As a result of the wonderful collaboration between Lauren Storck, founder of CCAC http://www.ccacaptioning.org/ and Pearl Feder a member of both the SayWhatClub and CCAC, the two tweeted away on twitter, asking their followers to tweet @AARP for accessibility online for the hearing impaired and deaf AARP members.

A wonderful and supportive response from many members and several organizations including Marlee Matlin helped get a response from the AARP both to Pearl Feder on Twitter and on CCAC’s blog http://bit.ly/khRzZs

So, are you still wondering what twitter can do for you? Twitter is advocacy’s best friend.

Last Saturday night I decided to check it out.  After dinner and drinks I suggested to my husband that we hit a movie.

“Nothing will be captioned at this late hour,” he said.

“Let’s just check.  I heard they’re captioning everything.”

“Are you kidding?  No way.”

There was a theater three blocks away so we swung by to ask.  Imagine our surprise when the ticket chick produced two cool pairs of captioning glasses.  They looked a lot like these 3-D glasses, only they were black and had a small black box attached with a cord that you wear around your neck.

They came with three controlls on the side to adjust font size, distance, and language. LANGUAGE??  Yes.  They’ll be great for people who are learning another language, as well as deaf people whose first language is not English.

As someone who wears graduated trifocals, I was concerned that the glasses might not fit around my frames.  OR maybe the words would be too blurry with my sight issues since my reading field is so narrow.  Not a problem.  Because of the flexibility with font size and distance, I could see the words just fine.  I did have to fiddle with the placement of the glasses on my nose a bit to get it just right, but I could see great.

What I loved most about the glasses was that I could move the words anywhere on the screen.  This meant the words were never in the way of anything I needed to see.    Also, I could move the words under the screen.  Frankly I thought that part was awesome.  I have often wondered why they don’t put the words under the screen with open captioned and subtitled movies.  One of the biggest problems I have had with open captioned movies is when both the words and background are light, they are hard to read.  The words in the glasses were lit up similarly to rear-window type captioning, and they were red.  They never blended in with anything.   So, the words were always  visible and clear and never covered any part of the screen.  Also, because I wasn’t looking through a panel, as you do when using rear-window captioning, I could move my head around freely without losing the captions.  I really liked it.  A LOT!

Best of all, we were able to see a first run movie on a Saturday night!  This theater has been offering open captioned showings on Saturday mornings or at 10pm on week nights, and other inconvenient times for years.   I loved that I could just show up for a first-run movie and it would be captioned, and if that one was sold out, I could choose another, and that one would be captioned too!  Gosh, we almost felt like, (dare I say it?) normal folks.

Now that’s what I call equal access!

The other new type of captioning option under the USL listing is Captiview.  I haven’t tried it, but the picture below is what it looks like.  Seems similar to Rear-window, but maybe improved.   I’ve never been crazy about rear-window captions because of my sight issues and the way you need to sit in one spot after adjusting the arm.  But hey, if it means they will offer captions every time, I could live with this I think.  Word has it that all Regal and Cinemark theaters will be captioning every movie, every time nationwide by the end of 2012.    Whether your local theater installs  rear-window technology, Captiview, the new captioning glasses, or sticks with open captioned movies, this is big news!  See here for more details.  Oh– and pass the popcorn!

This being said, I have decided to be more honest with myself and with people I don’t know re: my hearing impairment.  I’ve decided that it is perfectly OK to tell the cashier, the waitress or whomever I’m speaking to that I have a hearing impairment, and could they please talk slower and speak up for me?  I have tried this new-found approach just this week.  I met a girlfriend for lunch, and I arrived first.  I went up to the hostess and requested a table that was not located in the center of the restaurant (booths work well for me as far as blocking out noise in restaurants).  I said “I have a hearing impairment, and it is better for me to sit at a table or a booth that is not in the open, but against a wall.”  The hostess then took me to the quietest area of the restaurant and sat me in a corner booth (perfect!) as I waited for my friend.   When I went to the grocery store later that day, the cashier asked me a question.  I asked her to repeat it, but still no comprehension on my part.  I then just said to her “I have a hearing impairment, and it’s very hard for me to understand what you are saying.”  She then talked a little louder and slower and just asked “Coupons?”  I got it that time!  In my experience, I’ve also discovered that when you are honest with people and tell them why they need to repeat what they said or word it differently for you, they are more than accommodating in the request.   I am learning to give people more credit than I did in the past, which has allowed me a more positive view of the world.

