CaptivateSpring 2008 Chris Peters – Wired for Sound Captioning Close Up The key to online success How to access captions Captivate contents Editorial ..............................................................................................................1 Chris Peters – Wired for Sound .....................................................2–7 Cochlear Implants ........................................................................................5 Close Up ...................................................................................................8–10 The Key to Online Success .........................................................11–13 How to Access Captions .......................................................................14 WHO BENEFITS FROM CAPTIONS? 430,000 New Zealanders are deaf or hearing-impaired and cannot fully enjoy television programmes. Captioning gives them, as well as those with English as a second language, access to TV. Research in the US also suggests that captions benefit children who are learning to read. If you have a Teletext TV set, press the TEXT button, then page 801. You will see the captions appear on your TV screen. Check which programmes are captioned on page 320 of Teletext. TVNZ Captioning, Television Centre, 100 Victoria Street West, PO Box 3819, Auckland, New Zealand. Tel 09 916 7392, Fax 09 916 7902. Editorial – TVNZ Captioning Team. Designer – Thomas Pavitte. Printer – Mike Green Productions, PO Box 147-183, Ponsonby, Auckland. Captivate is published biannually by TVNZ Captioning. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, in whole or part, without the written permission of the publisher. Editorial Welcome to the Spring 2008 edition of Captivate, the magazine which introduces you to the world of the TVNZ Captioning service. In this issue, I interview Chris Peters, who tells us about his recently acquired ‘bionic ear’ – a brand spanking new cochlear implant. Chris is a busy man. As well as being a manager at the NZ Press Association, he is the Public Affairs Manager for the Hearing Association, and he tells us about the secret plans and clever tricks that the Hearing Association has up their sleeve for the next year. It has now been 18 months since the launch of captions on Close Up, and Wendy Davies provides us with an insight into the mad rush involved with preparing captions for this show every weeknight. Amanda Waite takes us on a tour of the TVNZ website, with a few tips along the way on how to get the most out of the wealth of information and entertainment on offer. And if you’ve never used captions before, now is the perfect time to start by referring to the handy ‘how to’ guide on the back cover. We love to hear about the different ways that people use captions. While the captioning service was originally intended for the use of deaf and hearing-impaired people, we’ve had numerous anecdotes of other ways to use them, such as when you’re using a hairdryer or have a loud dishwasher going in the background. And who can go past the idea of turning the captions on while trying to get a crying baby to sleep? If you use captions and would like to share your story with us, or if you have any feedback, comments or queries, feel free to drop us a line – [email protected] –Anna Donald 1 Chris Peters – Wired for Sound Chris Peters After over 20 years of living with hearing loss, Chris Peters took the plunge last year and went for an operation to receive a cochlear implant. Anna Donald took advantage of his renewed ability to use the phone and interviewed him about his experiences. Perhaps you could start by telling us about your hearing loss before the cochlear implant. How did it affect your life? I first began noticing my loss of hearing when I was in my late 20s. I had been working in England, and when I came back late ‘79, I was really starting to struggle. After a short farming stint, the NZ Press Association (NZPA) offered me a job. I was posted to Australia as foreign correspondent, and after a year there I found that my hearing loss was really affecting me. A couple of times I nearly made a couple of quite serious mistakes, misquoting finance figures. That was when I gave in and got hearing aids. The advance they gave me was just amazing. When I came back to NZ, I went into management at NZPA. In the mid- ‘90s my hearing started gradually deteriorating, and in 1995 I stopped using the telephone. I remember having a heated argument with someone over the phone, but he had to repeat himself so many times that the spirit of the argument was somewhat dampened! I also remember finding travelling difficult. I would check multiple times that I was on the right train or plane, as I couldn’t hear the PA systems. I recall 2 taking off in a plane and checking out the window that it was heading in the right direction! I had my hearing aids upgraded, but by 2003 it was getting seriously bad. My audiologist, who I truly believe should be a candidate for canonisation, put a lot of time into trying to get my hearing aids tuned, but then we accepted the inevitability of the need for a cochlear implant, and in 2005 he added me to the list for surgery. My first assessment was in 2006, and I finally had the operation in August 2007. How did you decide to get a cochlear implant? Was it a difficult decision? There was a migration towards the decision. It was originally suggested by my ENT specialist, but I rejected the idea because it is pretty major surgery. I felt I could survive well enough with hearing aids. Also, the implant technology had a wee way to go yet. Then the audiologist said I really needed to get an implant. I was frightened, but I knew I just wasn’t getting anywhere with the hearing aids. Also, I knew one of my three kids would probably get hearing loss, as it’s hereditary. My wife pointed out that I needed to set an example for the kids about how to handle hearing loss. So in the end, it wasn’t a difficult decision. It was the only option. What was the operation like? I don’t know – I slept through it! It took three hours. In the lead-up, I was so busy I never even had time to think about it. On the whole, the surgery went really smoothly. It wasn’t too painful, and luckily my balance wasn’t at all affected, which is a risk when they put a foreign object in your cochlear. 3 How has the implant affected your life? It had been over 12 years since I had used the phone. I approached it with a certain amount of trepidation, but I quickly discovered that I could use the phone with a telecoil (a listening device) in the receiver. So many little benefits came out of getting the implant. When I first got back from switch-on, I realised I could hear birds singing for the first time in 15 years, and that made a tear come to my eye. A big change is being able to hold conversations in the dark – after years of silence after the lights are switched off, my wife and I can now converse well into the night. I hadn’t realised how much my hearing loss had eroded my confidence. Since the operation, I feel that everything is possible, and I feel so much more independent. For example, before the implant, if I got a page from work while walking down the street, I would have to stop strangers and ask if they would make a phone call for me. Now I feel much more confident with my new- found independence. It’s a hell of a lot easier getting through life now. What’s next for Chris Peters? Now that I have the ability to hear through the implant, I want to take advantage of being more independent. Looking back over the last 10 years, I realise that I became a victim of my disability, even though I fought like blazes against it. I always took the attitude that I wasn’t going to hide under a rock because of my hearing loss. I can’t get my hearing back completely, but I can fight for the things that will help me and others to get through life more easily. 4 Cochlear Implants WHAT IS A COCHLEAR IMPLANT? A cochlear implant is a surgically implanted electronic device which gives a sense of sound to a person who is profoundly deaf or has severe hearing loss. It works by stimulating functioning auditory nerves inside the cochlear with electrical impulses, which are interpreted as sound. Cochlear implants do not enable deaf people to hear perfectly; they provide an interpretation of noise when turned on, and when turned off, they do not assist hearing in any way. WHO CAN GET ONE? A candidate for a cochlear implant is someone whose hearing loss is so great that no significant benefit is obtained from a hearing aid. People with mild or moderate sensorineural hearing loss are generally not candidates for cochlear implantation. WHERE CAN I FIND OUT MORE? For more information, contact one of the following professionals: • Audiologist • Ear, Nose, and Throat (E.N.T.) Specialist or Otolaryngologist (ORL) • Adviser on Deaf Children • The Hearing House (a charity for deaf children and their families): www.hearinghouse.co.nz 5 Hearing Association Involvement We were also interested to hear about Chris Peters’ involvement in the Hearing Association. How did your involvement with the Hearing Association begin? I first got involved in 1979, when I had a hearing test at Auckland Hospital. A doctor brought through a crowd of students, tested my hearing and brusquely said, ‘Yes, you’re losing your hearing.