Learn about the exciting medical breakthrough that was recently featured on “The Doctors” TV show that offers hope to the millions of people suffering from tinnitus or ringing in the ears.

Curtis Amann, director of Clinical Distribution for Neuromonics, will be a special guest lecturer at Perkins restaurants throughout the area next week to discuss the treatment program that helped more than 80 percent of Tinnitus sufferers in a Duke University study finally find relief from ringing ears.

The series is sponsored by Southwest Florida Tinnitus and Hearing Center and Hoglund Family Hearing and Audiology Center.

Curtis was recently a guest on “The Doctors” and will discuss this treatment Monday in Bonita Springs, Tuesday in Fort Myers, Wednesday in Naples, and Thursday in Estero. Please call 992-4327 for exact locations and times, and to make your reservation. Visit www.hoglundfamilyhearing.com for more information.

Article source: http://www.news-press.com/article/20120518/NEWS0102/120518010/1214/COASTAL_LIFE/Guest-lecturer-speak-about-tinnitus-treatment-next-week-Southwest-Florida?odyssey=nav%7Chead

By
Liz Jones

PUBLISHED:

21:22 GMT, 19 May 2012

|

UPDATED:

21:22 GMT, 19 May 2012

I don’t know when I became deaf. There wasn’t a moment of realisation. No one spotted there was anything wrong: not parents or teachers. They thought I was shy. I thought I was stupid.

My world of blurry sounds, surprises and lack of understanding was normal. As a child, I had several painful ear infections. I sat up all night with a warm flannel and hot tears but no one thought to investigate. I caught measles, badly, aged 11. No alarms went off but if they had, I wouldn’t have heard them.

Fast-forward 40-odd years and I’m in Specsavers in Exeter, in a room at the back called a Hearing Centre. And even though I’ve lived with being unable to hear properly for a very long time, today is the worst day by far – the one that makes me realise I’m disabled.

Life transforming: Liz Jones thought using a hearing aid might change her life, but would bitterly disappointed with the polyphonic world

The audiologist is showing me my two hearing aids. I’d expected them to be almost invisible but the one for the right ear is red, the left is blue.

The tip – the bit that will be seen by others as it nestles in the canal of my ear – is flesh-coloured, like something someone very old would wear. A tiny aerial protrudes from each. I’m told I also need a special device fitted to my mobile phone, otherwise I will get nasty feedback. I start to feel tearful.

‘Now,’ says the audiologist sitting next to a graph of my hearing and adjusting each device while I hold them in my hot hands. ‘If you leave them in the box with the battery in, the battery will run out. It will last only five or six days, anyway.’

I now feel like Mrs Richards in Fawlty Towers. ‘And they will whistle if you shut them away without taking the battery out first. They will whistle to warn you the battery is about to run out.’

Visible: The hearing aids are colour coordinated – the one for the right ear is red, the left is blue

I am going to whistle. This is a disaster. ‘What will I hear that I can’t hear now?’ I ask him. ‘Um, crickets?’ he said. Useful.

‘And you have to be very careful about hygiene.’ He shows me little brushes and pokey wire things, as if I have just taken possession of a tobacco pipe rather than a £5,000 digital device.

I have to use these to clean the aids each night as ‘the ear, thinking it is being invaded by a foreign object, will produce extra wax. So you have to clean your ears carefully’.

A lot of extra wax. I am going to have seeping ears and on top of that will whistle at inopportune moments. I will have to take my aids out at night and clean them, like false teeth. I can’t do this.

I have become used to being deaf. I manage. I know situations I can cope with, and those I can’t. I can go to the cinema as it’s so loud, but I gave up on theatre in 1982.

As a teenager out in a crowd, I couldn’t follow conversations so I just sat on the periphery, mute. I can’t talk to anyone in the passenger seat when I’m driving as I can’t see their mouth to lip-read.

As I lip-read a lot, I tend not to meet anyone for dinner somewhere dark. I remember on an early date with my future husband (I didn’t tell him I was deaf), we sat in a garden in Tuscany, talking. As it got darker, I became more and more deaf – he thought I was drunk.

