I got this in an email today and is also on the HLAA Website. Please take a look and ACT TODAY!!!! Thanks.
July 2, 2009
ACTION ALERT: FCC issues Notice to Refresh the Record on Petition to Mandate Captioned Telephone Service (CTS)
Comments due by July 27, 2009
CG Docket number 03-123
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has issued a public notice asking whether captioned telephones services (such as CapTel) should be mandatory across the country. Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA) is urging the FCC to mandate captioned phone services.
If you use CapTel, or would like to, let the FCC know why. Let the FCC know how important telephones are to you and how CapTel has helped you. You don’t need to make your comments long or technical. Your stories why you benefit from CapTel services will help the FCC understand the needs of real people with hearing loss when they attempt to use the phone.
To send your stories go to FCC Electronic Comment File Submission. (If you need additional help on how to file comments, take a look at: FCC TIPS on Electronic Comment Filing System
When you fill out the form to file your comments, just use the number: 03-123. Fill out all that is required on this form, then post your story in the space provided. If you need help, contact the HLAA ADVOCACY DEPARTMENT
Act today! Your stories are powerful!!!!
Sunday, July 5, 2009
NO CAFFEINE= LESS TINNITUS
Remember my last post when I said the Audiologist told me the worst thing for TINNITUS is CAFFEINE. Well, the hardest part is I stopped for 2 full days and I wanted to let you all know ITS TRUE. The Tinnitus is still there but I no longer can hear it. What a relief. So if you DRINK alot of CAFFEINE and have tinnitus, this maybe one reason why its BUZZING SO NUTS. So Today is day 3, without soda. Its a big change for me and I feel alot of relief that the TINNITUS isnt there. I still hear the buzzing mostly at night but it isnt as severe as it was. Its deafinitely true that the CAFFEINE, CHOCOLATE, and of course STRESS, makes me crazy.
Other than that, im still trying to get by in this SILENCE world it isnt easy. I am going to pick up a WHITE BOARD at target this week because I have been missing out on alot. So when I am stuck ill pull out this small white board and have people write things down for me.
I noticed and other people noticed that I have been very QUIET. Im usually not that quiet for instance, I was at Wills house for the weekend for the 4th of July. We all sat outside in the backyard just 6 of us. Everyone was talking and I really couldnt get what everyone was saying at the same time. So I started to play my game on my blackberry because I got bored. I have been very quiet and confused most of these days. Im not the type to SHUTUP. I usually talk alot.
Anyways, I cant wait to go away to PA this weekend. I will be leaving Thursday! Can it come faster????
Smile-Hugs,
Danielle
Just thought to let you know.
Other than that, im still trying to get by in this SILENCE world it isnt easy. I am going to pick up a WHITE BOARD at target this week because I have been missing out on alot. So when I am stuck ill pull out this small white board and have people write things down for me.
I noticed and other people noticed that I have been very QUIET. Im usually not that quiet for instance, I was at Wills house for the weekend for the 4th of July. We all sat outside in the backyard just 6 of us. Everyone was talking and I really couldnt get what everyone was saying at the same time. So I started to play my game on my blackberry because I got bored. I have been very quiet and confused most of these days. Im not the type to SHUTUP. I usually talk alot.
Anyways, I cant wait to go away to PA this weekend. I will be leaving Thursday! Can it come faster????
Smile-Hugs,
Danielle
Just thought to let you know.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Today's Appointment to the Audiologist.
Today I went to a new Audiologist. Dr. Sharon gave me a hearing test. Results where that I am " Profoundly Deaf" in BOTH of my ears. I was very upset because I guess I cant face the truth right now. She then explained my audiogram from before. She said I had a moderate-severe hearing loss and that my entire life it has been stable up until now. I went into the office with a "list" of questions which I have never done before. I am so glad I did this time. She answered all my questions. The first question was, " Before when I was able to hear, how come I couldnt make out what they where saying". Her answer was- " You cant hear speech part because your brain doesnt grasp the voice". I was always wondering why I was having trouble in the past. Now I know. She then gave me a Tympanogram to see if there was any fluid in my ears. They were CLEAR. I have also told her I have really bad Tinnitus. She knew this because I saw her way back in 2006. She told me to STAY AWAY FROM CAFFEINE** AND CHOCOLATE** for 1 week and see how I do after that. I told her the Tinnitus is so bad now that I cant hear at all. It is always there, it never goes away. So as of today is my first day without SODA although she said I can have CAFFEINE FREE WOOHOO!
