1February2017

Australia Day honours

In their daily lives these admirable people demonstrate those
values that we as a nation hold dear - compassion, civility,
dedication, courage, kindness, tolerance, and energetic
ambition. They inspire us to be more enthusiastic and giving,
to uphold the responsibility of being fully engaged citizens.

NDIS guide for people with hearing loss

35 questions and answers about the National Disability
Insurance Scheme for people with hearing loss, beginning with
Am I deaf enough to be a participant in the NDIS?

Hearing loss widely uninsured

A story from the United States: If you lose a leg, insurance will
likely cover the cost of your prosthesis. If you lose your arm,
it's the same. Even if you lose your ability to perform sexually,
more than likely your Viagra is covered. But if you start to
lose your hearing, far too often you are on your own.

3 March is the World Hearing Day

An initiative of World Health Organization.
The theme is Action for hearing loss: make a sound
investment.

We acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land, community, sea, and waters where we live and work. We pay our respects to
elderspast,presentandfutureandvaluethecontributionsIndigenousAustraliansmakeinoursociety.Weacknowledgethechallengefor
IndigenousleadersandfamiliestoovercometheunacceptablyhighlevelsofearhealthissuesamongfirstAustralians.

Australia Day 2017 honours

The Governor General presents these honours to very special men and women who's actions have
set them apart and enriched our community across a broad range of professional, public and
community service sectors.
In their daily lives these admirable people demonstrate those values that we as a nation hold dear
- compassion, civility, dedication, courage, kindness, tolerance, and energetic ambition. They
inspire us to be more enthusiastic and giving, to uphold the responsibility of being fully engaged
citizens.
Allyson COSTANZO OAM, Port Macquarie NSW for service to people who are deaf or hard of
hearing.
Service includes: interpreter for people who are deaf, hard of hearing or deaf and blind. Auslan
Interpreter, since 1990.

Allyson Costanzo is well known in the Port Macquarie region for her work with one of the most
vulnerable sections of our community, those who are deaf and blind. Her efforts were praised in
a speech in the NSW Parliament last year by Member for Port Macquarie Leslie Williams to mark
Hearing Awareness Week. In recent years, Ally has helped train more than 60 individuals and five
businesses in Auslan the language of the deaf and hearing impaired community in Australia.
She has also organised the Deaf Business Forum, so local businesses can be trained in serving
deaf customers and has organised social nights with the deaf community so that students have an
opportunity to practice their sign language skills. In addition, she has volunteered to visit deaf
patients in hospital, she has mentored and interpreted for deaf students attending the local TAFE
so they can graduate and she has provided on-the-job support for deaf employees and their
employers.

Dr Albert FOREMAN OAM, Nakara NT

For service to medicine, particularly in rural and remote areas.
Service includes: principal, Ear Nose and Throat and General Practitioner Clinic, since 1998. Past
Committee Member, Deafness Association of the Northern Territory (now DeafNT).

In his 85 years, Dr Albert Foreman has treated countless patients from all over the world suffering
with ear, nose and throat problems. He has received the Order of Australia Medal for his service
to medicine, particularly in rural and remote areas. From 1989 till 1998 he treated patients from
the Tiwi Islands and Katherine who were struggling with long-term chronic ear disease. But he
only started practicing as a doctor in his forties. Before that he worked as an engineer, building
and designing roads in Tennant Creek and Alice Springs. He is still working with his receptionist
wife in his museum-like clinic in Darwin, full of artefacts and treasures from a life lived in the
Pacific, Africa, London and the Northern Territory.

Prof William Peter Gibson AM AO, Sydney NSW

For service to medicine, particularly in the area of otolaryngology*, as a clinician, to the
advancement of cochlear implant programs, and to professional medical organisations.
* a surgical subspecialty that deals with conditions of the ear, nose, and throat.

That so many Australians have been given the gift of hearing is due to the surgical skill,
perseverance and dedication of an extraordinary man: Professor William Gibson, simply known as
Bill. Despite worldwide accolades for his work on cochlear implants, Bill Gibson retains the
compassion and humility of a man with the common touch. Every month youll find him
organising a sausage sizzle outside Woolworths in Balmain on behalf of his Rotary Club because,
he says, I enjoy rolling up my sleeves and giving my free time to help worthwhile causes.
Kathleen (Katie) KELLY OAM, Scullin ACT
For service to sport as a gold medallist at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.
Service includes: Board Member, Deaf Sports Australia, 2005 and currently.
Manager, Australian Deaflympic Team, Melbourne Deaflympics, 2005.

