PP Marsha proceeded to ask John O’Keefe to introduce our next speaker, Ellen Simon, who is the Executive Director of Hear Center, and a member of the Pasadena Rotary Club since 2008. She is a clinical audiologist, holding a master’s degree in audiology from the University of Michigan.
This is for free and low-cost services in audiology to people in the L.A. County. She started with working with babies and their hearing issues. It’s also the only non-profit hearing center in Los Angeles County. The Hear center was founded in 1954 by Dr. Ciwa Griffiths as a non – profit. It provides numerous services along with hearing aids, such as Phonak, Siemens, Widex and ReSound.
The ear is a very complex part of the human body, including having the three smallest bones in the body (frequent Jeopardy question). Hearing loss can be manifest in several ways, including hearing fatigue, as measured on an audiogram. The Hear Center provides low cost or free hearing aids and no-interest payments to low-income seniors and others.
- Only about one out of five people who would benefit from a hearing aid actually uses one,
- About 28.8 million US adults could benefit from using hearing aids.
- Roughly 10% of the US adult population have experienced tinnitus lasting at least five minutes in the past year.
Options include tinnitus management, cochlear implant, enhanced volume on landlines, rechargeable hearing aids, visual fire alarms, and more. For more information you can contact Philip Shura philipshura@hearcenter.org (626) 734-6555 or Rebecca Arroyo rebeccaarroyo@hearcenter.org
“A wonderful presentation” as PP Marsha says, and it certainly was. She admitted how she cries at the videos showing a child hearing for the first time, especially their mother’s voice. Very moving. Phil Gabriel talked about his daughter’s friend who had hearing aids, and PP Ron Lyster mentioned that the Club sponsored a group that went down to Guatemala about 25 years ago to perform cochlear implants. PP Ed Gauld asked about the pricing of hearing aids, mentioning the huge variation in price out in the general market. PP Tom Barron talked about his ability to hear sounds but not necessarily hear the nuances that allow him to make sense of the sounds so he understands what is being said. (It’s a huge problem for him and his barber.)
John O’Keefe asked about the role heredity plays in hearing loss, and Ellen confirmed that it does play a major role. And ear wax should be removed by a physician. John also asked about the funding. Most of their money comes from individual donations, grants, and service fees.
PP Marsha announced a donation in Ellen’s honor to the Los Angeles Public Library Westwood branch.
PP Michael Newman was finally able to join us and give us the Thought for the Day.
“Thinking positively does not mean you have not committed any mistakes. Think carefully about what you have done wrong so you can avoid them in the future.” --- Abraham Lincoln
“Self-care is so important. When you take time to replenish your spirit, you can serve others. You cannot serve from an empty vessel.” --- Elleanor Brown
PP Tom Barron will be leading our meeting next Thursday, at our annual Financial Seminar meeting, hearing from our own Club experts. And so it goes, another opportunity to join together for our weekly Rotary Club meeting. In the words of my mother, “Life is a living & learning experience.”
--- PP Mark Rogo
