Amendment # 1:
that individual voting privileges be extended to the spouse/significant other of a person who is a paid member of SHHH national, if that spouse/significant other is an active participant in Derbytown/SHHH meetings and socials.

Amendment # 2:
To amend point 4 of Article VI - Officers to read: 4. Additional officers: editor, web master, Public Relations Director, committee chairs, Indiana representative shall be appointed by the new board and shall become voting members of the Governing Board. The Committee Chairs and the Indiana Representative may be elected by their appropriate constituents/members upon the request of the Governing Board.

(Note that "Public Relations Director" has been inserted as an additional appointed officer.) and further down in the by-laws, to add the duties of the Public Relations Director as follows 10. Public Relations Director a. Shall report to the President and act in agreement with the President on needs for PR. b. Shall establish contacts in the media for publicizing meetings, socials and whatever functions are deemed by the chapter to need publicity. c. Shall write/speak for the chapter with the President's approval when needed.

Amendment # 3:
To amend Article VI - Officers further to add "m." to the list of duties of the president. This isn't an additional duty - but it makes it clear that the state fair booth is state effort run by the coordinators. m. Shall support the State Coordinator/s in their efforts to produce the Kentucky State Fair SHHH booth, by supplying membership volunteers. Mary Lee is directed to add these to our By-Laws that are on line.

WHAT SELF HELP FOR HARD OF HEARING MEANS TO THOSE WHO DON’T HEAR WELL
By Betty Coombs, SHHH member since March 1987

Howard E. Stone was a CIA spy and worked many years for Government in this capacity. He was sent all over the world to do his job and had to cope with many languages customs, and laws. When his hearing began to disintegrate the work he loved was becoming difficult and he faced many years of trying to get along without hearing. Finding that there were few opportunities for him to meet with others in groups where he could hear and understand what was being said, he wondered if others had the same problems. So, SHHH was born in his cellar in Bethesda, MD. SHHH is for hard of hearing People to get together and socialize and learn how to cope with the problems that hearing loss entails. It is a place where everyone knows and understands your predicament and sympathizes. Being with others with the same problem is relaxing.

When words need to be repeated, they are not just repeated they are reworded to be more easily understood. Everyone knows that some words just don’t work for us. They do look like anything that applies to the subject so they must be reworded. Everyone relies on lip-reading to some extent but lip-reading can be very inefficient. Too many words look alike on the lips.

SHHH people know how annoying it is to hearing people to constantly be asked to repeat. Fortunately, other SHHH members understand and are very patient. We are all familiar with the rude and hurtful words, “forget it, it wasn’t important” and “never mind, I’ll tell you later”. These are things you never hear at a SHHH meeting. Assistive Listening Devices (ALDs), hearing aids, cochlear implants do not give a hard of hearing person perfect hearing. Sometimes they provide pretty good hearing, but they are not all that good. The best we can say is that ALDS give us a better hearing. Hearing loss affects people in many different ways. What works for one person, may not work for others. An FM system may work for one and not another.

Another factor to consider when criticizing is the process of aging. Most hard of hearing people have progressive hearing loss so that what works today may not work tomorrow. That is true for young people as well as the elderly. The atmosphere has a lot to do with how well you can hear. There are rooms in buildings that have acoustic areas that are not conducive to hearing well. Speech is carried on airwaves and in an airless room sounds are not carried as well. Hard walls, floors, furniture etc, make sounds bounce so that sounds are just confusing and very difficult to understand. With hearing aids and other ALDS, selective speech is not possible. Normal hearing is selective and can shut out background noise but hearing aids tend to amplify those sounds and make it very difficult to understand what people are saying.

There are reasons why it is preferable to have SHHH Hard of Hearing members select a venue for a meeting rather than a hearing person. A meeting in a noisy environment is a very trying situation for anyone relying on a hearing aid to know what is going on.

SHHH is a gathering of people who understand the needs and comfort of people who do not hear well. Hearing people may find it hard to understand why quiet is so necessary for background and one to one speech is necessary. Hearing people today tend to speak very quickly often slurring their words and they all speak at the same time, constantly interrupting each other. Such as at a family gathering where most are hearing. Slower speech one person at a time, in a moderate tone and good pronunciation is old-fashioned and seldom used. Good conversation used to be where everyone voiced his or her opinion, without interruption, in a well-modulated tone and much information was thus passed on. I miss those days.

Betty Coombs
Vice President
INLAND EMPIRE CHAPTER
Beaumont, CA

Some how, some way you discovered SHHH and Derbytown. Perhaps you found us by chance or perhaps you struggled alone for years. Nevertheless, you found friendship, information and support. You found that you were not alone and you discovered new technology that helps you.

SHHH was available because one man (Rocky Stone) opened his home to other HOH people. Derbytown was available because four women sat down together to talk about their hearing loss. Ultimately, they reached out to you.

I am asking you now, that if you have been helped by SHHH or Derbytown in any way, to consider those who have not heard of us. I am asking that you consider all of the Hard of Hearing people in Kentuckiana. I am asking that you support our Kentucky State Fair Outreach. Please understand this is not a membership drive. This is a program to educate Kentuckiana about HOH issues and resources. Our goal is just to help people become aware and to open new doors.

We need your financial and physical support now! We need a contribution of $5, $10, $20 or more from you as soon as possible. We need you to volunteer some of your time at our fair booth. Others stepped forward for you. Will you step forward for others.

