LEAGUE FOR HARD OF HEARING

Press, Volume LXXXII, Issue 24768, 8 January 1946, Page 6

LEAGUE FOR HARD OF HEARING

1 WORK- REVIEWED IN BOOKLET

TRIBUTE BY PRIME MINISTER

To show what has been done in New Zealand to assist the hard of hearing, a booklet, “Help for the Hard of Hearing,” has been published by Mrs G. A. Hurd-Wood, who founded the New Zealand League for the Hard of Hearing. The booklet is the outcome of research into records that extend back as far as 1880, though it is more intimately concerned with the history of more recent years. Public attention was drawn to the problem of the hard of hearing more than 20 years ago. largely because of active and sympathetic interest shown by Mrs-Hurd-Wood, of Hamilton. From her early efforts there has sprung the New Zealand League for the Hard of Hearing, which, from a modest beginning in Auckland in 1932, now extends its influence throughout the Dominion. There are 10 branches of the league, and many hundreds of people with img aired. hearing have had new hope rought to them, for relief from severe physical and. social handicaps, through the efforts of the league. The league has done excellent work in a sphere of humanitarian endeavour that is often overlooked. Assistance for Servicemen A section of the book deals with the problem of servicemen who have returned to New Zealand with loss, or partial loss, of hearing. The problem of rehabilitating these men—and women, too—has been considered by the league. With its experienced instructors in lip-reading, its hearing aids and other modern equipment, it has already done much in this direction, in addition to its ordinary work for civilians, and its resources have been placed at the disposal of those unfortunate servicemen. A chapter pays special attention to many ways- in which those with imperfect hearing may be handled psychologically—little ways in which a sufferer can be helped to carry his burden happily and without embarrassment. Prime Minister’s Tribute A tribute by the Prime Minister (the Rt. Hon. P. Fraser) to the work of the league is paid in a foreword to the booklet. “Loss of the sense of hearing, or partial loss, is a handicap which is not always appreciated by those who possess normal hearing,” Mr Fraser comments, “and people who are so handicapped sometimes do not get all the sympathy and understanding they should. A totally deafened person like the totally blind, is forced to live in a world of his own, and he deserves all the help that can be given him. It is in this regard that the New Zealand League for the Hard of Hearing, together with the State’s own schools, has done and is doing outstanding work. The league’s special efforts on behalf of returned servicemen with in.paired hearing is one of the most important features of its activities. In helping these men overcome th eir disability and re-establish themselves, the league is doing a service that is most praiseworthy.

“No reference to the league is complete without mention of the work of Mrs G. A. Hurd-Wood, its founder, whose foresight and enthusiasm were largely responsible for its formation. To her and to the willing helpers who have been associated with her—particularly Dr. J. Hardie Neil, of Auckland— I would like to express my personal thanks. I would like to see the work of all those institutions that are caring for the hard of hearing expand to the fullest degree in the future. I can think of no cause more worthy of public support.” concludes Mr Fraser.