CONNECT is the quarterly ENews and annual Newsletter of the Hearing, Speech & Deafness Center. You can subscribe to CONNECT by providing an email address. Please include your postal address if you would like to receive the annual Newsletter by mail.

HSDC has been selected as the point of contact by Seattle King County Public Health (SKCPH) to forward emergency information to Deaf, Deaf- Blind and hard of hearing people. Organizations serving these populations in King County and the surrounding areas, as well as individuals, can join this database by providing an email address.

A new generation facing hearing loss also has new options. According to a new survey by the Better Hearing Institute, as many as one in two Americans over the age of 50 has a hearing loss. A six-year study by the House Ear Institute found that Baby Boomers in particular may be contributing to an increase in early hearing loss due to their excessive exposure to loud rock music.

HSDC recently sent an audiologist to join leading hearing care professionals from across the United States at a conference on Baby Boomers and hearing loss in Copenhagen, Denmark. The conference explored attitudes and issues surrounding hearing loss among this new generation, and looked at the latest high tech hearing solutions designed with tech-savvy, style conscious Baby Boomers in mind.

Many people in the 40-plus generation resist addressing hearing loss, often waiting until the hearing loss is seriously affecting their quality of life. For Baby Boomers who expect to continue working or plan to stay socially active, untreated hearing loss negatively impacts work situations and relationships and can drastically affect future employment prospects. But now, new hearing devices are changing the perception of what it means to have a hearing loss. HSDC’s audiology staff are among the first hearing care professionals to learn about the new Oticon Delta, a revolutionary design in hearing devices that looks more like a high tech fashion accessory than a hearing instrument.

“This is definitely a refreshing change in hearing aid options, combining cosmetics, comfort and performance” explained one audiologist. “Oticon Delta doesn’t look at all like a traditional hearing aid. It has a fashionable, high tech appearance and a streamlined shape, make it comfortable and discreet. Best of all, this trendy hearing device houses a state-of-theart computer sound processing technology, so it can give a significant improvement in speech comprehension even in noisy listening situations.”

Donna Platt, M.S., advocate for disaster preparedness in Washington State, received national recognition when she was awarded the James C. Marsters Promotion Award by Telecommunications for the Deaf. This prestigious award was given in recognition of her outstanding efforts to promote access to and involvement in emergency preparedness activities by Deaf and hard of hearing people in the state of Washington. Donna developed guidelines for service providers working with Deaf, Deaf-Blind, hard of hearing, and speech challenged clients on 9-1-1 services and compiled a workbook for a telecommunications cultural training program offered for credit by the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission. She also developed a “TTY User’s Guide to 9-1-1” booklet which was also translated to large print, Braille, and Spanish.

The Hearing, Speech & Deafness Center is proud to be a member of the Pacific Northwest Communication Consortium (PNCC). The PNCC is made up of four nonprofit organizations - HSDC (Seattle), the Eugene Hearing & Speech Center (Eugene), the Hearing & Speech Institute (Portland), and the Meadowood Springs Speech & Hearing Camp (Pendleton). We share a common mission of serving the citizens of the Pacific Northwest facing speech, language and hearing challenges that affect their communication.

While each member of the PNCC is an independent agency, we are tied together by the common goal of providing the very best services to our clients and to our communities.