NEWSLETTER

OF THE

NAPIER HEARING

ASSOCIATION hear here

this issue

Spring Fish & Chips Lunch P.1

President’s Report P.2

Silent Leadership Challenge P.3

Improving your TV Sound P.4

S E P T E M B E R / O C T O B E R 2 0 1 8

I S S U E

Napier Hearing Centre

Civic Court Mall

Dickens Street, Napier

(next to Café DMP)

9am - 2pm

Monday to Friday

Phone: 835 7790

www.napierhearing.org.nz

Email: naphear@xtra.co.nz

Facebook:

www.facebook.com/

napierhearing

Post to:

PO Box 4019

Marewa, Napier 4143

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:

President: Brian Cottle

Treasurer: Diana Clift

Secretary: Angela Moloney

Volunteer Co-ordinator:

Ann Bain

Committee: June Chorley,

Joy Kelly, Jacqui Lee,

Richard Walsh

04

Join us for lunch with a talk by

Jae Sutherland from Hawkes Bay Civil Defence

Join us as Jae Sutherland, from Hawkes Bay Civil Defence talks about practical things to do to prepare for and during an emergency, and the work of Civil Defence.

Followed by a two course lunch of Fish and Chips, Pavlova and fruit salad, tea and coffee.

Purchase your tickets from the Hearing Centre by Monday 22 October.

Transport is available - please contact the Hearing Centre on 835 7790.

**Please advise us when booking if you have special dietary requirements.

Wednesday 24 October

Napier RSA Arrive: 10.30am

All Tickets $17.00

President’s Report Brian Cottle President, Napier Hearing Association

Winter Raffle

hear here Issue 04 September / October 2018

Our Winter Warmer raffle was drawn on 2 August. Congratulations to our winners: Mary Mills (Blue F05) and Ann Mitchell (Green B55).

The raffle raised $1,074. Thanks to everyone who supported us and helped out with ticket sales!

As a small local charity, we are always on the look out for new ideas to raise funds towards our community programmes and activities, such as our educational programmes, rest home clinics and providing hearing tests and free information and advice.

A new idea we are trying out is working with New Zealand company Finn’s Fudge to sell fundraising boxes of Russian Fudge. Napier Hearing will get a small portion of each box sold. We have undertaken some serious taste-testing, and can thoroughly recommend you try them out! Boxes are available at the Hearing Centre, and we will have some available at our upcoming events as well.

Spring also brings our annual Street Appeal - this year on October 4, 5 & 6. We are very fortunate to have a group of very loyal volunteers to help us collect, but of course we can always do with more. If you are able to help please get in touch - just one hour can make a difference!

Join us for a fun Quiz evening, and help us raise funds for the Hearing Association! There will also be raffles with great prizes, drawn on the night.

Wednesday 7 November

6:00 - 9:00pm Napier RSA, Vautier St Napier

All Team members: $5 Registration

Form your own team of 4 - 6 players, or join one of the Hearing Association’s teams. Questions are displayed on a large screen.

Bar and meals are available. Register your team, or your interest in joining a team at the Hearing Association on 835 7790.

Registrations are also available on the night from 6pm.

Street Appeal: We Need You!

Our Street Appeal is on again on October 4, 5 & 6, and we are seeking your help to make it a success.

All of our sites are covered, and we will provide a chair and table to collect at. If you are able to spare an hour or two to collect for us, please drop in to the Hearing Centre or phone our Volunteer Co-ordinator Ann Bain on 835 7790. Any time you can give is very much appreciated!

Oto-ease lubricant can make wearing hearing aids easier and more comfortable.

Inserting earpieces such as hearing aids, ear molds and ear plugs can be easier with Oto-Ease. It is sterile, unscented and designed specifically for custom earpieces. The unique formula provides a non-greasy, water-soluble solution for hearing device wearers while also helping create an effective acoustic seal.

Members Price: $9

NEW

Oto-ease Lubricant for earpieces

WINZ Talk At our Winter Lunch in August, we all learnt much from our helpful and informative speaker Rihi Kempster from the Ministry of Social Development.

Rihi spoke to us about Services for Seniors, and looked at the Disability Allowance and what can be included in it. The Disability Allowance is an income tested weekly payment (currently up to $63.22 per week) for people who have a disability or ongoing health condition which results in extra costs. You need to be able to qualify for a Community Services card to access this.

