T^{he featured guest speaker for the April meeting of our SHHL-Sacramento chapter will be, as mentioned in last month’s [February] edition of “The Good Vibes” is Ms. Stacy Meza, CEO, of the Hearing Aid Dispensers Bureau (and Telephone Medical Advice Services Bureau), which is under the DCA, or California State Department of Consumer Affairs. A editorial correction needs to be made for the readers in that this bureau - HADLB - does NOT work under the SLPAB whose CEO was our featured guest speaker of last month, Ms. Annemarie Del Mugnaio, who delivered an excellent speech describing the duties and functions of her board. As Stacy pointed out in a clarifying e-mail to me, the two boards share similar missions, e.g. both boards license some of the same people but are completely independent of each other. As mentioned in the February edition of this publication, Ms. Meza is the one to ask any/all questions or concerns about hearing aid dispenser and / or individual audiologist practice(s) or behavior encountered while attempting to purchase or repair hearing aid(s) that are not meeting your hearing loss needs in your quest for an easier, more fulfilling and satisfying role in coping with the hearing world of today.}

I discovered an excellent article summarizing what one should look for in testing/ [purchasing a telephone that will enable one to communicate intelligently taking into account the accommodation provided by the telephone to allow for one’s hearing loss. Please note that this article was written before the development of the CapTel phone by Ultratec which is currently undergoing extensive evaluation by a number of states, including California, at the present time.

For those who have access to either/both the e-newsletter and the website, more references on this subject are listed as HPERLINKS which can be clicked on with your right-hand mouse to bring up more information on the subject of proper telephone selection consistent with your degree of hearing loss.

Several members have expressed an interest in attending an elementary/review class in basic SIGN LANGUAGE that would allow one another to effectively communicate basic needs, e.g., kitchen, shopping, banking, in this expressive non-verbal iconic, i.e., self-explanatory signs, mode of communication with our deaf and HOH friends who rely on this form of communication as their preferred method of communication with the hearing world. We would need, I think, at least 15-20 individuals, from wherever; to express interest before NorCal would be interested in providing a teacher from among the ranks of interpreters that staff this organization. I talked about this subject with Ms. Angela Foreman of the CI (Cochlear Implant) support group that meets regularly at NorCal on the third Saturday morning of each month (from 11 A.M. to 1 PM) for those interested in attending. The next monthly meeting is scheduled for Saturday, May 22. The free-flowing, animated exchange of ideas and opinions is amazing; the information gleaned among the members and guests about cochlear implants was AWESOME.

Finances for the chapter, in the form of unpaid dues, is becoming a REAL ISSUE: your chapter has incurred considerable expenses in maintaining the prerequisite chapter web presence on the internet as well as the mailing of the monthly newsletters to all members, in its different forms depending on the preferences of the individual members. Included below is a simple form that you can clip out and either mail it to the chapter treasurer, Judy Ray, at the address given on the form or clip your check to the form and bring it with you to the April 10th chapter meeting. Negotiations by your chapter to obtain funding for operating expenses are still pending from two different sources, but the outcome is still up in the air as of this moment. As you are well aware, the three levels of paid membership in this organization are the following: SHHL-Sacramento chapter dues are $12.00/year; SHHH-CA (state level which includes the bimonthly newsletter) is $10.00/year; and the national, or SHHH-Natl., is $25.00/year which includes a subscription to “Hearing Loss” monthly magazine, which is considered by many experts in the field of Hearing Loss and Disability to be the foremost consumer magazine for hearing loss in the world. Of course, one can join at any level: one, two, and/or all three. The total cost for joining all three levels would be $37.00/year which is a real bargain nowadays. A form for filling out and submitting your dues is available at the end of this newsletter.

There are many, many drugs, both prescription (by unwary physicians) and OTC (Over-The-Counter), that one would never imagine could do irreparable harm to your ears in a number of ways. One of the primary reasons, as a renown and respected pharmacist in the Sacramento area informed me, is that the pharmaceutical companies, while aware of the relative ototoxic, i.e. causing ear damage, effects of many of their products, don’t want their consumers to be aware of this frightful problem. Dr. Neil Bauman has done extensive studies on this subject and has written several books documenting the effects of many very common drugs that can damage one’s ears severely if taken unknowingly. The following information is a summary of an article (published in 2002) that is available in its full length on his web site at www.hearinglosshelp.com/ototoxicdrugs.htm . For those without access to the Internet, if you will let me know I most certainly will be glad to mail you a copy of the complete article by Dr. Neil Bauman.

Tinnitus: ringing in your ears

Hearing loss

Speech discrimination threshold, or SDT, problems leading to distorted hearing without understanding what is being said.

Hyperacusis: normal sounds are too loud

Feeling of fullness in your ears

Auditory hallucinations: hearing imaginary music/voices that can’t be understood.