When I became a boss on a magazine in 1990, I always kept a keen junior by my side who would translate. As an editor in 1998, during meetings my PA would sit at my elbow, telling me all that was going on, sometimes passing notes.

I avoid situations that floor me. Parties, dinner parties and anything in the gloom. But sometimes I have to show up because of my job. When I was asked to interview the designer Barbara Hulanicki and told by her PA that the venue would be the Wolseley in London’s Piccadilly, my hands started to sweat.

Big, noisy brasseries are my nemesis and I was forced to sit opposite her, desperately trying to read her mouth. It was only later when I read the transcript of the interview (I employ someone to do this for me) that I understood a word.

At a leaving dinner for a colleague not long ago, I couldn’t hear a word of the speeches. The super-bright companion on my right, whom I’d never met (I’m better with people I know well, as it takes time to ‘tune in’), must have thought I was insane, as I kept having vague stabs at answering him.

He soon, thank goodness, turned to his right and left me in my stew of half-caught gossip and jokes that for me never ever have a punchline.

Shock to the system: Being fitted with the hearing aids meant Liz Jones would need time to become accustomed to the extra noise and physical reaction to having an object in her ear

But faced with the man in Specsavers, I realise I quite enjoy quiet my world, in a way. It has defined who I am: definitely not a show-off. Being deaf has also made me discriminating: can I really be bothered to sit opposite that person for four hours? When you have to ask for something to be repeated, and stare at their lips, and puzzle, you have to be pretty damn sure that what is going to come out of their mouth is interesting.

I know I flatten jokes and kill the mood. Being deaf is isolating. It has made me seem more irritable than I really am. I have to concentrate all the time, which means I’m never laughing or nonchalant.

Unlike a person in a wheelchair or the blind, the deaf seem to antagonise everyone around them, who then shout and get exasperated.

On assignment in Africa, the photographer, having watched me conducting interviews with refugees using my two translators (one to talk to the starving Somali mums and translate their replies into English, another to translate his heavily accented words to me), said: ‘I wonder how you can do your job at all. You’re hopeless.’

Being deaf is dangerous, too. Out on my horse, I can’t hear if a car or tractor is coming (thank God I had laser eye surgery only a few years ago. My sight was almost destroyed by measles, too). In Paris not long ago, I was almost run over.

So, finally, I decided I would at least investigate the options, find out just how compromised I really am. I went to Specsavers for a hearing test.

I wore earphones while a lovely woman called Sofia Patel played a series of sounds in each ear. I thought I was doing well, pressing buttons when I heard a beep, until she showed me the graph of my hearing on her screen.

Difficulties: Being hard of hearing meant Liz Jones avoided situations such as parties, dinner parties and anything in the gloom

Each ear was exactly the same, with a rapidly descending arc. She told me I have no hearing at all in the higher register of decibels: these are sounds such as consonants, which is why I always think people are mumbling.

I have ‘severe’ hearing loss. The only stage worse is ‘profound’: someone who is completely deaf.

Sofia was also able to answer a question that has plagued me for years. Why do I go completely deaf in stressful situations, such as when I’m lost and asking directions?

She said it was because when I am stressed, my brain is occupied with coping. Blood supply to my brain goes elsewhere – to my limbs and lungs. And so my brain can no longer fill in the blanks of what I’m hearing. It’s self-perpetuating.

Holding the printout of my hearing is strangely comforting. I now realise I didn’t understand the plot of a certain film not because I’m stupid but due to the fact I’m deaf.

I had thought I’d walk away with my aids there and then, but nothing in my life is that simple. First I must have my ears vacuumed by my GP so the canal is clean. I return a week later to have a mould made of my ear canal, so that the aids can be custom-made.

