I really enjoyed the meeting at AAA. It was good to have faces to
names! Thank you Sam and Gloria (and Suzanne) for getting things
going at the meeting. One thing I got in the meeting was that there
is a group of us that have not had to struggle so much (mild to
moderate hearing losses) and the other group that has had to struggle
over the years (severe to profound hearing losses). One person
talked about how she had had relatively no problems in school and
growing up. (Sorry, forgot your name.) I am in that group. With my
hearing loss progressing over the years I am beginning to see
problems in everyday communication now and at work (I have mild to
moderately severe hearing loss). (I think the suggestion Sam had of
having the mic in the sound booth hanging from the ceiling over the
patient was an excellent idea. Perhaps having it hang slightly in
front of and above the patient may be helpful.) The severe to
profound group have had issues all their lives and some are just
coming to realize that there are ways to help themselves in dealing
with those issues in everyday life.

The accomodations at AAA I thought were much better than in the past
so we are making progress. I used the infra-red system in several
classes and found it to be very helpful. Yes, if someone got in
between me and the transmitter it would interrupt the sound, but all
in all, my listening experience was enhanced. Having the general
assembly captioned was wonderful, otherwise, the words of the rapper
and other speakers would have been lost to me.

I would like to hear from others in the group about their experience
at AAA.

Tricia Harvey, Au.D.
Abilene, Texas