Have you ever dined at a restaurant where it was so loud you struggled to hold a conversation with someone across the table? For many people who are hard of hearing, it’s a common and challenging situation. Alison Butler of the Canadian Hard of Hearing Association — Newfoundland and Labrador (CHHA-NL) said clients bring it up all the time: the loud music, the clanging and banging, and the people yelling over it all.

She said in situations like those, hearing aids can only do so much. You may be able to hear the person you’re talking to, but the cacophony of an open-concept restaurant can make it hard to understand what they’re saying.

“As soon as you add in all that extra sound, it makes it so much more difficult to pick out the things that you want to hear, and that’s the same for all of us. It’s the same for me. You know, I can’t hear what’s going on in a noisy restaurant either,” said Butler, who doesn’t have hearing loss.

Leon Mills, CHHA-NL’s executive director, said he had that problem recently when he took some relatives out for supper. He uses hearing aids, and thought it might be just him. But his relatives also found it very loud at the downtown St. John’s restaurant.

After hearing from so many clients about restaurants, the CHHA-NL decided to compile a list of the quietest ones in the province to shine a light on places where it’s easy to have a chat over dinner. The organization is inviting people to fill out the one-question online survey.

Nominations are now open for the 2017 awards, and we encourage you to nominate a deserving individual or group in your community. Nominations are open to individuals and groups throughout Newfoundland and Labrador.

Nomination Deadline: September 10, 2017

White noise machines are the thing many parents swear by and rely on to keep their babies asleep. There's something to be said for not worrying about every little noise and how it may or may not impact your baby's rest. Noise machines are also crucial for families with older (read: rowdier) kids, especially when a brand new baby joins the fold. Convenience shouldn't trump sleep safety, though, so are white noise machines safe for babies? It turns out there a few risks sleep-deprived parents should take into consideration before using a white noise machine as part of their baby's sleep routine and/or sleep environment.

To some, it may not seem like the experience of a lifetime, but that’s what being a HearPeers Mentor has meant to me. A HearPeers Mentor is a person who lives with a hearing implant, or whose child has a hearing implant, and has volunteered to share their experiences with others. Becoming a Mentor for people who are considering a hearing implant is the culmination of one of the most exciting and challenging times of my life. Taking on this role demonstrates how dramatically life has improved since I received my VIBRANT SOUNDBRIDGE middle ear implant in 2013.

My Story

I live in Yorkshire, England and have been deaf in one ear for over thirty years. During that time, I did not consider myself disabled as I had good hearing in my second ear and was able to live a fairly normal life. My deafness was caused by Meniere’s disease, and in those days my main concern – and that of my medical consultants – was to prevent the attacks as much as possible. As a young mother with three children I led a busy and active life. I was so grateful that the insertion of grommets into my ear drum did help to restrict the attacks.

I became bilaterally deaf (both ears) with Meniere’s disease in 2007 and from the day of my first attack I became a completely deaf and disabled person. I had to learn how to live in silence and felt that there was no future for me. I could not wear hearing aids and there seemed to be no alternative solutions. I became a depressed recluse, not interacting with anyone except my husband – simply because I could not hear anything.

Everything changed in 2013 when I met a consultant who offered me a future. He suggested that the VIBRANT SOUNDBRIDGE middle ear implant might work for my type of hearing loss. After a number of tests and applications for funding, I received my implant in August 2013. Besides my family, I had received no support prior to being implanted. My only point of contact was my implant team who I saw at appointments. HearPeers didn’t exist then, but I wish it had. The solitary isolation and having nowhere to turn for help or anyone to talk with was the most difficult thing for me to deal with. I was in a very bad place, but the implant has turned my life around for the better.

Being a Hearing Loss Mentor

The HearPeers Mentor Programme offers valuable information and support on life with a hearing implant, whether it’s a middle ear or cochlear implant. The program allows you to connect directly with implant users who understand your concerns through their personal experience; they have been through the process and will give you the details – without the jargon. And, should you decide to embark on this exciting journey, they are there to help support you.

I feel hugely privileged to be a HearPeers Mentor. I welcome it as an opportunity to “give something back” – not only to the company that made my implant (MED-EL), but, more importantly, to other people experiencing both Meniere’s disease and deafness. For the past six months, I have been supporting two implant candidates who have told me HearPeers helps them hugely to bridge the information gap as they go through the assessment process. 

Candidates also have questions about the outcome of the operation such as “what are the chances that it will work”, “how long will the operation last” and “what will the post-operative care and audiology appointments be like?” Some of these questions will be answered by their implant team, but I can provide a unique, personal perspective. The most important thing I can share with a candidate is that they must make it a priority to build a good relationship with their implant team, which is imperative to achieve success with any implant surgery.

Being a patient and facing surgery can be daunting. I give the best support I can, offering strength when patients feel drained, compassion when they are in tears and the courage to go forward to a new and changed life.

From living a solitary lifestyle, unable to communicate and deeply depressed, I have become an interactive person again, enjoying so many things I missed. The drop of water from a tap can sound like a symphony. So imagine what joy it is for me to hear my children and grandchildren’s voices again. Believe me when I tell you that I experience the miracle of hearing every time I put my audio processor on. Being a Mentor is one way of sharing that joy.

Vous devez tendre l’oreille quand on vous parle ou n’êtes plus capable de suivre une conversation entre plusieurs personnes dans un lieu public ? Vous avez sans doute besoin d’un appareil auditif, comme de plus en plus de gens aujourd’hui. Mais pas d’inquiétude, ce handicap est aujourd’hui très bien pris en charge et de multiples solutions existent, qui progressent chaque année.

