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Center helps restore communication, hope after hearing loss - JSOnline
Jean Szabo was only in her late 30s when she began experiencing hearing loss.
At first it was subtle: Nearby conversations were becoming muffled and faraway sounds unclear. As time ticked by, her condition grew progressively worse.
The diagnosis: bilateral Meniere's disease, an inner ear disorder that eventually would rob her of hearing in her right ear and diminish sound to 20% in her left, even with the use of a hearing aid.
"I was not prepared to be totally deaf," said Szabo, 63, of Milwaukee.
Guiding her through the often tough years has been the Center for Communication, Hearing & Deafness, formally the Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.
The nearly 85-year-old organization, which started as a support group for the hard of hearing, has offered help and hope to those challenged with hearing loss at any age.
As advances in technology have evolved with time, so has the mission of the organization, which changed its name and expanded its focus earlier this year to meet the growing frontier.
"The real reason for the name change is that it was somewhat limiting. What we are really about is communication," said Dorothy Kerr, the organization's executive director.
"Whether they choose to use American Sign Language or get the help to be oral speaking, we want to offer people options," she said.
One major focus of the organization has been the growing number of baby boomers who are now experiencing hearing loss. "For older people, if they can't hear and they don't do anything about it they can become depressed and be cut off from society," she said. "Hearing loss can be mistaken for dementia."
The organization receives $15,364 annually from the United Way of Greater Milwaukee toward its Adult Aural and Communication Rehabilitation program, as well as $176,681 toward the Kellogg Child and Family Program.
"The Center for Communication, Hearing & Deafness has been our community partner for over 50 years and is the go-to resource for people who suffer from hearing loss and their families," said Nicole Angresano, United Way's vice president of community impact.
"They offer excellent services including therapy, advocacy and communication skills training, for children and adults," Angresano said.
Along with receiving assistance from speech-language pathologists and psychological counseling in dealing with an increasingly silent world, Szabo also got transition help from center specialists again when she received a cochlear implant in May.
"Life just opened up again," Szabo said. "It is like having a light bulb go on in a dark room."
The center offered her pre- and post-cochlear implant training.
Through the surgery, Szabo has gained hearing in both ears. "Now, I have 70 percent recognizable conversation speech," she said. "Before, I would use my lip-reading and sign language to communicate with family. Now, I can hear conversations, relax more and have less stress in communicating. It's a miracle."
Jean Szabo was only in her late 30s when she began experiencing hearing loss.
At first it was subtle: Nearby conversations were becoming muffled and faraway sounds unclear. As time ticked by, her condition grew progressively worse.
The diagnosis: bilateral Meniere's disease, an inner ear disorder that eventually would rob her of hearing in her right ear and diminish sound to 20% in her left, even with the use of a hearing aid.
"I was not prepared to be totally deaf," said Szabo, 63, of Milwaukee.
Guiding her through the often tough years has been the Center for Communication, Hearing & Deafness, formally the Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.
The nearly 85-year-old organization, which started as a support group for the hard of hearing, has offered help and hope to those challenged with hearing loss at any age.
As advances in technology have evolved with time, so has the mission of the organization, which changed its name and expanded its focus earlier this year to meet the growing frontier.
"The real reason for the name change is that it was somewhat limiting. What we are really about is communication," said Dorothy Kerr, the organization's executive director.
"Whether they choose to use American Sign Language or get the help to be oral speaking, we want to offer people options," she said.
One major focus of the organization has been the growing number of baby boomers who are now experiencing hearing loss. "For older people, if they can't hear and they don't do anything about it they can become depressed and be cut off from society," she said. "Hearing loss can be mistaken for dementia."
The organization receives $15,364 annually from the United Way of Greater Milwaukee toward its Adult Aural and Communication Rehabilitation program, as well as $176,681 toward the Kellogg Child and Family Program.
"The Center for Communication, Hearing & Deafness has been our community partner for over 50 years and is the go-to resource for people who suffer from hearing loss and their families," said Nicole Angresano, United Way's vice president of community impact.
"They offer excellent services including therapy, advocacy and communication skills training, for children and adults," Angresano said.
Along with receiving assistance from speech-language pathologists and psychological counseling in dealing with an increasingly silent world, Szabo also got transition help from center specialists again when she received a cochlear implant in May.
"Life just opened up again," Szabo said. "It is like having a light bulb go on in a dark room."
The center offered her pre- and post-cochlear implant training.
Through the surgery, Szabo has gained hearing in both ears. "Now, I have 70 percent recognizable conversation speech," she said. "Before, I would use my lip-reading and sign language to communicate with family. Now, I can hear conversations, relax more and have less stress in communicating. It's a miracle."