Included

in this issue:

• New

Cochlear

Services

• Deaf Sports

Australia

• What is

Tinnitus?

• Useful

Websites

• Kids Corner

• Top Tips for

sport

helmets

Hi everyone,

The holidays are coming up quickly and school will soon be finished for another

year. As always there will be coverage for WAIDE students during the January

holidays should any problems occur. I will be overseas for my mum's 90th birthday

and Christmas. However, we are lucky to have Ronel Chester-Browne, cochlear

implant audiologist from the EAR Science Institute cochlear Implant Program to

take care of any queries. Her contact details have been sent to you by mail.

Should concerns exist regarding a speech processor device that is not working or a

map problem, please call 6380-4900 (9am -5pm daily except for Xmas & Boxing

Day) and assistance will be available. If you need a spare part, please call the CI

support officer from Australian Hearing (1-800-131-339) or email:

cisupport@hearing.com.au and the part will be sent to you. Spare parts are not

available at any Australian Hearing Centre in Western Australian.

In term 1 of 2012 some changes will occur. I will be on long-service leave for 6

months and return for Term 3. Ronel will be managing the Cochlear Implant

Program at WAIDE. She will also be doing the upgrade program to the CP810

device through Australian Hearing. Every child who has an Australian Hearing

Service Card (HSC), is eligible for the upgrade. Paperwork will need to be

completed with Ronel. In term 1, she will be at WAIDE on Mondays and Fridays

and perhaps another day as the term continues. She will be working at the

Ear Science Institute on the other days. The Administration staff at WAIDE and at

the Ear Science Institute will assist you at all times should any concerns occur.

I wish you all a very happy and healthy holiday season. I look forward to seeing you

next year. Sincerely,

Paula Schneider Educational Audiologist Cochlear Implant Program WAIDE

Announcing the launch of new COCHLEAR SERVICES

We’re excited to announce the launch of four great new services to benefit you and your patients.

Your local Territory Manager will be in touch shortly to discuss these initiatives with you:

1) Cochlear Care Service Plans - a range of service plans to provide peace of mind for recipients who

are out of warranty or if their warranty is about to expire. The plans will help your patients prepare

for the unexpected and make it easy for them to manage the costs of service and repairs.

2) Cochlear Online Store - the Cochlear Online Store allows recipients to quickly, easily and

conveniently order accessories and spare parts for their Cochlear hearing solution. Recipients will be

able to access the online store from the homepage:

www.cochlear.com/au

DEAF SPORTS AUSTRALIA: is seeking talented,

experienced deaf & hard of hearing sports stars to

participate at the upcoming 2012 Asia Pacific Games for

the Deaf to be held at Seoul, Korea in June.

For more information go to: http://www.seoul2012.com/

Or email: Irena.farinacci@deafsports.org.au

To help our youngest Aussies from damaging their hearing, Australian company Word of Mouth are now selling fun, brightly coloured children’s

headphones. These are restricted to an output of 82+/-3 decibels to help prevent damage caused by listening at volumes considered to loud.

Article sourced from “Cicada Summer 2011”

Tinnitus is a high-pitched ringing, squealing, hissing, clicking,

roaring, buzzing or whistling in the ears in the absence of external

noise. A symptom, not a disease, it may be intermittent or an annoying continuous sound in

one or both ears. It is generally associated with hearing loss; only a minority of those with

tinnitus have normal hearing.

Tinnitus is a surprisingly serious problem that can be associated with depression. Estimates

are that 10-20% of Australians experience tinnitus and that 10-15% the world’s population

are affected.

