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Newsletter
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July 2010 Issue No. 36
It seems only a few weeks ago since the January Newsletter, where did those 6 months go? The river we look out onto was then frozen over and now it has sprung into life with new ducklings, lovely greenery and accompanying wildlife.
So another busy 6 months have passed and we now welcome on board our new volunteers, Robbie Aston and Jane Short who were embarking on their training when I wrote last. Eric Sainsbury also completed the training, but his circumstances have since changed and he is unable to join us at the moment. More about what Jane and Robbie have been doing on the Volunteers page.
Due to the extra help, we have managed to fulfil our desire of opening two new Hearing Help Sessions, both in the very busy Braintree area. The sessions are not open to the public as they are located in Aspen Grange Residential Care home and at The Hawthorns Retirement Complex, but will be a huge benefit for the residents and staff.
Geemarc have very kindly let us have a selection of their new equipment on long term loan for our Resource Centre. So we now have an even more comprehensive array of different items to enhance the lives of deaf or hard of hearing people, alleviating difficulties and frustrations in their home, office, school and in many social situations. More details about the latest equipment can be found on the News from the Office page.
We are introducing a new “Equipment” page to this and future newsletters in place of the Useful Information page. We hope you will find this interesting and would welcome your suggestions of equipment you would like us to feature.
The week beginning 28th June saw the start of Deaf Awareness week and some of our volunteers, staff and trustees were in High Chelmer shopping centre, giving help and advice on the many aspects of deafness and demonstrating the various pieces of equipment that we are able to loan out to clients from our well stocked Resource Centre.
I end by saying a huge Thank You to all who support Hearing Help Essex by the giving of donations and the great physical help, of all who serve to ensure that many people in Mid Essex have on-going support with their hearing difficulties. I look forward to meeting you in the future should you need our services.
Sarah
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VOLUNTEERS PAGE
A Day in the Life of husband and wife team Pauline and Graham Michaels:
Starting our day at 7am with a lovely cup of tea in bed, (Graham makes the tea) we check out the news (Graham checks out the sport), we are up and hit the ground running for another busy day.
Today we have the Gables Hearing Help Session, in Braintree. Thank goodness we now have Robbie (newest volunteer) to help us, it is a very busy clinic. Many of our clients are now old friends, who enjoy bantering with us and telling all their news, one old lady especially asks Pauline if she can give Graham a kiss – “he is such a dear” she says!!. Today the three of us have seen 26 clients, we manage to grab a cup of coffee at the end, and just relax for a few minutes to catch our breath. On the way home from the clinic, we stop for the groceries before going home for lunch.
In the afternoon Graham has two home visits to do whilst Pauline pops down to the WI Centre in Terling, to work on the WI magazine (being the editor keeps her little grey cells working). Of the two home visits, one is a lady who would like to borrow a telephone for the deaf to try at home before buying one. She has a little Yorkshire Terrier who immediately lets you know that she is in charge, so Graham walks in very carefully (with his back to the wall just to make sure he doesn’t get ravaged) and demonstrates a couple of telephones. Graham and the Yorkie are the best of friends really. The other lady is, unfortunately, bed bound and Graham has to fit two new hearing aids at the request of St. Johns Audiology Dept.
Both back home again for our evening meal, which has been nicely cooking in the slow cooker, we discuss our afternoon.
After dinner and when we have cleared away, we sit down for the evening and promptly fall asleep. Pauline and Graham
Welcome to 2 new volunteers
As we mentioned earlier, we are very pleased to welcome and introduce to you, our two new volunteers, Jane Short and Robin Aston. Having completed their three and a half day training course at the end of January, they have already become a valuable addition to our team. They are working very hard at Hearing Help Sessions (HHS) and doing home visits, so some of you may have already met them.
Jane Short lives in Chelmsford and covers the Chelmsford area, but also goes to the HHS in South Woodham Ferrers, St Peter’s Day Hospital in Maldon and is currently helping at the Maldon Clinic in Wantz Chase whilst Stephen is away.
Robin Aston lives in Braintree and covers the Braintree area and goes to the HHS at The Gables, St Michael’s Day Hospital, Aspen Grange and The Hawthorns, all in Braintree. Robin also goes to Madelayne Court a care home in Broomfield.