A couple of weeks later still, I’m in that terrible room in Exeter being told I will whistle and secrete gunk. The aids are put in. My head feels full, as though I’m under water. The audiologist’s voice sounds tinny. ‘That’s normal,’ he says. ‘You are hearing the upper registers.’ I am also told that I will not be able to hear normally for some time. ‘For every year you have been deaf, it will take a month to adjust. Your brain has to learn how to listen.

‘You have to learn to blot out background noise, and hear only what’s important.’ This is called ‘auditory rehabilitation’.

I tell him I only want to wear the aids when out riding and when doing an interview. I don’t want to be disabled and wear something flesh-coloured. What if I’m on a date and get nuzzled? (Not likely, but still . . .)

‘It doesn’t work like that,’ he says. ‘You have to wear them for a couple of hours each day and increase the time incrementally. After a week, you must wear them all the time, taking them out only in the shower and in bed. Your brain won’t adapt otherwise.’

I tell him I don’t want them. ‘But if you leave getting an aid until you are almost completely deaf, your brain will never adapt. You will exist in total silence,’ he replies.

I start to hate him. I have to return in a couple of weeks to have them adjusted (ie turned up a bit, as 100 per cent hearing will come as a shock if it happens all at once).

I go home, the aids lurking in their  box. Specsavers has helped change the way people see spectacles: they are now a fashion item, designed by Armani and Prada. It wants the same thing to happen to hearing aids, but they’ll never be made by Tom Ford.

Back home, I put them in. I keep putting them in upside-down. I watch Now, Voyager, which is too old to have subtitles. I still can’t understand a word. Maybe I’m stupid after all. I can hear my own voice, though, and it sounds, apparently, as others hear me. I hate it and so talk even less.

I can’t eat wearing an aid as the crunching is deafening. Walking my dogs, the wind whistles so loudly that I feel as though I’m at sea. But I  persevere. Barring a hairdresser on a photoshoot, who knocks one of them out by mistake, no one notices the devices. After two weeks, I’m watching TV without subtitles.

Lunch with a colleague in a brasserie is slightly easier, but I still need to  lip-read, though the hearing-aid man says it will get better. Later, I go out for dinner with a friend. As she kisses me goodbye, she says, ‘Well done, Lizzie. That was so much more fun!’

But still, I don’t know that the world is worth hearing. Maybe birdsong, which has come as a revelation. But chatter and gossip? Loud beeping from impatient male drivers behind me? Muzak in lifts? All these sounds are now like uninvited guests in my brain. I prefer my quiet, soft bubble in a way. Being deaf is who I am.

• lspecsavers.co.uk / hearing

• 
  UNCOVERED: The foxy face of the irate hunt saboteur in THAT…
  
• 
  Noisy sex couple become internet hit after fed-up neighbour…
  
• 
  Voodoo, violence and a mysterious death: Heartbroken parents…
  
• 
  Mother’s fury after Facebook BANS her for posting pictures…
  
• 
  Doctors accidentally tear baby’s head off as mother…
  
• 
  Moment cyclist buys homeless man rummaging through bin for…
  
• 
  Graphic film about European women sex tourists and African…
  
• 
  ‘Facelift in a bottle’: Woman’s bizarre contraption ‘wipes…
  
• 
  ‘I could die any second’: Girl, 16, given weeks to live when…
  
• 
  Who DID pour petrol through their letterbox? Little bodies…
  
• 
  They really were the fabulous Fifties: Decade of Liz Taylor…
  
• 
  France’s newest first lady wears vertiginous heels to try…
  

Share this article:

Article source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2146859/If-sounds-like-Id-deaf-Liz-Jones-new-polyphonic-world-hearing-aids-overpowering.html

Clive Muir, the fiancé of reality TV star, Tanisha Thomas, has a hearing impairment that has worsened over the last five years. The docu-series follows Clive to the audiologist’s office, where he is assessed and fitted with ReSound hearing aids.

“Oxygen contacted us and asked us if we would be willing to donate hearing instruments and fitting services to the show,” said Kevin Mensink, VP of Marketing, ReSound. “Having ReSound hearing aids featured on Oxygen is great exposure for our brand. It’s important that the public is aware that hearing loss does occur in young people and that hearing instruments are simple, practical solutions that can completely transform a person’s quality of life.”