It repeals a long standing prohibition in NYS on the for profit sale of hearing aids by Physicians.  This prohibition was enacted to protect the rights of consumers by ensuring that Physicians do not benefit financially from the sale of products that they order or prescribe.

Let’s be realistic here,  do we really want our Internist prescribing hearing aids and not being required to have additional training?  Will this mean that the medical assistants will program the aids?  Can you imagine the waiting time in a Doctors office?

I don’t know about you but the last thing I want, are for more hearing aids to be left in bedside drawers.  I have yet to meet a parent who told me their Pediatrician diagnosed a hearing loss.  More often than not, I’ve heard of Pediatricians telling parents that the child will outgrow their chronic ear infections or fluid.   I’ve rarely heard of an Internist referring their senior patient to get an audiological.  Hearing loss comes with old age so why bother sending them for an audiological?

Could you imagine if a Physician was given the right to sell the drugs they prescribe to a patient or receive financial benefit from the referral of a patient to a clinical lab? The laws that are in place, were established to protect consumers from the possibility that personal financial gain could interfere with the Physicians independent medical judgement.

I bet I know what you’re thinking? Well, hey, Audiologists make a profit and receive financial benefit.  Selling hearing aids is a business just as selling cars is a business. However, do we want even more professionals involved in the selling of hearing aids? and if so, will they be required to be trained?  Well how about this, why isn’t the Senate spending more time on getting our hearing aids covered by insurances? or why doesn’t the Senate require the hearing aid manufacturers to control the prices of hearing aids?

I say, lets focus on the real issues and stop looking for ways to spread the specialty. Let’s focus on getting hearing aids fully or partially covered by insurances so that children and adults who are hearing impaired or late deafened can have access to the technology.

Call the Assembly switchboard this week at 518-455-4100 or contact your representative.  Oh by the way, I did not see one single phone number for the hearing impaired or deaf.  Strongly recommend you call either through relay, video relay and/or make sure to tell them you are hearing impaired or late deafened.   To contact a NYS assembly person:     http://assembly.state.ny.us/mem/

To Access the legislation:    http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/bill/S3788-2011

Please pass this message to others who might be interested

Surprisingly, my resolutions for this year appear simple but it’s so complex.  Making sure that school age children with hearing loss have access to hearing aids, free hearing aids.  Outside of all the resolutions I have made in my lifetime (and there were many), the one I kept from the past, was the one I made in December 2006. 

 It was made back in December of 2006 and when I wrote my first Editorial for SWC Online Voices concerning resolutions titled “Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve……” I have actually accomplished those resolutions in the past 4 years. You can see the article on the link provided http://www.saywhatclub.com/newsletter/dec06/editorial.html

My point being, resolutions don’t have to be about your love life, your losing weight or being frugal.  It can be about others.  Volunteering to help others and making the world a better place for those others. Not only for those who have hearing loss, deafness or are late deafened. I’m sure you can look around and find an elderly person who is isolated during a snow storm and offer them a home cooked meal.  You see someone crossing the street who is walking at a turtles pace due to their age, cars honking around them, you can go over and help them to manuver the cross safely.

You see a child lost in the store, a young girl on the street holding a sign saying “I have no job, no home and no food.”  These are simple daily offerings of help. And then there’s Educating hearing people to be more sensitive to us.  If we don’t do it, who will?

Don’t think about it, just look around you……and do it!

Are your hearing aids on?

    Don’t you just hate when someone says to you “are your aids on today? are you sure they’re working?

Here’s a list of things I’ve observed, whether in myself or others:

-being at a party with lots of noise and music and unable to hear a one on one conversation

-seeing another hearing impaired person sitting alone in a corner with a drink in their hand, avoiding people.

-recognizing when one yesses you to death

-asking for repeats/rephrasing but still not getting it because the noise is so loud

-afraid to start a conversation with someone

-being a comedian and using disabilities as your main joke lines

-listening to someone tell a Helen Keller joke knowing u are hearing impaired and wanting to spill your drink on them.

Have anything else to add? or do you have anything you do to make it easier for yourself during the holidays?  Let us know what you do.