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Canadian HARD of HEARING Association
CHHA-Hamilton
HERE, HEAR!! Newsletter Remember . . . You are not alone!
March, 2018
www.chha-hamilton.ca
Founded 1986
Executive
President Levi Janosi Vice President Linda Baine Past President Rob Diehl Treasurer & Membership Chair Craig Ellis Secretary Jim Young Directors Matt Friesen Lianne Moning Mark Peterson Newsletter Editor & Communications Jacquie Reid Refreshments Committees
• Advocacy • Bylaw • Cochlear
Implants • Golf • Health Fair • Newsletter • Speech
Reading • Sponsors
Extra help for
your hearing aids:
Assistive Listening Devices
With guest speaker
Mark Peterson
Hearing Instrument Specialist
Date: Thursday, March 29th, 2018 Time: 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm Location: The South Gate Church 120 Clarendon Avenue, Hamilton L9A 3A5 Rear entrance door & parking lot accessed from Terrace Dr. Registration & info: [email protected] or 905-575-4964 Charge: $5 for non-members Real Time Captioning & Infra red system available Refreshments ALL WECOME!
Sponsored by The Association of Hearing Instrument Practitioners of Ontario
President’s Message
Canadian HARD of HEARING Association—Hamilton Branch Newsletter—March, 2018 2
Hello everyone,
Welcome to 2018. I hope the year started out great for every-one and everyone had a good holiday season.
We have had a busy four months and lots to report:
We had our AGM as part of the November 30th meeting last year followed by a fascinating presentation by Dr. Marshall Chasin
We were invited to participate at McMaster's LiveLab and helped secure an interview on CBC Radio with one of our hard of hearing members
We participated in Mohawk College's Accessible Media Program Advisory committee meeting
Helped develop a video for Ward 7 Counselor Donna Skelly, that helped a motion being passed to write into law (first ever for a Canadian city) manda-tory requirements for installing looping systems in new public and newly renovated buildings.
At our November meeting, Doctor Marshall Chasin had an interesting and very informative presentation about hearing the music. Fascinating talk about the differences in music sound and speech sound. Hopefully you were there to enjoy it and learn about it.
McMaster University's LIVELab put on a special concert for people who are hard of hearing. It was a fascinating event allowing me to hear the music as I haven't heard it in a long time. Cello, violins had a microphone attached and the theater was looped so that the clear sounds were channelled straight into the hear-ing aids with t-coil enabled, so that they could fully appreciate the richness of the sounds.
One of our members, Peter MacDonald, was invited to describe his experience on a CBC Radio One's “Day 6” program. Read the blog and listen to the interview at
http://www.cbc.ca/1.4405845 .
We have brought the voice of the hard of hearing community to the table discussing the curriculum for Mohawk College's new program for accessible journalism.
I had the pleasure to be personally invited and meet Rick Hansen at his foundation's 2017 Disability Leadership Summit in Toronto during a full day workshop that included not just hard of hearing representatives but representatives from all other disability groups.
Passing the motion tabled by Donna Skelly. WOW. This was not a small step but a giant leap. See the article in The Hamilton Spectator (https://www.thespec.com/opinion-story/8133304-hearing-the-call-for-the-loop/ ) and watch the video presented to all the counselors at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ToTWNCEpD8U . It is all our responsibility and will lead to all our benefits to speak up when we can't hear. It is heart-warming to see that the city is helping along the way.
Let us all join forces and promote installation of Assistive Listening Systems (one of which is loops) at all public and private venues. We will all benefit in the end.
2018 is going to be filled with many exciting events that we are working on:
Panel discussion meeting in May. Bring your questions and we'll bring you answers
CI meeting Golf tournament Speaker meetings Speech-reading (lipreading) classes
Stay tuned for upcoming details.
I welcome your feedback on things we do and things we could do better/differently.
Levi
Ask Mark . . .
Mark not only wears hearing aids, he is also an Hearing Instrument Specialist.
Send your questions to Mark at [email protected]
Canadian HARD of HEARING Association—Hamilton Branch Newsletter—March, 2018 3
Q Why is it that my hearing aid batteries
don’t work very well?
A This can actually be a number of things.
The most common is that the hearing aids them-
selves are dirty. Clients will often come in and
tell me their batteries are not working when in
fact it is the hearing aid that stopped working
and the batteries are fine.
Another cause could be your accessories. Any time you use an accessory like a remote control or Bluetooth or television listening system that works through your hearing aids it has a significant drain on the batteries and can reduce your battery life down to just a day or two. It could also be the batteries. If they have
expired (all hearing aid batteries have an expi-
ry date) or you purchased them for a REALLY
cheap price it could be that they are just duds
and need to be recycled.