30th Wedding Anniversary
Our congratulations go to Anita and Tom Sartain who travelled all the way to Hawaii to celebrate their Pearl Wedding Anniversary on 5th April.
Happy Birthday!
Two of our volunteers have celebrated special birthdays in the last six months:
A belated Happy Birthday goes to one of our Trustees David Smith who celebrated his 60th birthday on 20th March.
Our very best wishes also go to Graham Michaels who celebrated his 70th birthday on 26th January.
FUNDRAISING NEWS
Open Garden and Cream Tea
On Sunday 11th July, Ray and Beryl Clements kindly hosted our annual Open Garden and Cream Tea. We were blessed with glorious weather and all enjoyed sitting in their lovely garden. The afternoon raised £219.00. Many thanks Ray and Beryl for your generosity. Gorgeous scones and cakes Beryl!
Our thanks also go to their daughter Nicola and sister in law Maureen for helping with all the serving and washing up.
Sponsored 7 Kilometre walk
A sponsored charity walk took place on the morning of 8th May to raise funds for Hearing Help Essex. Fourteen optimistic people braved the damp weather as staff, trustees, volunteers and supporters joined together for a seven kilometre walk around Chelmsford. Starting at Tower Gardens, the route included Admirals Park, Central Park, the town centre, Riverside Walk, and the Nature Reserve by Anglia Ruskin University. The circular walk included some of the many green areas around central Chelmsford and reminded us that we do not have to go very far from the town centre to get close to nature. The new sashes were worn, offering the opportunity to raise the profile of Hearing Help Essex. As well as enjoying the scenery, there was much lively chatter and a great sense of achievement on completing the walk.
It was a lovely way to raise funds and get some gentle exercise at the same time. All who took part should feel justifiably proud to have raised just over £800.00 for Hearing Help Essex.
(Wendy and volunteer walkers wearing their HHE sashes)
???? Quiz Evening ????
Our annual Quiz Evening will be held on Saturday 23rd October 2010 at 7.30pm in Ford End village hall. Once again Steve Back will be our Quiz Master, so we can be guaranteed an enjoyable evening. Please put the date in your diaries now and contact us nearer the time for tickets. As usual please bring your own drinks and nibbles.
Quiz Sheets
Do you like to keep your brain active? Do you enjoy quizzes? Would you like something to do whilst you are sat enjoying the summer sunshine? If you answered “YES” to any of the above questions, you may be interested in one of our fundraising quiz sheets that Gillian Pickett our Treasurer has produced. One is on “Birds” and the other is on “Proverbs and Sayings”. Here is an example from each:
Bird Quiz sheet
Q. He designed St Paul’s Cathedral
A. Wren
Proverbs and Sayings Quiz sheet
Q. A W T E W
A. Alls well that ends well
If you would like a copy, please send in a stamped addressed envelope with a suggested donation of £1.00 per sheet, saying which quiz /quizzes you would like to Hearing Help Essex, Unit 3, Lockside Marina, Hill Road South, Chelmsford CM2 6HF.
Christmas Card Labels
Sorry to mention the word Christmas in the middle of the summer! But I would just like to remind you that we shall once again be producing HHE Christmas card labels. For a minimum donation of £5.00 you can purchase a sheet of 65 labels, to stick on to the back of non charity Christmas cards which will help promote and support our valuable work. The idea is that you can buy cheaper cards, use the label and so support our own charity. If you would like some labels please send a cheque made payable to Hearing Help Essex, together with a stamped addressed envelope and a note of how many pages of labels you would like.
NEWS FROM THE OFFICE
Deaf Awareness Week
28th June to 4th July
Deaf Awareness week was celebrated later this year, at the end of June instead of early May. We had a display in the High Chelmer shopping centre all week, promoting the work of HHE and the walk-in Hearing Help Sessions that we hold around Mid Essex. On the Tuesday, a team of volunteers were present to talk to members of the public about our work and the different equipment we had taken along to demonstrate. We have had lots of extra telephone calls to the office as a result of the display. It is a great way to promote the work of our charity. Thanks to all those volunteers who helped during the week.