Apprenez-en un peu plus sur ces appareils à hautes performances et discrétion que l’on trouve maintenant sur le marché.

De la haute technologie

Les appareils auditifs de technologies de pointe et avancée présentent les systèmes de correction les plus efficaces. Ils proposent de nombreuses fonctionnalités, dont voici les plus récentes :

• Fonction de connectivité pour relier le téléphone, le téléviseur, ou le MP3
• Microphones interactifs. Les microphones sont de plus en plus petits, résistants à la vibration, à l’eau, aux variations de température.
• Acuité directionnelle. La fonction directionnelle, c’est-à-dire la fonction qui permet d’amplifier les sons et la voix de l’interlocuteur tout en atténuant ceux de derrière et de côté a encore progressé. Maintenant, l’accent est mis davantage sur les fréquences de la parole et réduit les autres sources de bruit pouvant perturber la compréhension.
• Le réducteur de bruit, appelé aussi Voice iQ, est capable de trier presque instantanément entre de la parole ou du bruit. Combiné à la fonction d’acuité directionnelle, il offre un résultat encore meilleur dans des environnements bruyants.

America has picked up another win over Canada. That is, if we’re keeping a comedy scoreboard. Canadian comedian D.J. Demers who was born north of the border, but now resides in sunny Los Angeles, California, performed stand up on Conan on Thursday night.

This was Demers’ second appearance for Team Coco. His first performance for Conan O’Brien was in 2014, which was an amazing year for Demers. That same year, he was named the winner of the Homegrown Comics Competition at the Just For Laughs festival in Montreal. Also, he added to his JFL credits in 2014, when he was a featured comedian at JFL Toronto. But Canada’s comedy loss, is America’s gain. D.J. Demers told Conan’s audience that he had just moved here to the States, saying, “I looked at the current political climate and I said, ‘Now is the time.'”

During his set, Demers revealed to the audience (or at least to the ones who hadn’t noticed) that he wears two hearing aids. He also confessed that despite needing hearing aids, he really hates all other disabilities. He shared that his hearing loss has caused some challenges for his girlfriend who moved in with him. Demers talked about how when he takes his hearing aids out at night to go to sleep, he basically has to do “a last call” for any talking or conversation his girlfriend wants to do before going to bed. He said he has to tell her that he’s about, “to shut this shit down” for the night. Watch the clip below from TeamCoco.com to hear how D.J. refers to himself and his girlfriend after he’s taken out his hearing aids and she’s removed her contact lenses.

His hearing loss has its advantages as well which he explains and Demers also talked about the change in the law preventing gay men from donating blood, and why the gay men that can now donate, shouldn’t be all that proud.

D.J. Demers is currently touring the country including appearances near his new home at the Burbank Comedy Festival coming up next month. For all his tour dates, go to DJDemers.com.

Les centres de l’audition fleurissent en centre-ville, signe d’une demande de plus en plus forte. Le sonotone "de pépé" a fait place à des équipements plus discrets, beaucoup mieux acceptés par ceux qui les portent. Quant aux bouchons d’oreille, on peut désormais les assortir à sa paire de lunettes. 

Dans cette rue du centre-ville de Mons, on compte pas moins de trois magasins spécialisés dans les troubles de l’audition. Un indépendant, deux enseignes de grande chaîne. Et du boulot pour tout le monde, apparemment. Pourquoi ? D’abord parce que les besoins sont plus importants, nous explique Laura Everaert, audiologue dans l’une des boutiques. Elle constate une ouverture d’esprit beaucoup plus forte qu’avant, chez ses clients. "Notre vie quotidienne est plus bruyante qu’avant. Déjà les jouets des enfants. On écoute de la musique via des oreillettes, des casques, on peut augmenter facilement le son. En ville, il y a de plus en plus de voitures, de plus en plus de musique dans les discothèques, les cafés. On monte le son, on parle de plus en plus fort…Les cinémas, c’est pareil ! Tout est plus fort !"

Il en résulte des pertes auditives, des acouphènes. " On parle beaucoup plus de tout ça ! Ça devient de plus en plus connu dans les médias aussi. Regardez notre premier ministre qui a eu il y a quelques semaines le coup de pistolet dans l’oreille, lors des 20 km de Bruxelles. On en parle plus. Et les gens se disent ‘comment faire pour améliorer mes problèmes d’audition ?’ "

Being prepared for emergencies saves lives. But not everyone can access the information to help them get prepared or react safely during an emergency. Today in Canada, emergency alerts, emergency preparedness information, and the majority of the notification systems used to disseminate this information are not accessible to Deaf and hard of hearing Canadians.

As such, the Canadian Hearing Society (CHS) has undertaken a research project, funded by the Broadcast Accessibility Fund, in order to develop and provide practical, tangible recommendations to make emergency broadcasting accessible for Deaf and hard of hearing Canadians. The recommendations will be used to inform members of the national public alerting system and associated broadcasting agencies.

We need you!

As part of the research process, CHS is asking Canadians who are Deaf, deafblind and hard of hearing to complete an online survey to assess your:

• Emergency management knowledge
• Emergency information sources
• Past communication experiences with emergency organizations

Why your feedback is important

This research will help identify globally-accepted best practices, technology, platforms, and identify gaps and provide recommendations. Using these recommendations, an accessible emergency broadcasting toolkit will be created to assist in the development of accessible emergency preparedness information. 

CHS is also looking to conduct one on one interviews with hard of hearing Canadians across all Canada. If you are a hard of hearing individual who have experienced a disaster, you are welcome to participate in a one on one interview via Skype or video conferencing software.

These individuals can contact CHS via email at redemko@gmail.com. Click the link below to take part in CHS's survey!