bf4life-hearing

Amy Winehouse died July 23, 2011. Besides being a famous singer-songwriter, she was an ambassador for Hear the World, a global campaign that seeks to raise awareness of the topic of hearing and hearing loss and to promote good hearing all over the world

Hey!

So, I've been named a finalist in the Student category of the 2011 Oticon Focus on People Awards. The national contest, which is in its 14th year, spotlights individuals who are deaf/hoh who have, "demonstrated through their accomplishments that hearing loss does not limit a person’s ability to make a difference in their families, communities and the world." So, I am completely honored to have been named 1 of 3 student finalists. Like bf4life-hearing, Oticon (according to its website), "aims to change outdated stereotypes " 

Who is 1st, 2nd and 3rd has still yet to be determined. That is up to you --people of the world--to vote. People are encouraged to log onto oticonusa.com to cast their vote for me and other top finalists in each of four categories – Student, Adult, Advocacy and Practitioner. (Pretty, pretty please with a cherry on top!) 

Thanks,
bf4life-hearing

Hey! 

A few weeks ago, I found out that I lost some hearing. *Cue the sad music!* Instead of my usual moderate-to-severe loss, I officially have a severe-to-profound hearing loss. Ugh!!! What that means, though, is that I had to make a demi-pan-American trip to get new 'aids. I crossed half of the country by train in just under two days to get to Minnesota where the Hearing Aid Genius (A.K.A Bill Austin) lives and works. 

I took a 3:00 p.m. train from NYC's Penn Station to Chicago's Union Station. It arrived, after crossing through NY, PA, OH and IN, the next day around noon. Three hours later, we departed on another 7 hour train for St. Pauls, MN. To be honest, I have to admit that I never realized before this trip how many farms, cows and fields of wheat are in the Midwest. (Actually, make that in this country.) They definitely evoked images of Willa Carther's midwest: the land of the free and brave billowing with the wind. I arrived in Minnesota at midnight, exhausted and cranky. I was definitely happy to sleep in the hotel's normal bed, since the night before I had to sleep on the train's hard seats. 

The next day, my mother and I went to visit Bill Austin's hearing aid studio, Starkey Labs. I wish I could say that I arrived to his company at the crack of dawn to get my brand-new hearing aids. Unfortunately, that would be a lie. Instead, at sometime around 9:30 am, my mother and I arrived in Eden Prarie, MN. (Note: that is where Starkey is located.) Immediately, I was ushered in to have an ear cleanliness check, which is basically a search for earwax. ‘Nuf said. I passed with flying marks, meaning that my ears were good to go.