Volunteer Updated Training Day
We held our Volunteer Updated Training Day on the 12th May, with as usual a great turnout of our very dedicated volunteers. The day is a valuable time to re-cap on our responsibilities to the public we help, learning about new equipment and the changing policies from the Hearing Aid Department. Our guest speaker this year was Joanna Wanmer the Community Engagement Co-ordinator from Essex County Council Hard of Hearing Planning Group.
(Sarah updating volunteers on new equipment)
Additions to our Resource Centre
As already mentioned, Geemarc have very generously loaned us the following pieces of new equipment for you to try:
CL 600 Emergency Response Telephone
Has loud amplification, large buttons, extra bright visual ringer, bracelet with emergency button, plus a panic button telephone. It can be programmed with 6 emergency telephone numbers and has the option for emergency remote monitoring.
Price: £119.14 (exc vat)
Amplipower 40 Telephone
Mega amplification telephone with enhanced clarity. It has big buttons, receiving tone control, hands free option and an extra bright visual ringer.
Price £51.06 (exc vat)
CL8200 Mobile Telephone
Easy to use hearing aid compatible mobile telephone with adjustable volume control, extra loud ringing volume, hands free speakerphone option and large keypad and display screen.
Price: £76.59 (exc vat)
CLA20 Portable Telephone Amplifier
Small portable telephone amplifier with tone control and carrying case.
Price: £8.50 (exc vat)
CLA3 Headset and Microphone
Hearing aid compatible headset for use with most makes of telephones. It can also be used with computers, mobile telephones, games consoles and MP3 players.
Price: £17.01 (exc vat)
CLA 9/T Conversation Piece
Personal listener for conversation and TV listening, with volume and tone control, comes with rechargeable battery and charger.
Price: £42.55 (exc vat)
If you would like to come and try or borrow any of the above equipment please contact us to make an appointment on:
Tel: 01245 348440
Geemarc would welcome any feedback you would like to give them on the equipment, good or bad. Geemarc can be contacted on:
Tel: 01707 372372
EQUIPMENT
To start off our new section on equipment, we have asked Anita Sartain to talk about the Comfort DigiSystem.
I have recently purchased a Comfort DigiSystem and would like to share my experiences of it with you.
It is a digital personal loop system which, I quote from the brochure, “sound is captured by the microphones, the advanced digital sound processing technique filters the speech, removes disturbing noises and transmits it to the receiver”. I can often hear quite clearly, even in a group of people. It gives my hearing aids a boost, amplifying sounds into my ear.
Many of you will know I have tried several different personal loop systems, but what appealed to me in the first instance with this one, was its look. It looks neat and not like a personal loop system, more like a mobile phone or MP3 player. I often wear mine with ear hooks and I think it looks more like I am wearing earphones, which is acceptable in today’s trendy mobile phone society!!
The set up I have (there are many to choose from) is a handset receiver, a microphone and a mini microphone. The mini microphone is a bonus; it allows me to listen to a second person clearly, such as at training days. I have the main microphone on the table so I can hear people around the table and the speaker wears the mini microphone, so I can hear them clearly.
I use it in all sorts of situations, at meetings, the chairperson wears the mini microphone and the main microphone is placed in the middle of the table. I wear it in the car, out walking the dog with my husband or daughter, especially at the moment the wheat in the fields is very high and we have to walk single file and like many of you, I am unable to lip read the back of a head!! I wear it when working in the garden with my husband. We painted our garage a few weeks ago and every time he said something to me we both had to stop, he had to look at me so I could see his lips and me to read his lips. It was an effort to talk and slowed us down so much that we soon stopped talking. Then I remembered my DigiSystem, it worked brilliantly, we talked non-stop and got the painting done so much quicker!!!
The best and most magical use of my DigiSystem was at my son’s recent wedding. The registrar wore the main microphone, my daughter who did a reading, wore the mini microphone and I wore the receiver under the jacket of my outfit, with ear hooks round the back of my neck and you would never know I had a personal loop system on. It was all very emotional, I think more so because I could hear every word that was being said, which is most unusual for me. It is worth every penny I paid for it. Priceless.
Anita
Thank you Anita for this very informative feedback on your DigiSystem.
