticket, so she got on the flight and had to come home without her husband. He flew home later. During our telephone conversation I thought she said, "Jack got drunk and they wouldn’t let him on the flight." I thought to myself, "that doesn’t sound like Jack because he doesn’t drink much, and besides, this was an 8 a.m. flight." So, I asked her to tell me what she said again. She repeated "Jack got bumped, and they wouldn’t let him on the flight." I told her what I had heard, and we had a good laugh about it, but it finally made me realize just how much I was missing in conversations.

In 1987, an Otogolist confirmed that I had an inherited hearing loss, and the only thing that could help me were hearing aids. It was a big shock, but I was so thankful there was some help available. I purchased and started wearing hearing aids in both ears. The difference was remarkable! Now my two oldest children wear hearing aids as well.

Consider for a moment what it would be like to talk with someone and not be able to hear the beginning and ending of some words. Sentences suddenly take on new meanings, like when you say "I can’t go home right now," and the message that actually gets heard by a hearing-impaired person is "I can go home right now." The frustration can be monumental for the people on both sides of the conversation.

In the Fall of 1999, my daughter’s Otologist wanted to know more about my hearing loss so he could better diagnose the changes in her hearing. I went back to have my hearing rechecked by the Otologist. After a thorough examination, the doctor asked me if I was a satisfied hearing aid user. I didn’t even have to think about it, I told him "I am thankful for the hearing aids, but I still miss a lot of conversations. I can feel myself withdrawing from crowds and situations with noisy backgrounds, but that I knew there was no other choice but to wear them."

Them the doctor told me about a study in which he was participating, "Oh, you have a choice now, we are doing a study with an implantable hearing device that is designed for people with your level of hearing loss." I was so excited I couldn’t think of anything else when I got back to work. I called my husband, checked out the web site and publication the doctor gave me, and called back to make an appointment to discuss the new device further. As a result, in January of 2000, I had a Symphonix Soundbridge device implanted in my right ear. The device was not for sale yet in the U.S., although it had already been approved in European countries. I now wear a small round device behind my right ear that produces vibrations that make me hear much better. In fact, the difference is remarkable. Now, I am not saying it makes my hearing perfect, but it is a remarkable device that allows me to hear much better now. To learn more about the device, visit Vibrant® Soundbridge™ middle ear implants It is now available for sale in the U.S.

Suzanna Laurent

DCA Services, Inc.
Oklahoma City, OK  73107
Phone: 405-951-9371

"You can do anything you want to do, but not everything you want to do!"