ReSound partnered with its customer, Family Hearing Center in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, to assess Clive’s hearing and fit him with the best hearing aids for his condition. Audiologist Joanne Rosenberg selected ReSound Alera 9 RIE hearing aids.

“When ReSound approached me and asked if I would like to be involved, I was very excited by the prospect,” said Joanne Rosenberg, audiologist at Family Hearing Center. “Clive visited my clinic with the Oxygen crew and filmed the entire hearing assessment and fitting process.”

“Tanisha Gets Married” airs on Mondays at 10 PM ET/PT on Oxygen. For more information, visit http://tanisha-gets-married.oxygen.com/

About ReSound
ReSound is an industry technology leader in hearing solutions. Since the company’s inception in 1943, ReSound has been responsible for a number of hearing industry firsts, including Wide Dynamic Range Compression (WDRC), Digital Feedback Suppression (DFS), and the first open-standard digital chip. GN ReSound is part of The GN ReSound Group, one of the world’s largest providers of hearing instruments and diagnostic audiological instrumentation. http://www.gnresound.com

Article source: http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/resound-donates-hearing-aids-to-oxygen-docu-series-tanisha-gets-married-1657079.htm

When I ask readers about things that they desperately need but have a hard time paying for, they mention items that really are essential, such as hearing aids for themselves or for a hearing-impaired loved one.

Yes, hearing aids can cost thousands of dollars.

Thank goodness insurance and government programs take care of most children who need devices to help them hear, but most adults are not covered in any way.

“Less than 8 percent of the people we see are covered by a third-party payer,” said Dr. Bill Dickinson, an assistant professor at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and the hearing-aid product line manager at Vanderbilt’s Bill Wilkerson Center.

Dickinson has been working with several local groups to make the process of getting help easier for low-income people with hearing loss. He is one of the key players in HEAR Nashville, a consortium that includes the Bill Wilkerson Center, the Sertoma Club, the Nashville chapter of the Hearing Loss Association of America, the audiology program at Tennessee State University and Bridges to Hearing, a local advocacy group.

To be clear, in most cases, HEAR Nashville does not provide free hearing aids, but rather it works as a facilitator to try to guide people with hearing issues to resources and programs, locally and nationally, that can provide medical screenings and fittings, as well as help pay for devices and repairs.

“The idea was to consolidate resources and work together to find grants and help people through the process,’’ said Dickinson. “Because cost is such an issue, we have seen so many people walk away because of inability to pay.” He quoted statistics that say that in Middle Tennessee, 28,000 people with hearing loss live below the poverty level.

The way the program works is people call HEAR Nashville’s call center, which is housed at Bridges to Hearing, and volunteers (primarily audiology students from Vanderbilt) try to determine which program they might qualify for and direct them there.

TSU does a lot of the diagnostic testing; Bill Wilkerson does the fitting, programming and followup; Sertoma provides some financial support to pay for application fees and sometimes part of the hearing aid cost; and the Hearing Loss Association provides other support to the patients.

“One call starts the process,’’ said Dickinson.

Proof of income is the starting point, he said, that could lead to a “value line” aid that could cost about $975 because of subsidies, or even a free hearing aid with a $125 application fee.

The thinking is that many of these people cannot come up with the $1,300-$3,000 that a private-pay hearing aid might cost, but they may be able to swing a couple of hundred dollars with some subsidized help from grants and other sources and an easy-pay plan.

Dickinson said the high price of hearing devices is clearly the No. 1 barrier to getting help to people with hearing loss, but there are other complications and frustrations.

“It is easy to screen (for hearing loss), but managing the process is another matter. You might have a patient who doesn’t speak English, doesn’t have transportation, and they need to be walked through a nine-page application process that includes submitting 8-10 months of financial history,’’ he said, noting that one of the best parts of the HEAR program is that the volunteers are trained to facilitate all of that so that he and the other doctors and hearing professionals can do the fitting and assessing.