The price of the DigiSystem varies depending on what combination of transmitter, microphones and accessories you choose, the combination of Anita’s setup works out at about £1700, which sounds very expensive, but as you can see for Anita, it has proved to be ‘Priceless’.
Unfortunately, we do not have a DigiSystem in our Resource Centre but we do have information about the system and if you are interested you can get more information from:
Gordon Morris Ltd.
Tel. 01458 272121
Email: info@gordonmorris.co.uk
www.gordonmorris.co.uk
RNID
Tel: 01733 361199
Email: solutions@rnid.org
www.rnid.org.uk/shop
If you have a particular piece of equipment that has transformed your life and you would like to share it with everyone, please get in touch and we will feature it in our next newsletter. Or if there is a piece of equipment that you would like us to feature, please do get in touch and we will do our best to include it in a future newsletter.
INFORMATION PAGE
Changes at Hearing Aid Department
As some of you will have already heard, there are a lot of changes going on within the Audiology/Hearing Aid Department at St Johns Hospital in Chelmsford. They have asked us to share the following information with you:
Plans are underway for the forthcoming move from St Johns to Broomfield Hospital in early October 2010. With immediate effect the walk-in open repair clinics have become an APPOINTMENT ONLY SERVICE. This means that if your hearing aid needs to be repaired or checked you will now need to make appointment on Tel: 01245 513237
The new opening times for the Repair and Advice Clinics (by appointment only) are:
Monday 9am to 4pm
Wednesday 9am to 4pm
Thursday 9am to 12pm
Friday 1.30pm to 4pm
The Battery Replacement service will also be unavailable at Broomfield.
From 1st July 2010, you will be able to collect your hearing aid batteries from the following Chelmsford clinics:
Springfield Green Clinic
Springfield, Chelmsford, CM1 7HZ
Tel: 01245 318500
Central Clinic
Chelmsford & Essex Centre,
New London Road, Chelmsford, CM2 0QH
Tel: 01245 318640
Moulsham Lodge Clinic
Lucas Avenue, Chelmsford, CM2 9NY
Tel: 01245 318750
Melbourne Clinic
Melbourne Avenue, Chelmsford, CM1 2DX
Tel: 01245 318700
You also have the option of the postal system and you can send your brown issue book with a large letter stamp to St Johns, your batteries will then be posted back to you. Please note, they no longer take used batteries back, they can be deposited in battery recycling boxes which are available in most supermarkets.
Please look out for further information and news over the next few months!
Know your NHS Number
Everyone who is registered with the NHS has their own unique ten-digit number, which helps healthcare staff to find your records quickly. NHS staff will begin to ask for this number more often, so remember to keep it to hand. If you do not know your number, your GP can look it up for you.
Would you like to take an
active role in your local NHS?
NHS Mid Essex are setting up a Resident’s Panel and are looking for volunteers of all ages and backgrounds to take part in planning local health services and help them involve local communities. You can get involved at different levels according to your interests and the time you have available.
For more information contact:
Sally Wallis-Boore on Tel: 01245 459395
or visit: www.midessex.nhs.uk/yourviews
BT Free priority fault repair
If you have a long-term illness or disability you may be eligible for this free priority service. It is available on standard BT lines and provides priority treatment in the event of a fault occurring on that line. Priority is given ahead of other jobs, but immediate repair cannot be guaranteed. For further information contact BT on Tel: 0800 800 150
Safe Journey Cards
The First bus and train company has introduced cards for passengers to show staff when they need assistance. The ‘safe journey cards’ can be shown to a bus driver to let them know what sort of help you need, such as being able to reach your seat safely before the bus moves off or being told when you have arrived at your destination.
There are several versions of the card, including requests for hearing, speech, mobility and visual assistance. You need to print the cards off their website and write your specific request on the reverse of the card. For further information and to print off a
card go to: www.firstgroup.com/safejourney
Guest Contributor - Pete Halsey
Last November we had a visit from Pete Halsey from Australia who was on a fact finding mission to the UK and we asked him if he would like to be our guest contributor and share with you some of his experiences.
