LUANNA SWAINSTON, DIRECTOR
965 108th St SW
Byron Center, MI 49315
616-877-0169
Cell: 616-262-3516
plswainston@hotmail.com
965 108th St SW
Byron Center, MI 49315
616-877-0169
Cell: 616-262-3516
plswainston@hotmail.com
DEAF AWARENESS
POSTERS ARE NOW AVAILABLE!
We now have reprints of four of the previous Deaf Awareness Posters. Contact me if you wish to have posters, etc.
American Manual Alphabet: This poster is one that we did not have to reprint. This poster could be used in schools, churches, libraries, Grange Halls or anywhere that people come in contact with deaf or hearing impaired people. For example, our Grange delivered Dictionaries to a third grade classroom, along with Deaf Awareness items (one being the Manual Alphabet poster) and in one of the thank you’s we received, one of the students had learned the alphabet. Another third grade teacher had her students do their spelling words in sign language. There are many possibilities with this.
Your Noisy World Could Get Silent: This poster is a chart that shows the potential hearing hazard of the loudness of sounds combined with the length of exposure to sound and how it can create a permanent hearing loss. Preventions are suggested on this poster. It shows the decibels of many electronic devices that we are in contact with everyday.
Pledge of Allegiance: This poster could be placed in schools, Grange Halls, libraries, etc. An idea that can be used is to do parts of it at each of your Grange meetings until everyone can sign it.
Do You See the Signs: (of hearing loss) This poster could be placed in church nurseries, day care centers, pre-schools or wherever adults can view them. It is a poster to make parents aware of what an infant to 12 months should be able to do, from 12 months to 2 years, from 2 years to 4 years and 5 years old.
Grange Deaf Awareness: Awareness – communication is key to qualify of life – hearing loss is permanent- early detection and treatment is essential, etc. Education – educate the public with printed material, video programs, classroom instruction, special equipment, information, programs. Prevention- hearing protections used, hearing testing, newborn hearing screening, personal education.
We now have reprints of four of the previous Deaf Awareness Posters. Contact me if you wish to have posters, etc.
American Manual Alphabet: This poster is one that we did not have to reprint. This poster could be used in schools, churches, libraries, Grange Halls or anywhere that people come in contact with deaf or hearing impaired people. For example, our Grange delivered Dictionaries to a third grade classroom, along with Deaf Awareness items (one being the Manual Alphabet poster) and in one of the thank you’s we received, one of the students had learned the alphabet. Another third grade teacher had her students do their spelling words in sign language. There are many possibilities with this.
Your Noisy World Could Get Silent: This poster is a chart that shows the potential hearing hazard of the loudness of sounds combined with the length of exposure to sound and how it can create a permanent hearing loss. Preventions are suggested on this poster. It shows the decibels of many electronic devices that we are in contact with everyday.
Pledge of Allegiance: This poster could be placed in schools, Grange Halls, libraries, etc. An idea that can be used is to do parts of it at each of your Grange meetings until everyone can sign it.
Do You See the Signs: (of hearing loss) This poster could be placed in church nurseries, day care centers, pre-schools or wherever adults can view them. It is a poster to make parents aware of what an infant to 12 months should be able to do, from 12 months to 2 years, from 2 years to 4 years and 5 years old.
Grange Deaf Awareness: Awareness – communication is key to qualify of life – hearing loss is permanent- early detection and treatment is essential, etc. Education – educate the public with printed material, video programs, classroom instruction, special equipment, information, programs. Prevention- hearing protections used, hearing testing, newborn hearing screening, personal education.
MAY/JUNE 2019 GRANGE NEWS
Is Tinnitus Causing That Ringing in Your Ears?
(I found this in the Grand Rapids Press on Sunday, April 14)
Is Tinnitus Causing That Ringing in Your Ears?
(I found this in the Grand Rapids Press on Sunday, April 14)
Have you ever found a constant ringing in your ears that you can’t pinpoint the cause? It might be tinnitus the sensation of hearing a sound when no external sound is present.
In some cases, tinnitus can be managed but for some, it’s a chronic condition that can affect sleep and everyday function. Fortunately there are options to reduce its effects.