“It is sort of like social work support,’’ Dickinson said.

The model, which is apparently unique, is definitely working: In 2011, the HEAR Nashville volunteers fielded 430 calls, and doctors fitted more than 300 hearing aids for low-income people.

“This is consistent with the 62-year tradition of the Bill Wilkerson Center,” Dickinson said.

An added benefit is that his students get first-hand experience giving back to the community. “They see us doing it, not just talking about it,” he said.

“The bigger dream picture is not for Vanderbilt to do this alone, but to take it out to our private practice colleagues” and get more professionals involved as referrals through the HEAR Nashville program. “The idea is that people can be seen in their communities.”

Personally, I can’t imagine how isolating and difficult it would be to not be able to hear, and then to feel like there was no solution within reach. So I am glad to see this dream at work through this developing program that can make hearing aids affordable to more people.

Stay cheap!

Article source: http://www.tennessean.com/article/20120519/COLUMNIST0401/305190001/Ms-Cheap-Group-helps-make-hearing-aids-affordable

Learn about the exciting medical breakthrough that was recently featured on “The Doctors” TV show that offers hope to the millions of people suffering from tinnitus or ringing in the ears.

Curtis Amann, director of Clinical Distribution for Neuromonics, will be a special guest lecturer at Perkins restaurants throughout the area next week to discuss the treatment program that helped more than 80 percent of Tinnitus sufferers in a Duke University study finally find relief from ringing ears.

The series is sponsored by Southwest Florida Tinnitus and Hearing Center and Hoglund Family Hearing and Audiology Center.

Curtis was recently a guest on “The Doctors” and will discuss this treatment Monday in Bonita Springs, Tuesday in Fort Myers, Wednesday in Naples, and Thursday in Estero. Please call 992-4327 for exact locations and times, and to make your reservation. Visit www.hoglundfamilyhearing.com for more information.

Article source: http://www.news-press.com/article/20120518/NEWS0102/120518010/1115/NEWS0119/Guest-lecturer-speak-about-tinnitus-treatment-next-week-Southwest-Florida?odyssey=nav%7Chead

By Alistair Gray, Insurance Correspondent

Article source: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/f666741c-a0e3-11e1-9fbd-00144feabdc0.html?ftcamp=published_links%2Frss%2Fworld_uk_politics%2Ffeed%2F%2Fproduct

Audiologist Jeffrey Switzer has to do some sleuthing to find the right hearing aid for his clients.

“It’s a bit like Sherlock Holmes,” says Switzer, who runs Global Hearing Aid Clinic on Yonge Street at Lawrence Avenue W.

Switzer says not all hearing aid devices are created equally and work differently depending on the size of the room and the number of people in the space.

“If they don’t tell you and you don’t ask, then you don’t know and what happens later is that you’ve got a hearing aid that’s going to last four, five years and then in the first year they’re changing their environment and now the hearing aid doesn’t work — what are you going to do?” he says. “So you have to plan for the future as well. That’s the fun part of what I do is looking at all that stuff.”

Through the process, he says he’s found out before his patients made a purchase that they actually needed a very different model, such as the case for a client who had a very quiet lifestyle but was moving into a retirement residence in the coming month.

“Now they’re having dinner with 30 to 50 to 100 other residents, three times a day, which is like being in a busy restaurant for three hours a day,” he says. “You actually need a pretty fancy noise controlling hearing aid to handle that stuff and give you a better sound quality.”

Switzer says one of the biggest misconceptions surrounding hearing aids is people often think they’re only for old people. In reality he says it isn’t the case and his clients are as young as two years old.