She wants me to go for an ABR- Auditory Brainstem Response test and this test basically shows if you " HEAR ANYTHING". I have never done an ABR test before so this will be my first time. If it DOES show that I have some hearing left although my Audiogram saids Im profound, that means I have "Auditory Neuropathy"- which is a conditon that made me profound which can be caused by my type of hearing loss- Sensorinerual or can be caused be an illness. Unfortunality the only "Cure" she saids would be a COCHLEAR IMPLANT. I cannot get that opportunity because of my seziures. No-one she saids will put me under with the severe condition I have. It is common sense. I do want to be able to hear again but I deafinitely dont want to be under a knife right now because of everything I been through. Dr Sharon wants me to go back to SPEECH THERAPY. I havent been in speech therapy in years and sadly, I dont even remember. I know I had it done everyday while I was growing up. For some reason I cant remember my childhood. Anyways, I am going to go b ack to speech therapy once I get her letter next week reffering me to go back. Thank goodness I know someone at LIJ who can help me.
We then went into her OFFICE where we sat and talked. She pulled out all the HEARING AIDS and told me to put on the OTICON VIGO PRO which is a very very powerful aid. Guess what? The good news is I heard the COMPUTER BUZZING, I heard MUSIC! She said this AID you will be able to her MUSIC. I asked her " how come I can hear the music and not people". She said this is common and how I only hear 5 decibles meaning when you say for example the word: FOOT I hear FOO. So I put two and two together and to make the FOOT word. Well the aid was very STRONG. I ended up with a very bad headache. I felt nacious too. She said it is normal because I am NOT used to the SOUNDS. I couldnt really make out anything she was saying. Thankfully she knows how to SIGN. Dr Sharon wants me to come to Open House demo where I can try on this hearing aid for 2 weeks for FREE. I am going to be doing that before I purchase this extremely expensive Aid. She wants to make sure this is comfortable for me. When I had the aid in it was alot for me it was way to much SOUND. I couldnt take it actually. My face started to turn red. So she told me to take one out. So if this is the case and I am comfortable with this aid for the 2 weeks then I will just buy 1 for now.
Like I said before I got very nacious and the sound was just way to much she said she kept lowing it and it was on 1 in seconds. I still was having alot of trouble. I forgot to tell her I have really bad Recruitment I always had this in the pass. I must tell her when she calls me about this. Maybe that is why I felt nacious. I couldnt take the Loud Sounds.
This was my day and I am beat. Today was alot of lipreading involved and so much INFORMATION in just 2 hours. Yes 2 FULL hours at the Audiologist office.
What a long day. I am glad I went though.
Smile-Hugs,
Danielle
She wants me to go for an ABR- Auditory Brainstem Response test and this test basically shows if you " HEAR ANYTHING". I have never done an ABR test before so this will be my first time. If it DOES show that I have some hearing left although my Audiogram saids Im profound, that means I have "Auditory Neuropathy"- which is a conditon that made me profound which can be caused by my type of hearing loss- Sensorinerual or can be caused be an illness. Unfortunality the only "Cure" she saids would be a COCHLEAR IMPLANT. I cannot get that opportunity because of my seziures. No-one she saids will put me under with the severe condition I have. It is common sense. I do want to be able to hear again but I deafinitely dont want to be under a knife right now because of everything I been through. Dr Sharon wants me to go back to SPEECH THERAPY. I havent been in speech therapy in years and sadly, I dont even remember. I know I had it done everyday while I was growing up. For some reason I cant remember my childhood. Anyways, I am going to go b ack to speech therapy once I get her letter next week reffering me to go back. Thank goodness I know someone at LIJ who can help me.
