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<DIV dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=078203704-17042008>Hi Mariah,</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=078203704-17042008></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=078203704-17042008>Do you know about the Blanche fischer Foundation?
You submit a request for equipment and have to pay part of it,
but...</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=078203704-17042008>you have to be an Oregon resident and low income, and
have a disability...</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=078203704-17042008>you're all those yes?</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=078203704-17042008>go to that web site I think it's just their
name.org</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=078203704-17042008></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=078203704-17042008>blanchefischer.org</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=078203704-17042008>but not sure, sorry.</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=078203704-17042008></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
class=078203704-17042008>j-m.</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV><BR>
<BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV class=OutlookMessageHeader lang=en-us dir=ltr align=left>
<HR tabIndex=-1>
<FONT face=Tahoma size=2><B>From:</B> access-bounces@uueugene.org
[mailto:access-bounces@uueugene.org] <B>On Behalf Of </B>d.
maria<BR><B>Sent:</B> Wednesday, April 16, 2008 12:22 AM<BR><B>To:</B> Access
Issues and Discussion<BR><B>Subject:</B> Re: [Access] Fwd: Raves (Yes, It's
True) for New Hearing Aid<BR></FONT><BR></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>David, hearing aides generally cost $3,000 to 5,000. At $3,000 a
year, this is not cheap!!!<BR>I will never be able to afford a hearing aid,
(it took me 5 years to pay off my oral surgery and false teeth due to an
infection). One would have to be wealthy to afford this new thing. Sounds
good, tho. I can't figure out why there are ways to get drugs, eye glasses,
and all other devises... even wheel chairs, when they are not covered by
standard insurance... but, no one covers hearing aides. this makes no sense to
me. Not being able to hear impedes communication. dm<BR><BR>On Apr 15, 2008,
at 11:14 PM, David Gilmartin wrote:<BR><BR>
<BLOCKQUOTE>Received this information (sort of a combo story and promotion,
I thought) from a friend of mine. Though it seems a bit pricy to me, I know
hearing aids often cost quite a bit. There's a website mentioned in the
story that will get you a bit more detail and some graphics.<BR><BR>David
Gilmartin<BR><BR>
<BLOCKQUOTE>New York Times -- April 15, 2008<BR><?fontfamily><?param Lucida Grande><?smaller><?x-tad-smaller>Well<?/x-tad-smaller><?/smaller><?/fontfamily></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BR><?fontfamily><?param Lucida Grande><?smaller><?x-tad-smaller>Raves
(Yes, It's True) for New Hearing Aid<?/x-tad-smaller><?/smaller><?/fontfamily></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BR><?fontfamily><?param Lucida Grande><?smaller><?x-tad-smaller>By
TARA
PARKER-POPE<?/x-tad-smaller><?/smaller><?/fontfamily></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BR><BR><?fontfamily><?param Lucida Grande><?smaller><?x-tad-smaller>Few
products are hated as much as hearing aids.<?/x-tad-smaller><?/smaller><?/fontfamily></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BR><BR><?fontfamily><?param Lucida Grande><?smaller><?x-tad-smaller>The
devices can squeal with feedback and overamplify background noises like
the click of a turn signal or whir of a ceiling fan. They must be removed
for showering or sleeping, and their batteries die frequently. Many users,
out of exasperation, decide they'd rather live with hearing loss.<?/x-tad-smaller><?/smaller><?/fontfamily></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BR><BR><?fontfamily><?param Lucida Grande><?smaller><?x-tad-smaller>But
now scientists have come up with a different kind of hearing aid. While
the device, called the Lyric, is being used in only 500 patients, it
appears to have overcome many of the problems associated with traditional
hearing aids - without the expense and uncertainty of surgery and
anesthesia.<?/x-tad-smaller><?/smaller><?/fontfamily></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BR><BR><?fontfamily><?param Lucida Grande><?smaller><?x-tad-smaller>The
Lyric, made by InSound Medical of Newark, Calif., is hidden deep inside
the ear canal, just four millimeters (about one-sixth of an inch) from the
ear drum. While doctors for years have been implanting hearing devices in
the middle ear, the Lyric is not an implant: it can be removed with a
small magnet. It is worn 24 hours a day, and its batteries last one to
four
months.<?/x-tad-smaller><?/smaller><?/fontfamily></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BR><BR><?fontfamily><?param Lucida Grande><?smaller><?x-tad-smaller>Typically,
anything that clogs the ear canal would trap moisture and pose an
infection risk, but the Lyric is surrounded by a spongy material that
allows moisture to escape. Because it sits so close to the ear drum,
doctors say that it works more efficiently and that sounds are more
natural because they don't have to be amplified as much.<?/x-tad-smaller><?/smaller><?/fontfamily></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BR><BR><?fontfamily><?param Lucida Grande><?smaller><?x-tad-smaller>When
the Lyric's battery dies, the entire device is replaced. Patients do not
pay for a new device every time; instead, they pay an annual subscription
fee of $2,900 to $3,600 for both ears (less if the hearing loss is in only
one ear). Insurance plans typically do not cover the cost of the Lyric, or
any other hearing
device.<?/x-tad-smaller><?/smaller><?/fontfamily></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BR><BR><?fontfamily><?param Lucida Grande><?smaller><?x-tad-smaller>A
magnet is used to control the volume, turn it on and off and remove it
when the battery runs out. It takes only a few minutes for a doctor to
insert a replacement
device.<?/x-tad-smaller><?/smaller><?/fontfamily></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BR><BR><?fontfamily><?param Lucida Grande><?smaller><?x-tad-smaller>The
Lyric does not work for everyone. In particular, some ear canals are too
narrow to accommodate it, and the company estimates that it is not
suitable for up to half of potential patients. A planned newer version
should work for about 85 percent of patients, it says.<?/x-tad-smaller><?/smaller><?/fontfamily></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BR><BR><?fontfamily><?param Lucida Grande><?smaller><?x-tad-smaller>Still,
it is already getting an enthusiastic reception from patients and from
hearing specialists not connected with the company. "There are a certain
number of patients who just can't get over having something in their ear,
just as there are a certain number of patients who can't wear contact
lenses," said Dr. Chester F. Griffiths, chairman of the department of
surgery at the Santa Monica U.C.L.A. Medical Center. "But that's the
minority. The patients that have them love them."<?/x-tad-smaller><?/smaller><?/fontfamily></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BR><BR><?fontfamily><?param Lucida Grande><?smaller><?x-tad-smaller>Dr.