<!–/*
* The backup image section of this tag has been generated for use on a
* non-SSL page. If this tag is to be placed on an SSL page, change the
* 'http://com.diversitymediaservices.com/openx/www/delivery/…'
* to
* 'https://com.diversitymediaservices.com/openx/www/delivery/…'
*
* This noscript section of this tag only shows image banners. There
* is no width or height in these banners, so if you want these tags to
* allocate space for the ad before it shows, you will need to add this
* information to the tag.
*
* If you do not want to deal with the intricities of the noscript
* section, delete the tag (from … to ). On
* average, the noscript tag is called from less than 1% of internet
* users.
*/–>

“I have lots of preteens,” he says. “I have teenagers as clients and certainly working age, the 20 to 65 is actually the majority of my business and of course 65 plus you can guarantee you have some hearing loss and probably it should be treated for sure.”

Before going to school in the field, Switzer says he worked in architecture, which he says still comes in handy today to help people comprehend why they can’t hear in certain rooms.

“If you understand architecture and acoustic properties of rooms and all of the sound and energy and things that go well into hearing in those spaces you can help them understand,” he says. “The good thing is my generation, which is the tail end of the baby boomers, we do see things a little differently and I’m starting to see that change in the industry. We’re more willing to say, ‘Hmm, something’s not right about our hearing, what can we do about it?’ ”

Switzer says the clinic offers services ranging from hearing tests and device fittings to consultations and follow-up services. He hopes to build lifelong relationships with his clients.

“Hopefully what they realize when they come in here is that they become part of a family almost, where they are welcome any time that they need help,” he says.

Reflecting on the last decade of running his own business, he says one of the biggest changes is how hearing aids are much better than they used to be.

He says every day on the job is rewarding as he gets to help people and enjoys working for himself and not responsible to anyone else other than his patients.  

“Every single patient is different even if on paper they look the same,” he says. “They all have their own needs and their own values on things so you have to work with each patient and get them to the point where they need to be.”

Article source: http://www.mytowncrier.ca/more-to-hearing-aids-than-meets-the-ear.html

A Boardman doctor is giving people with hearing problems the chance to hear these things. The Centers for Hearing Care fitted 22 people with hearing aids free of charge on Friday. Each device costs approximately $2,500.

Joe Wright was on of those fitted. First, Dr Holly Reinke ran some noises through Wright’s ear.

Before Friday, he could only hear partial words and has always had a problem hearing his wife talk if she’s in another room. With his new hearing aids in, she put him to the test, asking him a question from the hallway.

Wright heard his wife just fine, but still had to go through a few more sound tests to set the levels in his ear, including a phone test.

After getting the hearing aids, Wright said he could hear just about everything and is looking forward to the small things in life.

“To be able to hear what’s going on TV, especially when they’re whispering real quiet and you can’t hear. Or hear someone in the other room in my house,” Wright said.

In 1999, the Centers for Hearing Care started international trips to help those with hearing problems. This is the first time it has given away free hearing aids to people in the Valley who qualified.

“It’s a great feeling. I mean, we get out of bed in the morning, and we’re excited to come here because we know we’re going to change someone’s life,” said Dr. Sheryl Figliano of the Centers for Hearing Care. “Not everyone is as fortunate maybe as you are in one way or another, and it’s just important to pay back, and it just makes the community a much better place.”

Recipients had to qualify for the free hearing aids. Wright said he’s thankful for the service because he never would have been able to afford it on his own.

“I’m happy with it,” Wright said.

Article source: http://www.wytv.com/content/news/local/story/Boardman-Doctor-Distributes-Free-Hearing-Aids/eJQN0E44y0-q8gBW8uB82w.cspx

Have children evaluated

Pediatric hearing loss merits a full audiological evaluation and treatment plan. Good hearing is critical for speech, language and educational development.

Sudden loss needs attention

A significant, sudden (within two days) decline in hearing should be addressed immediately. If an infection is responsible, medicine may be prescribed. Untreated hearing loss could become permanent.

Most hearing loss is gradual

Hearing loss related to noise exposure usually occurs over years. By the time a person notices hearing difficulties, much of the damage is done.

Ear plugs have improved

Excuses to not wear ear plugs because of comfort or sound quality are no longer relevant. There are more than 100 styles of ear plugs, including plugs specially made for musicians, shooters, machine operators and children.