Battery Costs: Costs for “authorised consumables” such as hearing aid batteries can be included. We have forms to assess your battery costs which we can complete here at the Hearing Centre for you. Come and see us!

Other Costs: Some other costs relating to your disability or ongoing condition which can be considered are:

physiotherapy and chiropractic treatment, gardening, lawns & outside window cleaning, medical fees which are additional & ongoing, pharmaceutical charges, power, gas and heating which are additional to normal costs, rental equipment, eg nebulisers, transport costs due to your disability.

Information Available These are only some of the things that can be considered for a Disability Allowance. We have a Fact Sheet at the Hearing Centre which covers allowable costs, as well as copies of the Application Form, and other information from Rihi including a Services For Seniors brochure.

Applying for a Disability Allowance To apply for a Disability Allowance you need to have receipts for your recent ongoing costs. Your doctor will need to fill out part of the form, relating to your disability or ongoing condition. You will then be paid a weekly amount based on your assessed allowable costs. Keep your receipts relating to your Allowance, and use them to review it in later years. If your costs change you need to get in touch with WINZ.

Our latest fundraiser is a very sweet one…..we are now selling Finn’s Fudge, a deliciously decadent treat made here in New Zealand with no preservatives or gluten. It makes a fantastic gift or just a treat for yourself! Drop in to the Hearing Centre to grab a box, or look out for it at our next event.

$5 per 127g box.

All proceeds go towards local programmes and

activities.

Suburban Battery Agent

Our suburban battery agent is available if you find yourself short of batteries. Please phone before visiting to make sure he is home:

Don Wilson, 15A Eton St, Taradale Ph: 844 0055

Oh FUDGE!

Members of our Committee are undertaking the Silent Leadership Challenge on Friday 21 September. The challenge involves participants tackling four communication challenges at work and at home while wearing bright yellow hearing protectors, to simulate what it is like to have a hearing loss.

Our challenges are a committee meeting, socialising at a café, at work and watching TV at home.

If you would like to join us, or are able to sponsor us please visit our team site at: www.silentleadershipchallenge.everydayhero.com/nz/team-napier-hearing, or get in touch with us on 835 7790. The money raised will directly support our advocacy, support and prevention work.

Our special thanks to Café DMP for supporting us in the Challenge.

Silent Leadership Challenge

Improving your TV sound Having trouble hearing the TV? Today's flat screen TVs have great pictures, but not much room for good speakers. Here are some ways of improving the quality of the sound:

The Audio/Sound Settings: With many TVs, there are settings you can change to improve the sound. Can you find your manual? If so, have a look under the heading “Audio” or “Sound”. You can also be brave and have a play with the settings, by going into the onscreen Menu. If you would like a second opinion, please bring the manual into us. We would love to have a look and see if we can help with this. If you can’t find your manual, try and to find the TV’s model number. This is often on the back of the TV. We could quite possibly use this to locate an online manual for you. Go on, give us a challenge!

Soundbars: Soundbars are long bar-like speakers. They sit underneath your flat screen TV, and can really improve the quality of the sound and the clarity of the dialogue. They come in a whole range of prices. For many people, purchasing a sound bar will fix the problem of unclear dialogue, or certainly improve it.

Wireless Headphones: Can the neighbours hear your TV? Do you have anyone else at home who finds it too loud? Wireless TV Headphones can be a good solution for you to get the volume you need,

with improved clarity. See sidebar for details about getting these installed for your TV.

Closed Captions: Like Option 1, this is a no-cost approach which involves looking at the settings on your TV. Closed captions are subtitles, available on many (not all) TV programmes and news content, that can really make a difference to our understanding of what is going on. Well worth using, maybe in combination with one of the other suggestions above.

Sound Bar

Television Wireless TV Headphones

TV headphones come with a recharging station which plugs into your TV. They allow you to amplify the sound as loud as you need, while allowing others to listen at a lower volume.

Richard from Assistive Hearing Services works with Napier Hearing to supply and connect headphones to all models of TV. He will visit your home to set up the headphones and ensure you are comfortable using them.

The cost of the headphones is $175.00 (including setup). An extra charge may apply if your TV requires a toslink converter.

Assistive Hearing Services

Richard Walsh Phone: 021 103 1773

hear here Issue 04 September / October 2018

For further information, see this article:

www.consumerreports.org/lcd-led-oled-tvs/better-tv-sound-for-those-

with-hearing-loss/ or come in to Napier Hearing and see us.