My name is Pete Halsey and I am the Executive Officer of the ACT Deafness Resource Centre located in Canberra, Australia. We are a small not-for profit Community Organisation with 3 staff and a handful of wonderful volunteers. We are funded by the ACT Government through Disability ACT and generate some earnings by the hire and sale of assistive listening devices. Like many Community Organisations, we struggle for funding and volunteers. In Australia, one in six people are hearing impaired to some degree so we have about 3.5 million people with this disability.
In June 2009, I was awarded a Churchill Fellowship to attend an international hearing loop conference in Winterthur, Switzerland and to study hearing support programs and technology in the UK. The conference was sponsored by the English firm Ampetronic which is located in Newark. Ampetronic design, make and install great hearing loops. The conference dealt with the latest technology of audio frequency induction loop systems (AFILS), including future developments. Almost 100 people, from 15 different countries attended. Several languages were spoken and three hearing loops were operating. English was the conference language which was simultaneously translated into German. Two hearing loops during the proceedings provided English on one side of the lecture theatre and a German translation on the other, while people who either did not have a Telecoil program in their hearing aid or used hearing aids could use headphones with a loop listener. This conference claimed a world first as a conference with two loops operating at the same time and in different languages. For information on the conference go to: www.hearingloops.org/
In the UK my fellowship enabled me to visit several organisation’s that provide a service to the deaf/hearing impaired, the largest being Royal National Institute for the Deaf (RNID) in 3 locations;
London, Cardiff and Peterborough and the smallest being you guys in Essex at Hearing Help Essex.
Some of the highlights of my trip were:
The loop conference was extraordinary, so many people, so many different languages spoken and all passionate about using audio frequency induction loops - hearing loops.
In the UK I was very much impressed with how much service/support is made available to people who are hearing impaired and the assistive listening devices which are so readily available.
Hearing loops almost everywhere we went, in taxis, in railways station ticket offices and toilets, at museum counters, at Sainsbury’s checkouts, at Boots the Chemist the list goes on.
I spent 2 days with Hearing Dogs for Deaf people and am in the process of training our own dog Monty to help me hear.
Small in size but big in heart, I visited with Wendy and Sarah at Hearing Help Essex. I was impressed with how many volunteers you had out in the community helping the hearing impaired and the range of ALDs people could trial. Not many places in the UK provide home trial opportunities. We offer this trial option in Canberra and it makes a big difference for someone to know that what they are purchasing will work for their particular hearing requirement before they purchase.
I wish you all well with your hearing. Pete
About the author:
Pete is hearing impaired and has been for some 30 years. He has a profound loss in one ear and a moderate to severe loss in the other. He wears a hearing aid and recently received a Cochlear Implant. His mother had a moderate to severe bilateral sensorineural hearing loss and it is likely he inherited his mum’s disability. The final loss of hearing in his right ear was due to medication.
THANK YOU
We wish to thank the following for their grants and donations over the past year, as without their support we would be unable to carry out our valuable work in Chelmsford and the surrounding areas.
Braintree United Charities
Chelmsford Borough Council
Mid Essex PCT
Moonraker Group
Tesco Community Awards
The Family Trust
We also wish to thank all those who have given us small but valuable personal donations throughout the year.
We would like to express our sincere thanks to the family and friends of Marjorie Fowler (Sarah’s mum) for their very kind donations given to us in her memory.
Our special thanks also go to John Stubbs and everyone who is involved with Harambee Productions of Maldon for their generous donation £250. The donation was raised in March from their two productions of “Make Way for the Cross.” Harambee is a music and drama group based at the Maldon Methodist Church.
Chelmer Housing Partnership
Sponsors of our leaflet
If you would just like to support our valuable work by making a donation, please send a cheque payable to Hearing Help Essex to: Unit 3, Lockside Marina, Hill Road South, Chelmsford CM2 6HF
Finally but by no means least, we would like to say a huge THANK YOU to all of our loyal, dedicated and hard working volunteers, without whom Hearing Help Essex could not exist.
(Whilst every care is taken to provide accurate information in this Newsletter, we accept no liability for any error or omission. The inclusion of third party information and products does not constitute an endorsement by Hearing Help Essex Limited.)
Hearing Help Essex Limited is a Company Limited by Guarantee.Registered No: 5664873.
Registered Charity No: 1113498
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