We then went into her OFFICE where we sat and talked. She pulled out all the HEARING AIDS and told me to put on the OTICON VIGO PRO which is a very very powerful aid. Guess what? The good news is I heard the COMPUTER BUZZING, I heard MUSIC! She said this AID you will be able to her MUSIC. I asked her " how come I can hear the music and not people". She said this is common and how I only hear 5 decibles meaning when you say for example the word: FOOT I hear FOO. So I put two and two together and to make the FOOT word. Well the aid was very STRONG. I ended up with a very bad headache. I felt nacious too. She said it is normal because I am NOT used to the SOUNDS. I couldnt really make out anything she was saying. Thankfully she knows how to SIGN. Dr Sharon wants me to come to Open House demo where I can try on this hearing aid for 2 weeks for FREE. I am going to be doing that before I purchase this extremely expensive Aid. She wants to make sure this is comfortable for me. When I had the aid in it was alot for me it was way to much SOUND. I couldnt take it actually. My face started to turn red. So she told me to take one out. So if this is the case and I am comfortable with this aid for the 2 weeks then I will just buy 1 for now.
Like I said before I got very nacious and the sound was just way to much she said she kept lowing it and it was on 1 in seconds. I still was having alot of trouble. I forgot to tell her I have really bad Recruitment I always had this in the pass. I must tell her when she calls me about this. Maybe that is why I felt nacious. I couldnt take the Loud Sounds.
This was my day and I am beat. Today was alot of lipreading involved and so much INFORMATION in just 2 hours. Yes 2 FULL hours at the Audiologist office.
What a long day. I am glad I went though.
Smile-Hugs,
Danielle
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
NETFLIX WILL HAVE SUBTITLES NEXT YEAR
Good News Remember my Old Post about Netflix not having Subtitles for deaf/hearing impaired customers? Well Today the good is about to arive but WILL NOT TAKE PLACE TILL NEXT YEAR!!!!! Check out this Information below:
An article published at afterdawn.com on June 16, 2009 has reported that Netflix will be adding captioning to its web streamed videos next year:
Netflix to add subtitles to streaming videos next year
Netflix has announced that it will finally add subtitles to its video streaming library, however, not until next year. CEO Reed Hastings says the lack of subtitles has been one of the biggest complaints about the service's "Watch Instantly" streaming library. Netflix will finish creating the text files that will "give customers the option of enacting captions on digital titles on devices using Microsoft’s Silverlight components sometime in 2010, adds Netflix chief product officer Neil Hunt.
“Captioning is in our development plans but is about a year away,” Hunt finished.
You can find the article and submit a comment at:
AfterDawn's Website
Smile-Hugs,
Danielle
An article published at afterdawn.com on June 16, 2009 has reported that Netflix will be adding captioning to its web streamed videos next year:
Netflix to add subtitles to streaming videos next year
Netflix has announced that it will finally add subtitles to its video streaming library, however, not until next year. CEO Reed Hastings says the lack of subtitles has been one of the biggest complaints about the service's "Watch Instantly" streaming library. Netflix will finish creating the text files that will "give customers the option of enacting captions on digital titles on devices using Microsoft’s Silverlight components sometime in 2010, adds Netflix chief product officer Neil Hunt.
“Captioning is in our development plans but is about a year away,” Hunt finished.
You can find the article and submit a comment at:
AfterDawn's Website
Smile-Hugs,
Danielle
Monday, June 22, 2009
New Cochlear Implant Handbook
Do you have a Cochlear Implant? (CI) or If you are a Candidate for a Cochlear Implant, PRE-ORDER this book today:
Cochlear Implants- A Handbook ( Paperback) by Bonnie Poitras Tucker.
This Title has not yet been released. Will be Released on July 5th, 2009.
This book explains in a simple manner how Cochlear Implants work. This author tells her own experience with the Implant.
You can Pre-Order now by clicking here.
Smile-Hugs,
Danielle
Cochlear Implants- A Handbook ( Paperback) by Bonnie Poitras Tucker.
This Title has not yet been released. Will be Released on July 5th, 2009.
This book explains in a simple manner how Cochlear Implants work. This author tells her own experience with the Implant.
You can Pre-Order now by clicking here.
Smile-Hugs,
Danielle
When Words are Worth a Thousand Pictures at a Ballpark and on TV
Remember my Old Post regarding the NY METS Stadium has captions at there games? Well I just recieved an email from a good friend of mine who happened to see this article in the NY TIMES paper.
