History of Hearing Aids

by Rachel Anderson

Happy Disability History Week! To celebrate this week, we will be highlighting the history of a few different AT devices. 

Did you know hearing aids have been around for centuries?

Hearing Aid "Trumpet"

The earliest known hearing devices date back to the 17th and 18th centuries. They were horn-shaped and made from shells, glass or wood.  These hearing "trumpets" were used by people that were hard of hearing by holding them up to their ear to amplify sounds. In the 1800s, it became more common for for these trumpets to made from metals like copper and brass.  Also during this century, efforts to conceal these hearing aids began by incorporating them into hats, collars, bouffant hairstyles, beards, or even clothing. Another invention from the 1800s that was not as common as the trumpet was an ear tube. Ear tubes consisted of a tube being held up to a speaker’s mouth and then the other end was placed directly in the person’s ear, thus eliminating the environmental noise.

Early 20th century hearing aids

Until the late 19th century, hearing aids only offered a small amount of sound amplification. It wasn't until the discovery of electricity and the telephone that rapid advancements in this technology were made.  When the telephone was invented, Thomas Edison, who was hard of hearing, wanted to improve the sounds delivered by this machine and invented the carbon transmitter which amplified the electrical signal. His work, along with many others in subsequent years, led to the creation of the three-element vacuum tube hearing aid in 1907. At first this device was too large to be portable, but by 1924 Western Electric created these same components and made them small enough to fit into a box that weighed only four kilograms. The box was connected to a receiver that users had to hold up to their ears. These devices were usually worn around the neck, and they still had a relatively heavy battery that only lasted a few hours. 

In 1938, electronic manufacturers in Chicago developed the first wearable hearing aid that consisted of a wire connecting a small earpiece to an amplifier-receiver that could be clipped onto the the wearer's clothes. Even further developments with this technology occurred in the 1950s when the transistor was invented. The invention of the transistor changed hearing aids completely. In fact, two years before transistor radios were popular, people were already using them in hearing aids. In 1953, more than 200,00 transistorized hearing aids were sold. In 1957, companies  made the hearing aid even smaller and more concealable by putting all of the electronics entirely into a pair of eyeglasses! Finally, in the 1960s, Zenith Radio advertised the first completely behind the ear model of a hearing aid. It weighed just 7 grams was 500 times more reliable than the hearing aids built with transistors.
  
Over the years, hearing aids have shrunk drastically in size and have increased in their abilities to function for individuals. Many hearing aids now are virtually invisible and these important devices have helped people that are hard of hearing maintain their independence. Do you use a hearing aid?  Tell us below in the comment box about what style works best for you. 

http://www.emoryhealthcare.org/ear-nose-throat/audiology/hearing-aids.html

Disability History Week

by Kirk Aranda, Youth Advocate for YO! Disabled & Proud

It’s that time of the year everyone! 

It is officially the start of Disability History Week 2013. For this entire week, YO! members from all across the state will be going into different schools to educate students and teachers about disability history.  Lesson plans include people and events like Ed Roberts, the 504 Rehabilitation Act, the ADA and Justin Dart. 

YO! members' presentations keep the students engaged with interactive activities, photos and videos all while providing them with exciting history lessons that keep them wanting more.

The Disability History Week (DHW) campaign originally started in 2009 and was passed by California legislature in August of 2010, making the second week of October officially Disability History Week here in California. With each passing year DHW continues to grow and succeed with its passionate youth leadership wanting to engage classrooms all over the state. Our efforts have led to over 160,000 disabled and non-disabled students learning about disability history, and we expect that number to grow even more this year.

This should be a very exciting week! Be sure to take part in DHW and talk to any students or teachers that you know about setting up a DHW lesson plan in your community! 

Happy Disability History Week!

Superfest Disability Film Festival Presents "The Dissies"

What are you doing Saturday evening, October 12, 2013?  

If you are near San Fransisco, why not check out "The Dissies"?

Superfest, the longest running disability film festival, is back! 

This year's Superfest event is brought to you by the Paul K. Longmore Institute on Disability at San Fransisco State University and the San Fransisco Lighthouse for the Blind.  