Griffiths says he has no financial ties to the Lyric, nor does he receive
a commission for referring patients.<?/x-tad-smaller><?/smaller><?/fontfamily></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BR><BR><?fontfamily><?param Lucida Grande><?smaller><?x-tad-smaller>One
patient who swears by the device is Mike Waufle, the 53-year-old defensive
line coach for the New York Giants. After a stint in the Marines and
regular exposure to the sounds of gunfire, Mr. Waufle suffered hearing
loss that grew worse and worse as he aged.<?/x-tad-smaller><?/smaller><?/fontfamily></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BR><BR><?fontfamily><?param Lucida Grande><?smaller><?x-tad-smaller>On
the football field, he just turned up the volume on his headset. But the
locker room was a different story. Some voices were impossible to hear
(including that of his last boss, Jon Gruden, the former Oakland Raiders
head coach). Players learned they needed to face him when they spoke to
him. Using a traditional hearing aid, he found it difficult to control his
own voice.<?/x-tad-smaller><?/smaller><?/fontfamily></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BR><BR><?fontfamily><?param Lucida Grande><?smaller><?x-tad-smaller>"I
teach a lot in a classroom as a coach, but when I would wear a hearing aid
my voice pattern wasn't very good," he said. "It was all over the place. I
just took it out most of the time. I missed an awful lot."<?/x-tad-smaller><?/smaller><?/fontfamily></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BR><BR><?fontfamily><?param Lucida Grande><?smaller><?x-tad-smaller>As
it happened, a team doctor was one of a handful of physicians
test-marketing the Lyric, which has been available for about 16 months.
Mr. Waufle tried it, and he says it has changed his life.<?/x-tad-smaller><?/smaller><?/fontfamily></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BR><BR><?fontfamily><?param Lucida Grande><?smaller><?x-tad-smaller>"My
voice pattern is so natural, and I hear so much better," he said.
"Obviously, it's easier to carry on normal conversations without having to
always say, 'Huh? What did you say?' And it helps just enjoying life over
all and being able to hear the simple things like birds and other sounds
you take for
granted."<?/x-tad-smaller><?/smaller><?/fontfamily></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BR><BR><?fontfamily><?param Lucida Grande><?smaller><?x-tad-smaller>Mr.
Waufle says he has no financial ties to the company and receives no
benefit for talking about his experience with the device. (The company
says none of the people featured in testimonials on its Web site, <?/x-tad-smaller><?color><?param 0000,0000,EEEE><?x-tad-smaller>www.lyrichearing.com<?/x-tad-smaller><?/color><?x-tad-smaller>,
receive any form of compensation for their endorsements.)<?/x-tad-smaller><?/smaller><?/fontfamily></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BR><BR><?fontfamily><?param Lucida Grande><?smaller><?x-tad-smaller>Right
now, the Lyric is offered only through a dozen clinics in California,
Florida and New Jersey, but it should be available at about 100 sites by
the end of the year. Some patients who don't live near a clinic simply fly
or drive to a site four or five times a year. InSound is a privately held
firm, although the pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson is a major
investor.<?/x-tad-smaller><?/smaller><?/fontfamily></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BR><BR><?fontfamily><?param Lucida Grande><?smaller><?x-tad-smaller>Dr.
Robert A. Schindler, a co-founder of InSound and chairman emeritus of the
department of otolaryngology at the University of California, San
Francisco, says he has had hearing loss most of his life and has worn a
Lyric since 2005. He says he remembers listening to an orchestra and
hearing the light ping of the triangle.<?/x-tad-smaller><?/smaller><?/fontfamily></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BR><BR><?fontfamily><?param Lucida Grande><?smaller><?x-tad-smaller>"I
realized I hadn't heard it before," he said. "That was a very exciting
moment for
me."<?/x-tad-smaller><?/smaller><?/fontfamily></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BR><BR><?fontfamily><?param Lucida Grande><?smaller><?x-tad-smaller>E-mail: <?/x-tad-smaller><?color><?param 0000,0000,EEEE><?x-tad-smaller>well@nytimes.com<?/x-tad-smaller><?/color><?/smaller><?/fontfamily></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE><BR><TT><?bigger><?bigger><?bigger><?bigger><?bigger><?bigger><?bigger>--<?/bigger><?/bigger><?/bigger><?/bigger><?/bigger><?/bigger><?/bigger></TT>_______________________________________________<BR></BLOCKQUOTE>Access
mailing
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