When Words Are Worth a Thousand Pictures at Ballpark and on TV
Smile-Hugs,
Danielle
When Words Are Worth a Thousand Pictures at Ballpark and on TV
Smile-Hugs,
Danielle
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Subject Views on captioning online video from the CEO of Netflix
Below is an Email I recieved and would like to SHARE with you ALL:
Folks,For those who don't know, Netflix is a company that distributes DVDs by mail to millions of subscribers. It's a great service.
About 18 months ago, they also started offering a service that would deliver
content to your computer or television, via the Internet, that you could
start watching virtually immediately. This method of delivery is,
unquestionably, the wave of the future. Unfortunately, these streaming
videos contain none of the subtitle or caption information present on almost
every DVD out there.
A recent article on a financial blog is making waves in the captioning and
deaf blogospheres. At a sparsely attended annual shareholder¹s meeting, the
author asked Netflix's CEO, Reed Hastings, about the lack of captioning.
Hastings basically said they don¹t care about the issue that much, and when
everyone else has captions, they¹ll add captions.
Nice answer, huh?
Anyway, here's a link to the original post. CLICK HERE
I couldn¹t find an email for Hastings, or for other senior managers at
Netflix, but this is the sort of issue where public pressure can make a
difference. If you have a Netflix subscription, consider canceling, and when
they ask, tell them why. If you¹re considering a Netflix subscription, think
twice.
As a community that relies on captioning, I refuse to support a company that
refuses to support us. Just my two cents...
Michael Kaplan
HLA Los Angeles
FOR YOUR INFORMATION(FYI)- Consumer organizations are writing letters about this, and it is important that individual consumers write letters as well. Your individual letters will help in advocacy efforts. If you are a member, say so. If you intend to be a member, say what you need. Here is the address:
Reed Hastings
Chief Executive Officer & President
Netflix, Inc
100 Winchester Circle
Los Gatos, CA 95032
I thought this was a great email to post!!!!! PLEASE PLEASE for those of you that dont know about this situation and use NETFLIX PLEASE WRITE LETTERS!!! This is the ONLY WAY**** OUR VOICES WILL BE HEARD.
Thanks
Smile-Hugs,
Danielle
Folks,For those who don't know, Netflix is a company that distributes DVDs by mail to millions of subscribers. It's a great service.
About 18 months ago, they also started offering a service that would deliver
content to your computer or television, via the Internet, that you could
start watching virtually immediately. This method of delivery is,
unquestionably, the wave of the future. Unfortunately, these streaming
videos contain none of the subtitle or caption information present on almost
every DVD out there.
A recent article on a financial blog is making waves in the captioning and
deaf blogospheres. At a sparsely attended annual shareholder¹s meeting, the
author asked Netflix's CEO, Reed Hastings, about the lack of captioning.
Hastings basically said they don¹t care about the issue that much, and when
everyone else has captions, they¹ll add captions.
Nice answer, huh?
Anyway, here's a link to the original post. CLICK HERE
I couldn¹t find an email for Hastings, or for other senior managers at
Netflix, but this is the sort of issue where public pressure can make a
difference. If you have a Netflix subscription, consider canceling, and when
they ask, tell them why. If you¹re considering a Netflix subscription, think
twice.
As a community that relies on captioning, I refuse to support a company that
refuses to support us. Just my two cents...
Michael Kaplan
HLA Los Angeles
FOR YOUR INFORMATION(FYI)- Consumer organizations are writing letters about this, and it is important that individual consumers write letters as well. Your individual letters will help in advocacy efforts. If you are a member, say so. If you intend to be a member, say what you need. Here is the address:
Reed Hastings
Chief Executive Officer & President
Netflix, Inc
100 Winchester Circle
Los Gatos, CA 95032
I thought this was a great email to post!!!!! PLEASE PLEASE for those of you that dont know about this situation and use NETFLIX PLEASE WRITE LETTERS!!! This is the ONLY WAY**** OUR VOICES WILL BE HEARD.
Thanks
Smile-Hugs,
Danielle
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