NEWSLETTER

OF THE

NAPIER HEARING

ASSOCIATION hear here

this issue

Autumn Buffet Lunch P.1

President’s Annual Report P.2

Ear Checks: Free to members P.2

Considering switching to Fibre? P.4

M a y 2 0 1 7

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,

Robert Vance, Richard

Walsh

02

With special gues t , Richard Walsh from Ass is t ive Lis tening Ser vices ta lking about

Devices to Keep you Safe & Connected at Home over Winter

Join us for an informative session about home devices to keep you safe and connected at home, with our tech whiz Richard Walsh from Assistive Listening Services.

Come prepared with your questions about flashing doorbells, alarms for people with hearing loss and more.

Followed by a buffet lunch with sweets, tea and coffee. Purchase your tickets from the Hearing Centre by Monday 29 May. Transport is available - please contact the Hearing Centre on 835 7790.

WEDNESDAY

31 MAY

AUTUMN

LUNCH

ST THOMAS MORE CHURCH HEAVEY HALL, 92 WYCLIFFE ST

ARRIVE: 10.30AM TICKETS $9 / $11 (NON-MEMBERS)

2016 was yet another big year for the Napier Hearing Association, with a full programme of events, activities and educational talks and courses throughout the year. Alongside these events, the Napier Hearing Centre in Dickens Street continued to provide support and advice for people adjusting to hearing aids, offering ear checks and troubleshooting minor problems.

Social Programme: When I talk to other Hearing Association branches around the country, one of the things which stands out is the huge support we have in Napier for our social programme. 2016 was no different, with many of you attending our events. These events are a wonderful opportunity to socialise with others who also have hearing loss, and also to learn about the latest developments in hearing technology and treatment.

Education: Undoubtedly the biggest event of the year was hosting Dr Grant Searchfield from Auckland University to talk about tinnitus. Dr Searchfield is internationally renowned for his research into tinnitus, and his talk generated unprecedented interest, selling out weeks before the event.

We organised a successful 6-week course on Living with Hearing Loss, with Hearing Therapist Rhose Shand from Life Unlimited. We received fantastic feedback from participants, who reported they felt much more empowered in dealing with their hearing loss.

Our Hearing Advisor Diana visited a number of schools to deliver the Dangerous Decibels education programme for children, and also gave talks about hearing loss to a number of community groups throughout the year. Diana’s talks always result in a spike of people visiting us for a hearing test, which can set them on the path to taking control of their hearing problems.

Devices & Technology: This year we expanded our range of telephones with special features for people with hearing loss. If you haven’t had a chance to look at these, I encourage you to stop by and take a look.

We also introduced a Personal Listener Lending Programme. These devices provide clear, amplified sound, and are particularly useful for people who don’t wear a hearing aid. This service is particularly useful for important appointments or visits, and is free to Napier residents. This year we aim to raise awareness of this programme, as we have already had feedback that the devices have made a huge difference to some borrowers.

Grants & Fundraising: We are very fortunate to have generous support from a number of organisations and charitable trusts. Our grateful thanks to COGS, the Harold Holt Charitable Trust, the Higgins Bequest Trust, the Infinity Foundation, the Lion Foundation, Napier City Council, North & South Trust, NZ Lotteries, Pub Charity, the Southern Trust, NZ Community Post and Wasp Broadband for their funding and support (see p4 for full details).

Our own fundraising efforts are always ongoing, and 2016 was no different. We ran a number of very successful raffles, and were delighted to raise over $4,000 in our annual Street Appeal. These efforts would not be at all possible without the generosity and goodwill of our members.

...continued next page

President’s Report Brian Cottle, President Napier Hearing Association

hear here Issue 02 April 2014

Ear Checks: FREE for members!

Think you might have a build-up of wax in your ear? Drop by the Hearing Centre for an ear check. Checks take less than 5 minutes, and are free for members. If there is an issue we can refer you to an ear nurse or other professional.

We have recently purchased a new Macroview Otoscope which offers enhanced visibility for better diagnosis. Our thanks to Pub Charity for their generous funding.

A warm welcome to our new members!