This comic is “Pickles” by Brian Crane
WINNERS from the November 30th meeting:
• Don Grunsten, Hamilton—50/50 Draw
• Karen Klar, Waterdown —Pocket Talker
• Nancy Podolsky, Hamilton —alarm clock
WIN PRIZES WHEN YOU ATTEND THE
MARCH 29TH MEETING
*Thermal Water Bottle donated by Phonak
*$100 gift card donated by Auburn &
Mountain Hearing Centres
* 50/50 Draw
Canadian HARD of HEARING Association—Hamilton Branch Newsletter—March, 2018 4
Canadian HARD of HEARING Association—Hamilton Branch Newsletter—March 2018 5
A German study found that musicians are up
to four times as likely to experience hearing
loss than any other group of people. Evidence
of this truth is borne out in the lives of many
musicians. While Pete Townshend's public
concerns on the issues have made him a prime
example, he is joined by legendary musi-
cians, including Neil Young, Brian Wilson,
Ozzy Osbourne, Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton and
Phil Collins.
Musicians experience years if not decades of
exposure that can lead to noise-induced hearing
loss. If you are experiencing any symptoms of
hearing loss or tinnitus (a constant ringing or
buzzing in the ears), contact a local hearing
clinic.
A Musician’s Risk . . . The brilliant guitarist from
The Who has done it all, smashing guitars, written
timeless tunes and even boasts a distinguished
literary career. Now, like many other aging rockers,
the multi-talented artist and musician suffers
from hearing loss. In Pete Townshend's case,
perhaps this seems somewhat ironic considering
one of his epitomizing works, the rock opera
"Tommy," is about a deaf, mute and blind boy. He
further laments that he helped create an industry
that leaves many of its passionate professionals
deaf or close to it. Townshend now regularly
wears hearing aids in both ears.
Hearing loss effects musicians more than any other demographic.
Canadian HARD of HEARING Association—Hamilton Branch Newsletter—March, 2018 6
BIRTHDAY WISHES
Canadian HARD of HEARING Association—Hamilton Branch Newsletter—March, 2018 7
CHHA-Hamilton would like to wish long-time member, Marion Fair, a Happy Birthday.
Marion grew up on a farm in Niagara Falls, and worked as a nurse in Hamilton, Cobalt and Toronto, where she met her husband. The couple married in 1946, moving to Hamilton in 1949. She worked with the Victorian Order of Nurses and at the General on and off while raising her four daughters and son.
Past president, Joan Miller, remembers Marion well. She attended many CHHA meetings and was a faithful member over the years. During a polio epidemic in 1939, Joan’s younger brother contracted polio. As it happened, he was one of the kids that Marion nursed at that time.
In 1997 Marion was honoured with a Life Membership in the Hospital Auxiliaries Association of Ontario for her contribution. Altogether she has volunteered 2,503 hours of her time to the hospital where she first trained, graduating back in 1941. “Marion Fair has spent most Fridays for 28 years, sitting at a desk in the OR waiting room of the Hamilton General Hospital, comforting relatives waiting for loved ones in surgery, and pointing lost souls, confused by the hospital’s maze of corridors, in the right direction. They just want somebody to take an interest in them and spend a little time with them. I like people. There are lots of people that have put in a lot more time than I have, but I feel very honoured."
One-time Linda Baine and I were setting up tables at various libraries throughout the Hamilton area to celebrate May is Hearing Awareness Month. Marion, being the helpful person, volunteered to host a table at the Locke Street Library. She is, as always, such an accommodating and obliging lady. Despite her hearing loss she always loved singing and sang with Hamilton's Duet Club Choir for 50 years.
That she made a significant impact on CHHA goes without saying. She is known as a tireless worker and advocate to support those with hearing loss. Again . . . may we wish a special lady a special year.
IF you would like to wish a current 2018 CHHA member a Happy Birthday, let us know.
We’ll offer birthday wishes to them in the next issue of the CHHA-Hamilton & Area newsletter.
Just send us a note with their name and month of their birthday to [email protected] (with BIRTHDAY in the subject).
CHHA is sending Happy Birthday wishes to Marion Fair who is celebrating a special number . . . that I’m not allowed to mention.
WHY JOIN CHHA?
• We offer Lip/Speech reading classes to assist you in communicating
• We are advocates for those who suffer from hearing loss
• We host events that help build community amongst hard of hearing
individuals
• We raise funds to assist the hard of hearing in our region
All of these projects help us to fulfill CHHA’s mission to make the community a better place for the hard of hearing. Please renew your membership or join us for the first time and find out what CHHA is all about. To keep our association strong we have to know that you are supporting us by becoming a member.
Craig Ellis,
Membership Chair
CHHA-Hamilton Membership Application & Renewal Form
Your Membership is due effective now to – August 31, 2019 Please mail this form with your payment to: CHHA Membership, 762 Upper James, Box 122, Hamilton, ON L9C 3A2
Name: ______________________________________________________________ Address: ________________________________________________________
City/Postal Code: _________________________________________________
Telephone: ____________________________ e-mail: __________________ Age: 19—30 ___ 31—50 ___ 51+ ___
I hereby apply for one of the following memberships (please check one): Individual Membership: $35.00 / year Family Membership: $50.00 / year Lifetime Membership: $300.00 plus $5.00 / year
Make cheques payable to: CHHA-Hamilton Donations to CHHA-Hamilton may be made in memory of loved ones and friends. Tax receipts will be issued and announcements sent to the family. Charitable Reg. No. 89647 8419 RR0001
Remember . . . You are not alone!
Canadian HARD of HEARING Association—Hamilton Branch Newsletter—March, 2018 8