The Royal Australian & New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, through the work of its Faculty of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, has recently published a position statement: Addressing the needs of siblings of children with disability or chronic illness. A new DVD, Stronger Siblings, developed by Siblings Australia, was launched in Adelaide on the 3rd November. An order form for the DVD is available at: http://www.siblingsaustralia.org.au/ps_resources.asp

The Auslan Company have produced a two-set DVD with over 1350 Auslan/Makaton signs in alphabetical order. While there is no voice-over on the DVD each sign is accompanied by text so you can see the word that is signed. To watch a 3 minute clip visit: http://auslan.net.au/auslan-dvd.php

Teleschool mum, Sarah Hindes, has designed a hat which holds hearing

aids in place and a headband which secures cochlear implants. She has

won $20,000 in a Huggies grant program for mums wanting to start their

own business.

Sarah now has the opportunity to win an additional $10,000 by getting

the most votes on the website. Please support this clever mum by voting

“like” on the page below:

http://www.huggies.com.au/muminspired/winners-2011/sarah-hindes

• If you experience a significant change in performance or the sound becomes uncomfortable, turn off your processor and contact your implant centre.

• Your processor sound quality may be intermittently distorted when you are within approximately 1.6km of a radio or television transmission tower. The effect is temporary and will not damage your processor.

THEFT & METAL DETECTION SYSTEMS Devices such as airport metal detectors and commercial theft detection systems produce strong electromagnetic fields. Some cochlear implant recipients may experience a distorted sound sensation when passing through or near one of these devices. To avoid this, turn off your processor when in the vicinity of one of these devices. The materials used in the cochlear implant may activate metal detection systems. For this reason, recipients should carry the Cochlear Implant Patient Identification Card with them at all times. ELECTROSTATIC DISCHARGE A discharge of static electricity can damage the electrical components of the cochlear implant system or corrupt the program in your processor. If static electricity is present (eg: when putting on or removing clothes, or getting out of a vehicle), cochlear implant recipients should touch something conductive (eg: a metal door handle) before the cochlear implant system contacts any object or person. Prior to engaging in activities that create extreme electrostatic discharge, such as playing on plastic slides, the processor should be removed. MOBILE PHONES Some types of digital mobile phones, eg: Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) as used in some countries may interfere with the operation of the external equipment. As a result, cochlear implant recipients may perceive a distorted sound sensation when in close proximity, 1-4m to a digital mobile telephone in use. AIR TRAVEL Some airlines request that passengers turn off portable electrical devices during take-off and landing. Your processor is considered to be a medical portable device, so you should notify airline personnel that you are using a cochlear implant system. They can then alert you to safety measures which may include the need to switch the processor off. Transmitting devices such as mobile phones are required to be switched off on aircrafts. If you have a remote control for your processor, it should also be switched off. ELECTROMAGNETIC INTERFERENCE WITH MEDICAL DEVICES The Cochlear Nucleus CR110 Remote Assistant meets defined international Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) and emission standards. However, because the remote assistant radiates electromagnetic energy, it is possible that it could interfere with other medical devices such as cardiac pacemakers and implantable defibrillators when used nearby. It is recommended that the remote assistant is kept at least 6 inches away from devices which could be subject to electromagnetic interference. For added assurance, please also consult the recommendations provided by the device manufacturer. SCUBA DIVING

Recipients should seek medical advice before participating in a dive for conditions that might make diving contraindicated, eg: middle ear infection, etc...When wearing a mask, avoid pressure over the implant site. HEAD TRAUMA A blow to the head area of the cochlear implant may damage the implant and result in its failure. Young children who are developing their motor skills are at greater risk to receive an impact to the head from a hard object. BATTERY INGESTION Batteries can be harmful if swallowed. Ensure that batteries are kept out of reach of young children. If swallowed, seek prompt medical attention at the nearest emergency centre.

Implant type Maximum depth

Nucleus Freedom & CI500 Series 40m

Nucleus 24 & Nucleus 22 Series 25m

Websites for Listening Practice A number of websites available on the internet can serve as great practice for listening with a cochlear implant. If

you use direct connect, the audio interface cable from AB can only be used with battery-operated devices. So that

cable can only be used with a laptop computer running on battery power (or a portable audio device). If you are

direct connecting your processor to a computer plugged into the wall outlet, you need to get an isolated patch

cable from an independent vendor.