Pro-bono Media

Katie has Usher syndrome, a degenerative condition that causes vision and hearing loss.
"When you have a disability, impairment, whatever, you just learn to modify and adapt. That's
what I've done and I've always been very active. Sometimes I turn the hearing aids off and tune
out. I am so proud and humbled to receive an OAM today. A very close Aunt said to me, Trust in
where your life takes you. My passion continues to be an advocate for inclusiveness and
diversity.
Norbert SCHWEIZER OAM, Centennial Park NSW
For service to the community through voluntary roles.
Service includes:
Chairman, Silver Committee, Royal Institute for Deaf and Blind Children, 1985-1998 and Member,
1978-1991 and Life Member, since 1986.
Growing up in Australia with both German and Jewish heritage and having no family members
surviving the Nazi Holocaust, Mt Schweizer says he felt a desire to reach out into the German
community in pursuit of reconciliation between Germans and Jews.

Shirley STOTT DESPOJA, Henley Beach SA

For service to the print media as a journalist. Service includes: Columnist, 'Third Age', The
Adelaide Review and The Melbourne Review. Member, South Australian Journalists' Hall of Fame
and recipient of Peace Media Award and Mary MacKillop Award for contribution to journalism.

Shirley has had profound hearing loss since her 20's.

The following is an extract from a presentation she had given to "It's Time to Make a Stand
- Workplace Bullying, Schoolyard Bullying, Unacceptable Behaviour", a conference in 2000
organised by Anti-Discrimination Commissioner for Tasmania.*
The late deafened have to cope with family and friends unused to the problem and often
unwilling to modify their ways to accommodate or even understand it.
The late deafened face great hostility and are often bullied into isolation within the family, let
alone in the wider community. If you are told often enough by family members that you are not
trying, that your hearing aid needs turning up because you are not hearing or turning down
because it is squealing, the will to cope dies. Family members manage their stress and guilt about
the situation by saying She can hear when she wants to, or that he has just given up
Some of the most bullied people in our society are the hearing impaired elderly in their families
or in nursing homes. When the problem of bullying the Aged is finally opened up, I pray that the
special situation of the elderly deaf is addressed by asking them about their situations.

* Source: Leading Issues Journal. 2000, Diann Rodgers-Healey (ed) Australian Centre for Leadership for
Women (ACLW) www.leadershipforwomen.com.au

NDIS guide for people with hearing loss

35 questions and answers about the National Disability Insurance Scheme for people with hearing
loss, by Andrew Stewart, Deafness Forum Honorary Life Member.
Topics include:

Am I deaf enough to be a participant in the NDIS?

Will Australian Hearing still provide me with services once I have joined the NDIS?

When and how do I apply?

Can I purchase an item prior to NDIA approval, and claim it back later?

Will the NDIS pay for hearing devices for both my left and right ears?

There are three main tiers of hearing aids - what level is covered by the NDIS?

Is there a price list that the NDIS operates from?

Is the annual Australian Hearing service charge covered by the NDIS?

Are batteries for my hearing device covered by the NDIS?

Will my plan cover include unforeseen repairs and replacement of accessories?

Is real-time captioning (CART) covered by the NDIS?

Is Auslan interpreting covered by the NDIS?

