letters to the editor
hearing health foundatio n
dear editor: Enclosed is a TBB donor pin from the Deafness Research Foundation days. It belonged to my cousin, Helen (Judy) V. Sharp, who was born with hearing issues. She passed away a number of years ago. I am certain Judy would want the Foundation to have this pin from a personal as well as a sentimental family perspective. Her first cousin, Monte Jacoby, served as president of the Deafness Research Foundation in the 1980s and 1990s.
@editor
Karen Jacoby Sinunu New Jersey from the editor: Thank you for making the effort to find the Deafness Research Foundation (DRF), now Hearing Health Foundation. It’s lovely to have this piece of history. TBB refers to “temporal bone bank.” The temporal bones form the sides and base of the skull, surrounding the ear canals. DRF founder Collette Ramsey Baker helped establish a national temporal bone bank. In partnership with the American Academy of Otolaryngology– Head and Neck Surgery, in 1960 DRF established the National Temporal Bone Banks Program (NTBB) to encourage individuals with ear disorders to donate their temporal bones at death toward research at one of four regional centers. Nearly 6,000 individuals registered as donors over the years. The NTBB later became the National Temporal Bone Hearing and Balance Pathology Resource Registry, and since 1992 has been a part of the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. See masseyeandear.org/tbregistry to learn more.
dear editor: Thank you so much for taping the “Chronic Ear Infections and Related Hearing Loss” webinar with Regie Santos-Cortez, M.D., Ph.D., as I was unable to hear/see the original presentation. As a teacher of the deaf and hard of hearing and a speech pathologist I was pleased that she
covered the effects a hearing loss has on a child’s academics as well as their early language acquisition. Further, as one who has had otitis media (ear infections) and hearing loss since infancy, I was pleased to know of the research today. Mary Via email from the editor: Captioned recordings and transcripts, and bibliographies of our webinars are at hhf.org/webinar. For more from Regie Santos-Cortez, M.D., Ph.D., see page 26.
dear editor: As a person who is now 95 percent deaf without my hearing aids, I have found you and the Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA) to be the most reliable sources for information about hearing health, hearing loss, and technology to assist those of us with hearing loss. I have shared your information with members of our hearing loss support group at our local Concord, Mass., council on aging and have encouraged them to subscribe to HHF’s magazine. As a professor emeritus in criminal justice and a 30-year teacher of meditation, I have experienced over the past 40 years much cultural resistance to change. The acceptance of hearing loss and the implementation of hearing aids, cochlear implants, and assistive listening devices is the biggest challenge I have experienced because it is such an unconscious cultural resistance. The work of HHF and the HLAA’s state affiliates has been an enormous resource in this educational public relations challenge. Please keep up your excellent work. Ed LeClair via email
We always appreciate hearing from our community. Letters may be edited for length and clarity. Please email us at editor@hhf.org.
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