See: http://www.bionicear.com in the user support section under better living, then under assistive listening

devices for referral to these vendors.

http://www.esl-lab.com/

For teaching English as a second language. It’s packed full of

variety of listening opportunities, some of which include text

with audio, exercises and quizzes, and progress assessments. Difficulty varies from simple to complex listening and

comprehension tasks. This is a great practice site for novice and experienced listeners.

http://www.learnersdictionary.com/pron.htm

This website consists of exercises to help people perfect their pronunciation.

You can listen and follow the text, choose activities that highlight certain sounds,

or that focus on syllable stress.

http://basicenglishclass.tripod.com/

Listening practise with words, sentences, songs and short stories. Lyrics and text provided with the audio files.

FindSounds Search the Web for Sounds

http://www.findsounds.com/types.html

Examples of all sorts of environmental sounds.

http://www.weather.com/weather/videos/news-41/top-stories-169/todays-top-forecasts-4276

Spoken weather reports (with background music) and some text.

http://esl.about.com/od/listeningbeginners/Listening_Skills_for_Beginning_Level_English_Learners.htm

Listening exercises including songs.

http://www.manythings.org/pp/

Great practice with minimal pairs (words that only vary by one sound), songs, poems and tongue-twisters.

Are you looking for an answering machine that doesn’t

require multiple plays to hear each message? The AM900

Amplified Digital Answering System from Oricon has an

audio boost button for extra-loud and clear playback of

messages through the speaker or the headset output, so

you’ll only need to play messages once. It also has

adjustable playback control to slow down or speed up

playback of your messages without distorting the callers

voice. Article sourced from “Cicada Summer 2011”

I decided to take up Rowing this year after watching my two sisters row for the last six years. I saw how much

fun they had and thought I’d like to give it a go. At our school we can start rowing in Year 9 so I had to wait until

this year.

When I first started I couldn’t hear my coach very well as she was in a Dinghy and I was in the rowing boat, the

motor of the Dinghy and the wind really affected my hearing. Then I decided to give my FM to my coach to use

and realised how much better it was. I can now hear her clearly without any background noises and she doesn’t

get angry with me for not following her instructions. My FM has helped me so much I never leave home

without it. My coach is really happy to use it as she can see how much it helps me.

We row after school Monday, Wednesday and Friday’s. In the school holidays we have a rowing camp where

we stay in the boarding house at school and row all day Friday, Saturday and half of Sunday, its really hard and

we all get really tired by the end of it, but have a lot of fun.

Iam Year 9 Rowing Captain and one of my jobs is to write a report for the Rowing Newsletter before each

Regatta and give all the Year 9’s encouragement and enthusiasm throughout the season and make sure they all

come to every training session.

Now I feel silly for thinking that my FM was useless, when really I couldn’t row without it.

Shelana Pallot

Karin Jamieson is a recipient of bi-lateral cochlear

implants. Today she is an active member of the

Cochlear Awareness Network in Orange.

I have tried to deal with the water protection

issue by using either a ski headband or a sports

headband. I did this with the rugby helmet and

continue with the soccer helmet. Headbands have

external moisture repellent qualities as well as

the fabric lining which also draws moisture away

from the head. If it is raining I wear one of the

headbands under the helmet. I have also found it

important to pull as much hair as possible out

from under the helmet or headband / helmet

combination, as it allows the wicking of moisture

to occur and will also cause rain to run off.

WHAT ADVICE DO YOU OFFER TO OTHER

IMPLANT RECIPIENTS WHO WISH TO PLAY AN

ACTIVE SPORT?

Sport headbands are a wonderful way to keep

processors in place when I’m active—gym,

jogging, walking, gardening or doing home reno’s.

Additionally I have insured the processors, being

active can cause damage.