About 1 in 5 people experience the perception of noise or ringing in the ears. It’s call tinnitus.
Dr. Gayla Poling is the director of Diagnostic Audiology at Mayo Clinic. She says tinnitus can be perceived a myriad of ways: ringing, buzzing, whistling, a crackling, a chirping.
According to the Mayo Clinic website “the phantom noise may vary in pitch from a low roar to a high squeal, and you may hear it in one or both ears, in some cases, the sound can be so loud it can interfere with the ability to concentrate or hear external sound. Tinnitus may be present all the time or it may come and go.
But why?
“Ninety percent of those with tinnitus have haring loss, so that’s usually where we start as a source or a reason for the tinnitus.”
Hearing loss can be age related, some from a one-time exposure, or exposure to loud sounds over a lifetime.
Poling says the tiny hairs in our inner ear may play a role.
Those little hair cells in our inner ear are really delicate structures. That’s what is actually damaged with noise exposure, or wear and tear on your ears across your lifespan. So those damaged hair cells, might be the reason or part of the cause for tinnitus for some.
Other possible causes include ear problems, chronic health conditions, and injuries or conditions that affect the nerves, either in your ear or in the hearing center of the brain.
Poling says there’s no scientifically proven cure for tinnitus, but there are treatment and management options.
That can be something as simple as getting a hearing aid to treating the hearing loss. And once you treat that, then you find that the tinnitus and the perception of that tinnitus is reduced.
Other options include using a sound generator or a fan at night. And then there are more advanced treatments.
“There’s something called ‘tinnitus restraining therapy.’ There are more ear level masking devices where you can hear sounds throughout the day, too, that are more distracting.”
If ringing in your ears bothers you, start by seeing your health care provider for a hearing test.
MARCH/APRIL 2019 GRANGE NEWS
I found this article on the Internet. You think of people being deaf but dogs?
I found this article on the Internet. You think of people being deaf but dogs?
“Unadoptable” Rescue Dog Makes History as the First Deaf Member of Washington’s K-9 Unit. By
Meera Dolasia on Mary 5, 2018
Meera Dolasia on Mary 5, 2018
Ghost, a pit bull mix with honey brown eyes and gorgeous white fur, is making headlines for becoming the first deaf dog to join the K-9 team in Washington state’s and,possibly, even the country’s history. What makes the achievement even more remarkable is that, just a few years ago, the narcotics detection dog, was deemed “unadoptable” and scheduled to be euthanized. The canine’s incredible journey began in September 2015, when the then three-month -old stray puppy was brought to the Swamp Haven Rescue Center in St. Augustine, Florida. Thanks to his high energy, occasional indifference to humans, and deafness, which would require adopters to learn a different way to communicate, animal control officials placed him on the “unadoptable” list. This meant the puppy would soon have to be put down. However, Swamp Haven volunteers were not ready to give up on Ghost and reached out to animal shelters across the country for help. To their delight and relief, the Olympic Peninsula Humane Society in Port Angeles, Washington agreed to take in the puppy, giving Ghost a new lease on life.
After the puppy missed out on several adoption opportunities, the shelter reached out to Barb Davenport, a K-9 program manager for Washington State Department of Corrections, who is well-known for selecting canine recruits from animal shelters around the country. The expert, who has trained over 450 rescue dogs to search for drugs since the 1980s, thought Ghost was the perfect candidate for the job. Davenport said, "He was very focused and determined to locate his ball when thrown or hidden. This makes for a more trainable dog.” And while his high energy may have been a deterrent for a home life, it was an important asset for his new career.
Following a multi-year training stint, Ghost began his job, which entails sniffing for drugs in state prisons and other facilities, in January 2018. Even more heartening is that the once “unadoptable” dog now has a stable and happy home with handler Joe Henderson, who, like Ghost, works for the Washington Department of Social and Health Services.
***************
Wishing each of you a Happy St. Patrick’s Day and Spring (hopefully). I think we are all ready for warm weather.
NEED DEAF AWARENESS POSTERS???
SCROLL DOWN!!
SCROLL DOWN!!