Give ears a break

The intensity and duration of exposure to noise — from iPods, concerts, motorcycles, car races, etc. — are what causes hearing loss. Taking breaks from noise can rest the ears.

Use it or lose it

If you experience hearing loss, get evaluated for a hearing aid. The longer the hearing system is “down,” the harder it is to get up and going.

Don’t live with ringing

If you experience tinnitus (ringing in the ears), an audiologist with tinnitus experience may offer solutions.

You get what you pay for

Free offers may not be the best route for persons with hearing loss. Patients should be sure that their hearing health care is being administered by an audiologist. In Illinois, audiologists must be licensed and have either a doctoral or master’s degree in audiology.

Aids are better

Today’s hearing aids — which range from $1,000 to $3,000 — are digital, computer programmable and discreet in size. Many interface with cell phones and televisions via Bluetooth technology. Some are waterproof. Others operate with rechargeable batteries that can last for more than a year.

Appreciate hearing

Like most things of value, we don’t appreciate our hearing until it’s diminished. Hearing connects us to family, friends and environment and alerts us to emergencies. Preserving it and restoring it is important.

Article source: http://www.pantagraph.com/top-things-to-know-about-hearing/article_ee50c1ee-a05f-11e1-a697-001a4bcf887a.html

Online communities for a variety of special interest groups, including the hearing impaired, exist to help connect like-minded individuals. If you or a family member is Deaf or has a hearing impairment, these communities may be an opportune place to find information about hearing loss and connect with others who are experiencing the same medical issues. Whether you’re looking for advice, romance, news on the latest technology, or just want to voice your opinion on hearing health-related matters, online communities for the hearing impaired can provide the opportunity. We’ve identified a few of the sites for your convenience.

Deaf.com: One of the oldest companies on the web, this site features Deafchat, where the deaf community can connect online, DeafNotes, an online message board for the discussion of controversial issues facing the Deaf community, and DeafPeople, where achievements of Deaf people, living and deceased, are recognized and celebrated. Founded in 1996, the company’s motto is “Making the world a better place for the next Deaf generation – and for Deaf people now.” The site also maintains breaking Deaf community news and a bulletin board for posting ads of upcoming Deaf conferences. The site is planning to add and online store in the near future.

DeafandHoH.com: Bookmark this site if you’d like to participate with other Deaf and hard of hearing individuals, along with audiologists, teachers, American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters and students, in a weekly online chat. The site was founded in 2008 with the goal of helping the hearing impaired community interact socially and find hearing health information. The site also maintains a listing for audiologists, schools for the deaf and hard of hearing, and financial resources (coming soon).

AllDeaf.com: This site offers a variety of options for their users. Registered guests can participate in a variety of Deaf Community chat rooms, read about trending topics for the Deaf and hearing impaired community, connect with others looking for relationships and parenting advice, learn about new technology, and respond to bulletin board posts by other members.

Deafsinglesconnection.com: If you’re strictly looking to meet other Deaf and hearing impaired singles, you might want to visit this site. Founded in 2003, Deafsinglesconnection is one of the leading websites for Deaf singles. Much like other popular dating websites, members register, create a profile and view photos of other singles. The site offers opportunities to connect through private email, chat rooms and message boards.

Deafplanet.com: Kids who are Deaf or hearing impaired will love following the adventures of Kendra, Max and WILMA (Wonderful, Indispensable, Language MAchine) on Deaf Planet, one of the first the television shows and websites in American Sign Language. Here, kids can watch 20 educational adventures of the trio on Deaf Planet where the characters speak and sign; captions on the side provide text of the conversation. The colorful site also offers 18 interactive games.

As in all your online communications, safeguard your personal information. Never share your real name and address on blog sites or in chat rooms and only shop on secure sites.
 

Article source: http://www.healthyhearing.com/content/articles/Assistance/Awareness/50228-Online-communities-offer-comfort-for-deaf-and-hearing-impaired-individuals