Superfest will take a look at the worst of the worst in recent film representation of disability and will be awarding these films nominations and awards based on different categories  such as 'The Worst Disabled Villain,' and 'The Most Amazing Miracle,' among others.

Superfest is about fun and laughter, but also encourages people to discuss and analyze the representations of disability and AT in films and media.  Disability communities nominated the films in which the worst negative portrayals of disability most affected them, and the Dissies, modeled after the Razzies, is about recognizing and reclaiming the negative representations and stereotypes that continue to permeate  mainstream culture. 

Join us for this fun and educational event!

For more information on the event, click here: http://longmoreinstitute.sfsu.edu/Superfest

Have you seen a negative portrayal of AT and/or disability in a recent film?  Tell us about it by typing in our comment box below.

AT Home in the Kitchen

By Bobbette Cantrell

Bobbette using cookie sheets to pull items out of her fridge

My kitchen is not like most.  

Because I have had Rheumatoid Arthritis for over 30 years, I use every day tools and supplies to make my life much easier. As a person who has always been independent, I decided that I could do the same kitchen tasks as a person without a disability, but with slight modifications and good old ingenuity. 

For example, I have found a way to reach into my refrigerator and pick up the items I need. By placing several cookie sheets and trays on the refrigerator shelves I can easily reach food and beverages. When I need something, I just pull a cookie sheet toward me and pick up the item. This simple change has saved my shoulders, arms and hands from straining, and most importantly, I don't drop anything! 

Wooden dowel with hook

Another handy item I use is a tool I made myself. It's a simple dowel (I’ve made several in various lengths) with a small hook at the end of it. With this woman-made tool, I'm able to reach into high cupboards and retrieve coffee cups, spices, small glasses, pots and other things. Sometimes I use a reacher to finish the task.

I also rely on an electric can opener as well as simple jar and bottle openers. Using them has made it so I don’t have to find a family member or neighbor when I want to dig into my canned goods.

With just a few changes in my kitchen, I continue to enjoy cooking.  Have you made any modifications to your kitchen to make cooking easier? Leave your ideas in the “Comments” section below.

AT on the Horizon - VGo Robots

by Rachel Anderson, Marketing & Communications Manager

Imagine you had an illness that prevented you from going to school for several months. Or, what if you had to miss work for weeks due to a sudden injury? Think of the amount of important information that you would miss out on being out of the office or classroom for weeks or months at a time. Moreover, what if you were thousands of miles away from an important business meeting? Or you had a loved one in the hospital that you really wanted to be there for?  Now, imagine that you could go to that meeting or visit your loved one in the hospital via technology. These are all things that you could do if you had the VGo robot.

VGo

VGo is a form of robotic telepresence that enables a person to put themselves in a distant location and have the freedom to move around as if they were physically there.  The person can see, hear, talk, interact and move. It differs from video teleconferencing in that it is completely remote controlled so you aren't dependent on the people in the distant location.

Promoted  as a perfect solution for schools, hospitals and businesses, the VGo robot can go anywhere a person wants to go.  They can even attend school physically for students that are unable to go themselves.  For example, there is a student in Texas that can't be in a classroom safely because of his disability. With his VGo, now he can participate in classroom discussions, locker-side chats, lunch period, and even move from class to class. The VGo could be an option for students that have severe allergies or autoimmune disabilities.

In addition to schools, another great place for VGos are hospitals.  Last year, a group of high schoolers helped raise money to purchase a VGo robot for a children's medical center in Utah. There are 20-30 children at a time that are in this hospital and the group of students wanted to allow these kids to be able to attend class while they had to stay in their hospital bed. 

VGos cost around $6,000 and can come with Verizon 4G LTE connectivity. Monthly charges are around $100 every month and additional charging stations are $500. The VGo doesn't require a wi-fi connection to transmit the video feed, and it has a six hour battery life. You can connect to the VGo from both Macs and PCs. Some of the disadvantages of the VGo that have been observed already are the fact that closed doors and stairs are obstacles for them without human intervention, as well as the fact that since it only weighs 20 lbs, it could easily be stolen. 

What do you think of these robots?  Do you think this AT will catch on and can help people with disabilities live independently?  Have you ever seen a VGo? Let us know in the comment box what you think about this communicating robot.