Download the fact sheet at https://printacall.com.au/printacalllinks/

Hearing loss an 'invisible,' and widely uninsured, problem

By Jen Christensen, CNN USA http://edition.cnn.com/2012/07/10/health/hearing-aid-insurance/
Story highlights
75% to 80% of adults with hearing loss don't get hearing aids
Hearing aids cost from $1,000 to $6,000 per ear
Most private insurance companies and Medicare don't pay for them
Almost everyone has some hearing loss over time
If you lose a leg, insurance will likely cover the cost of your prosthesis. If you lose your arm, it's
the same. Even if you lose your ability to perform sexually, more than likely your Viagra is
covered. But if you start to lose your hearing, far too often you are on your own.
Some 37 million people suffer from hearing loss, according to the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, and that number will only grow as the population ages. Yet most private medical
insurance doesn't cover the cost of hearing aids. While the Department of Veterans Affairs often
pays for them, in most cases Medicare, which covers many more people, does not.
The Affordable Care Act expanded coverage to include newborn hearing screenings when it
passed in 2010, but that was the single preventive-care expansion related to hearing problems. It
would take an actual act of Congress to change it further. Only 19 states require that health
benefits plans in their states pay for hearing aids; most cover children only, according to the
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Only three states require coverage for both
children and adults. When private insurance does pay, it typically covers the cost of an exam to
assess hearing loss, and that's about it.
The devices are expensive, sometimes costing in the $1,000 to $6,000 range -- and that's per ear.
Perhaps this explains, at least in part, why 75% to 80% of adults with hearing loss do not get
hearing aids, according to a recent study done by Virginia Ramachandran, a senior staff
audiologist in the Division of Audiology of the Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit. Her study showed
the only group that consistently got hearing aids had insurance that paid for them in full.
Hearing aids are considered elective, much like plastic surgery or liposuction. But unlike those
cosmetic procedures, life without hearing can have devastating effects. It can leave people
feeling isolated or depressed and may even lead to serious illnesses like dementia. It can put
their safety at risk.
"It's really an invisible disability," said Laura Hansen, owner of Assist2Hear, a Littleton, Coloradobased hearing assistance company. She got involved in the profession after seeing her father
struggle when he started losing his hearing. No one was there to really advocate for him, she
said.

"You know, I think it stays invisible in part because of our culture," she said. "My parents'
generation kind of accepted their hearing loss as just a way of life, and they didn't want to fuss
with the technology, but ultimately they ended up isolating themselves."
Audiologist Virginia Ramachandran would agree. "People don't always perceive that they need
(hearing aids), because hearing loss comes on gradually. Usually they are the last person to
know. Eventually, though, we all go through this," Ramachandran said.
We start losing our hearing as early as our 20s, but most people aren't aware of it -- or they're in
denial.
"Maybe it's because it makes people think about their mortality, or it makes them feel old,"
Ramachandran said. "I had one 90-year-old patient who came to me and when I confirmed they
did have hearing loss, they said, 'I don't understand what could have caused this.' I had to tell
them as we mature, this is a natural part of the process."
Most people Hansen talks to are surprised that hearing aids aren't typically covered by insurance.
She said she thinks that will change as her baby boom generation gets older and needs them
more.
"Unlike our parents' generation, we are not afraid to complain. I do think you'll see a lot more
pressure on the government and on private companies to pay for more," Hansen said.
But until then, don't expect to see this change any time soon. "There are 35 other mandated
benefits you have to cover," said Susan Pisano, vice president of communications for America's
Health Insurance Plans, a professional association that represents the health insurance industry.
"To add something else -- especially with the high cost of health care, which will only continue to
go up -- it is going to be a hard argument to make."
Where the argument might get easier is with children. "Hearing devices are an absolute necessity
for children," Ramachandran said. "They are still developing speech and language, so they need
to hear. Older people do need them, but they have an advantage over children with hearing loss.
They already have experience with language, and their brain can sometimes fill in the gap with
words they don't always hear. Children don't have that experience, and untreated hearing loss
will severely hurt their development."
Jocelyn Ross knows that worry all too well. Her daughter Alyssa, born in 2009, is one of the
13,000 or so children born in the U.S. each year with congenital hearing loss. It is one of the
most common sensory birth defects.
In South Carolina, where the Ross family lives, roughly 4% of infants fail the newborn hearing
screening, according to Ross. Yet none of them receive any help under the state's public health
law. Ross is trying to change that. She founded Let South Carolina Hear and helped persuade a

state legislator to introduce a bill this year that would cover at least part of the cost. The
legislation didn't make it through this session, but Ross is hopeful it will pass someday.
She needs to be. Ross says each of her daughter's behind-the-ear hearing aids cost $2,500. The
devices require constant adjustment and will need to be replaced every few years as Alyssa grows
older. If Ross lived in neighbouring North Carolina, at least some of the cost of Alyssa's devices
would be covered, but because she lives in South Carolina, that cost comes out of her pocket.
"This is a major life function, especially for children," Ross said. "I don't want her to have any
limits, and with the devices she can do anything she wants to do. This is an expense that would
be hard for anyone, but you do what you have to do." She says she worries, though, about the
families that can't find that $2,500, and wonders what happens to their children, because she's
seen how much hearing aids have transformed her daughter's life.
"Even when she was 2, she would point to her ears if the batteries got low," Ross said. "She only
takes them off when she wants to go to sleep. She wants very much to be a part of the world,
and she needs them to do this -- and so do so many others."