John Wallbank, James Sawers, Kevin Fuge, Arihia More, Patsy Wilson, Barbara Caryl, Davidson Bud, Franki James, Marilyn Linehan, David Cantell, Brian & Edna Hawthorn, Annie Jackson, Jeanette Trewheellar & Vanesse Norns.

We hope your association with Napier Hearing will be enjoyable and rewarding!

hear here Issue 02 May 2017

Our Grocery Hamper Raffle was drawn on Tuesday 4 April. Congratulations to winners G. Wallace (F20 Green)and D. Story (F37 Green).

The raffle raised $467.00 - thanks to everyone who supported us with purchases and raffle sales.

Tickets are now on sale for our Winter Raffle, with two great prizes:

1st Prize: Maxwell & Williams fine bone china dinner set (RRP $209).

2nd Prize: Winter warmer appliances pack.

Closes 30 June.

Grocery Raffle Winner

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

… President’s Report (continued) Many of you are out collecting for us year after year, and our fundraising successes are down to you.

I must give special mention to Mary Tait and Don & Betty Wilson for their generosity in donating wonderful prizes for us to raffle. Mary puts together the popular grocery hampers we have offered, and Don Wilson handcrafted the beautiful wooden trucks we offered for our Christmas raffle. We are extremely grateful for their generosity.

Finances: We continue to work with Sportslink, a charitable trust who administer, monitor and report on our finances, and support us with applying for grants. This has been a highly successful partnership, and provided us with much needed regular funds for salaries and rent.

Thanks: I would like to thank battery agent Don Wilson who opens his home to members who run out of batteries at short notice, Jos McIntosh and Chris Cunliffe who compile our newsletters and bundle up the coins as they come in during the Street Appeal.

Thanks also to our friends at Age Concern and Diabetes Hawkes Bay for kindly letting us use their space for talks and events.

Finally, I would like to thank the Committee, who work hard all year round to support the office staff, fundraise, organise events and assist in running the Hearing Centre. We are very sad this year to see three of our longstanding committee members stepping down: Janice Cram, our ex-President, Brother Joe Lamb, and Maree Hallamore. They leave a wonderful legacy of advocacy and good work which we will do our best to continue.

29 March 2017

Highlights of our AGM, and Chef’s Choice Lunch. A two-course meal was prepared and served by the talented young trainee chefs from FutureCol in Hastings.

We are very

grateful for the

support of these

organisations,

whose

generosity

makes it

possible for

Napier Hearing

to offer support

services and

programmes for

people living

with hearing

loss:

hear here Issue 02 May 2017

Should you connect to Fibre? As more streets in Napier are having have fibre cables laid, we are getting enquiries from people who are having trouble with their amplified phones and other equipment not working when they switch over to fibre, so here are some important things to consider if you are thinking of making the change.

As You Were, Soldier You DON’T have to switch over to fibre. If your telephone and other devices are working just fine over the copper lines there is no need to change. Unless you have a number of people in your house using a number of devices to play games, watch movies and use the Internet, you are probably just fine as you are. An important thing to keep in mind is that fibre phones or any other equipment using the fibre will not work in a power outage.

Making the Change If you are finding your internet speed is slow, particularly when watching movies, or when two or more people are very busy on the internet at the same time, then connecting to the new fibre network might be for you.

Telephone Option 1 You can plug your existing phone directly into the fibre box which gets installed on your wall. You would then either have to answer calls where your fibre box is, or you could use a cordless phone.

Telephone Option 2 You can ask to have a hybrid cable connected to your house, which has both fibre and the existing copper wiring. Copper wiring is the traditional wiring. This connects your existing phone jack points to your fibre box. You need to sort this out BEFORE your house is connected to the fibre. You can then continue to use your existing telephone/s just where they are.

Devices that need copper wiring If you have any of the following, you may need the hybrid copper/fibre cable connected (Option 2). Remember, organise this BEFORE you get connected, or it will be expensive to change.

Monitored security or medical alarm - Some of these work over fibre, some don’t.

Fax machine Phone Flasher/ringer My Sky or similar TV recorder Captel Phone (if you don’t want this located next to the fibre box, and/or

don’t want to use the sometimes unreliable Captel Wi-Fi connection.)

Thanks to Hearing Association Christchurch and Spark for this information.

Harold Holt Charitable Trust