Send your tax free donation to: Derbytown SHHH
P.O. Box 8150
Louisville, KY 40257-8150
Volunteers: Contact Mary Lee

Nominations Committee: It is time to begin thinking about who our new officers will be. Mary Lee Nelson has agreed to chair our nominations committee. Please volunteer to run for an office. Mary Lee

Self Help for Hard of Hearing People
7910 Woodmont Avenue, Suite 1200
Bethesda, MD 20814
(301) 657-2248
June 16, 2005
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SHHH applauds FCC decision on wireless phone accessibility
Late last week, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) affirmed its commitment to ensuring people with hearing loss have cell phones that they can use. In response to requests for reconsideration of the rules the FCC retained some rules, modified some, and asked for further comments on others. The FCC required Tier 1 carriers (the largest five companies) to make available 4 or 25 % hearing aid compatible phones by September 18, 2005 and five the following year. By 2008, 50% of cell phones offered by Tier 1 carriers should be hearing aid compatible.

In an effort to find common ground with the wireless industry, SHHH worked together with the Wireless Association (CTIA) to develop a package of offerings that will hopefully reduce consumer confusion in finding an appropriate cell phone and give them a range of options. The consumer-industry agreement will help create a reasonable selection of phones at a wide range of prices. Consumers will be allowed to test the phones in–store before making a purchase. Combined with the flexible return policy that allows real world testing for thirty days, this agreement will give consumers more chances to find a phone that they can use. Further, CTIA member companies agreed to promote the hearing aid accessible phones using their own in-store displays.

"To stay competitive, no telecommunications company can ignore the huge group of people with hearing loss in the United States. That market is 28 million today, and is predicted to reach 78 million by 2030," said Brenda Battat, associate executive director of SHHH, who has worked on cell phones accessibility since 1995. "Hearing aid and cochlear implant users will have a better experience shopping for a cell phone starting this fall – thanks to a new kind of collaborative effort between consumers and industry. Finally, people with hearing loss will have more freedom and mobility with cell phones."

As manufacturers assume responsibility for creating accessible technology and carriers comply with the hearing aid compatibility rules, the consumer complaints that preceded this ruling may not be as necessary in the future. A recent effort by CTIA to eliminate the in-store testing rule led to a massive response in FCC Commissioner Michael Copps' office. "We heard from consumers across the country about the importance of one of our rules in particular, the rule that requires retailers to make in-store testing of hearing aid compatible phones available upon request," he said in a prepared statement. "We wisely decide to maintain this rule today, and explore whether we should extend it to retailers that are not owned or operated by wireless carriers."

Cellular phones were originally exempt from the Hearing Aid Compatibility Act of 1988, and consumer advocates have had to fight long and hard to achieve even the level of access that they have today. In a prepared statement, FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein said that as a regulator, he has been guided in making decisions by "one key principle: that the public interest means securing access to communications for everyone, including those the market may leave behind."

For more information, contact Brenda Battat).
To find a hearing loss advocate in your area go to: http://www.hearingloss.org/StateChap/states_and_chapters.html For the complete FCC ruling, go to www.fcc.gov and scroll down to "FCC Reaffirms Rules for Hearing Aid Compatible Digital Wireless Telephones" (posted 6/9/05).

info@hearingloss.org

301-657-2249 TTY

From the Desk of Brenda Battat, Director of Public Policy and States Development

We need you to join or renew your membership

* Better access to affordable hearing aids, cochlear implants and other technology for all who can benefit

* Telephones designed to work with hearing aids and cochlear implants

* Assistive technology and programs complying with disability rights laws and providing accessibility in public and private facilities, workplaces, and state and local governments

* More captioned movies in neighborhood theaters

* Improve quality of captioned TV and meeting FCC captioning regulations timetable

* Strengthen federal requirements for accessible air travel including appropriate screening procedures

* Roll-out nationwide a captioned telephone service

* Improve access to and the effectiveness of hearing health services

* Increase grant funding for the training of more captioners

* Enhance funding for infant hearing screening programs and follow-up care

* Strengthen standards for visual and audible fire alarms

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Benefits of SHHH Membership
1. Self Help for Hard of Hearing People, Inc. is THE voice for all people with hearing loss. (A large constituency gives them credibility and contacts.)
2. Information is brought to members through Hearing Loss: The Journal of Self Help for Hard of Hearing People.
3. The National Convention provides education and access to vendors and exhibitors.
4. Support through local chapters and online information.
5. Discounts on books, resource materials, convention fees and special promotions
6. Advocacy efforts
7. Surveys, courses and special events.
8. Fellowship and support.
9. Personal Networking.




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Map of Briar Hill for August picnic Note this is on 22, in Oldham Co., east of the Snyder



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Map of meeting place



Derbytown SHHH is affiliated with SHHH National, which is headquartered in Bethesda MD. It is a volunteer international organization of hard of hearing people, their family and friends, and professionals who want to develop an acceptance of the needs of hard of hearing people. SHHH is a non-profit, non-sectarian, educational group devoted to the welfare and interests of those who cannot hear well but are committed to participating in a hearing world. Meetings are free and open to the public and take place at 6:30 p.m. on the second Tuesday of each month at the Louisville Free Public Library, 301 York St., Louisville KY, where parking is free after 6 p.m. Occasionally we meet at other places or at other times for different activities. On those occasions, you will be notified of the change through this newsletter. Real time captioning is used at the meetings.