Friday 3 March is the World Hearing Day

An initiative of World Health Organization
The theme is Action for hearing loss: make a sound investment.
World Health Organization will create advocacy materials including a theme poster, infographic
and banner. Visit the WHO for updates, http://www.who.int/pbd/deafness/world-hearing-day/en/
Download suggestions here for planning activities for the week leading up to the World Hearing
Day.
Hearing Awareness Week is celebrated in Australia in the last full week of August. We would
appreciate your views on whether future Hearing Awareness Weeks should be rescheduled to
align with World Hearing Day. Send your comments to info@deafnessforum.org.au

The Libby Harricks Achievement Award

Nominations Are Open for 2017
Libby Harricks was a founding member of SHHH Australia Inc and was its President for a number
of years. She became profoundly hearing impaired as a young adult, but persevered with her
career as a Pharmacist while raising two children. As a driving force behind SHHH, she helped it
to become an effective volunteer organisation and was also widely known and admired as a
dynamic advocate for access for hearing impaired people. She was a wonderful role model for all
those who felt lost and overwhelmed by hearing impairment. She was made a member of Order
of Australia in 1990 in recognition of her work for the hearing impaired. In 1998 Libby Harricks
passed away from cancer, aged 52.
SHHH Australia has established this award in memory of a friend and a woman who through
determination and spirit achieved more than she ever thought possible, both for herself and for
many others.
DO YOU KNOW SOMEONE IN THE COMMUNITY WHO HAS BEEN ABLE TO MANAGE A
HEARING LOSS TO ACHIEVE PERSONAL SUCCESS?
This person should be

over 21 and living in Australia

hearing impaired, and communicating orally

This award is not limited to members of SHHH (Self Help for Hard of Hearing People
All nominations must include the following information:
1. Name, address and phone number of the person making the nomination;
2. Name of the person nominated;
3. A short description (approx 250 words) of why this person is being nominated, what
problems have been faced and an overview of their achievements.
Nominations MUST be received by the Office manager by the end of February Nominations are
welcomed by mail or email to:
SHHH Board of Management
SHHH Australia Inc
1334 Pacific Hwy
TURRAMURRA NSW 2074.
Email: shhh@netspace.net.au
The Board of SHHH Australia decides the winner and the announcement of the winner is made at
the Annual General Meeting in March/April of each year.

Passing of beloved Deaf community leader

VALE: Ann Darwin (Nee Mitchell)
Melbourne Victoria
Deaf Australia writes:
Mrs Darwin hailed from Glasgow, Scotland, moving to Australia at the age of thirteen. Ann
attended mainstream schools and was involved with deaf netball in her youth, where she started
to learn Auslan. She attended a Deaf Games in Adelaide where she met her husband Barry
Darwin, who hails from Adelaide.
Mrs Darwin was an active member of the Deaf community and was involved with Deaf Australia
(formerly known as Australian Association of the Deaf) from 1994 until 2015, making her the
longest serving board member of the organisation. She served in various roles including President
(2004-2006 and 2010-2013), Secretary (1996-2004 and 2006-2010) and board member. She
retired from the board in 2015.
Deaf Australia awarded Mrs Ann Darwin Honorary Life Membership in 2006.
Mrs Darwin was also a long serving board member of Deaf Victoria (formerly known as Victorian
Council of Deaf People), including many years as president; and the board of Vicdeaf.
Her enormous generosity and passion for the deaf community, her kind, encouraging and
optimistic personality and selflessness will be greatly missed by us all.

Ann Darwin speaking at the 7th National Deafness Sector Summit with David Brady, chair of
Deafness Forum of Australia.

Inquiry into National Disability Strategy 2010-2020 to

build inclusive and accessible communities
The Community Affairs References Committee will conduct a public inquiry into this aspect of the
National Disability Strategy. The terms of reference are:
(a) the planning, design, management, and regulation of:
(i) the built and natural environment, including commercial premises, housing, public
spaces and amenities,
(ii) transport services and infrastructure, and
(iii) communication and information systems, including Australian electronic media and the
emerging Internet of things;
(b) potential barriers to progress or innovation and how these might be addressed;
(c) the impact of restricted access for people with disability on inclusion and participation in
economic, cultural, social, civil and political life; and
(d) any other related matters.
The Committee invites you to provide a written submission addressing issues that may be of
relevance to you. The Committee would appreciate your submission to be lodged by 17 March
2017. Please contact the secretariat if you wish to make a submission but are unable to do so by
this date.
The Committee prefers to receive submissions online as an attached document by accessing the
committee
website
and
selecting
the
Upload
Submission
Online
link
at
http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/OnlineSubmission.
Alternatively,
submissions may be emailed as an attached document to community.affairs.sen@aph.gov.au or
by hard copy to the address below.
Submissions become Committee documents and are made public only after a decision by the
Committee. Publication of submissions includes loading them onto the internet and making them
available to other interested parties including the media. Persons making submissions must not
release them without the approval of the Committee. Submissions are covered by parliamentary
privilege but the unauthorised release of them is not protected.
Information relating to Senate Committee inquiries, including notes to assist in the preparation of
submissions, can be located at
http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/How_to_make_a_submission.
Should you require further information please contact the Committee Secretariat on
(02) 6277 3515.

New Zealand human

international acclaim

rights

champion

receives

Dr Louise Sinden-Carroll has been awarded a prestigious Henry Viscardi International Achievement
Award.
Dr Sinden-Carroll is the Chief Executive of New Zealands
National Foundation of the Deaf. She is also the General
Secretary and Human Rights Officer for the International
Federation of Hard of Hearing People (IFHOH), of which
Deafness Forum of Australia is a member.
The US-based Henry Viscardi International Achievement Award
recognises exemplary leaders within the disability sector globally
for their extraordinary contributions to all of society. Founder,
Dr Henry Viscardi Jr. was one of the worlds leading advocates
for people with disabilities and served as a disability advisor to
eight U.S. Presidents from Franklin D. Roosevelt to Jimmy Carter.
Deafness Forum of Australia chair David Brady said, It is extremely beneficial to have a person of
Louises eminence and influence engaged in an international setting as both an advocate for
Australasia and a source of information for Deafness Forum in the pursuit of human rights issues.
Ruth Warick, President of IFHOH said Dr Sinden-Carrolls work on the UN Convention on the
Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) had been enormously important for advancing hard of
hearing issues.
Louise is the lead author of IFHOHs CRPD Toolkit and the CRPD Video. She facilitated Human
Rights CRPD workshops and a discussion group for people with hearing loss from organisations in
26 countries. She believes the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) is
a global tool that provides people with disabilities with the strength and capabilities to achieve a
quality of life equal to that of people without disabilities.
One hundred and sixty UN State parties have signed the CRPD, Louise said. Governments
cannot continue to deny the provision of reasonable accommodations needed to achieve equality
for people with disabilities in all aspects of their lives including employment, in health, social and
cultural too.
In 1999 when she became hard of hearing through an injury, Dr Sinden-Carroll learned first-hand
just how much of a challenge such a disability is. The challenge is further and significantly
compounded by the lack of understanding in mainstream society. In 2016 Dr. Sinden-Carroll
graduated with a PhD following the submission of a public policy thesis considering the New
Zealand Governments response to prisoners with hearing loss.

Chinese New Year in Australia

Many Australians celebrate Chinese New Year, also called the Spring Festival or Lunar New Year.

Chinese New Year decorations, including red envelopes for money.iStockphoto.com/Liang Zhang

Chinese New Year celebrations in Australia include:

Street festivals featuring arts, entertainment and childrens activities.
Chinese New Year markets showcasing arts, crafts and food stalls.
Dancing, music and people wearing colourful costumes to welcome the Chinese New Year.
Vibrant displays of Chinese lanterns, firecrackers and fireworks.
Many Chinese Australian families spend Chinese New Year by gathering together for a festive
meal. Children often receive red envelopes with money (Hong Bao, Ang Pao, or Lai See). The
Chinese New Year celebrations can last for about 15 days.
Chinese people first came to Australia in large numbers during Australias Gold Rush in the 1850s
and 1860s. Many Chinese-Australian families can trace their settlement in Australia to that time.
Monuments and buildings developed by Chinese settlers serve as reminders of the long history of
Chinese immigration. Examples remain in towns such as Ballarat and Bendigo in Victoria.

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