AID TO HEARING

Manawatu Standard, Volume LIX, Issue 95, 22 March 1939, Page 12

AID TO HEARING

NEW ZEALAND LEAGUE. Seven years ago the New Zealand Hard of Hearing League was founded to do everything in its power to assist the hard of hearing. Among the activities the league has promoted arc the teaching of lip-reading, the provision of a centre of social activity in the form of club rooms in local centres, and the development of the use of mechanical hearing aids Ixith individually and in such public places as halls and churches. .By those and other means very many hard of hearing people throughout the Dominion have been encouraged to take their place again in the community and re-enter into the joy of living. The work being done by the League was demonstrated a few days ago when the "Wellington branch invited representatives of various societies in Wellington to attend a “hearing day” gathering in the branch’s rooms. The president of the branch (Dr. W. Macdonald) welcomed the visitors and introduced the deputy-Mayor, Mr M. M. F. Luckie. The league was not only a place whero people might come lo enjoy the use of the powerful group aid, whero help could l>e given to them in choosing hearing aids, and where they might use the library and social room, Dr. Macdonald said. It was much more besides, for its aim was to help the hard of hearing squarely to face up to their difficulties and combat the disability of deafness, which to a very large extent could lie conquered.

During the branch’s lour years of activity, I)r. Macdonald said, there had l>cen 118 pupils in the lip-reading classes, and all of them had benefited to a very great extent. The aim of the league was to get. into touch with as many hard of hearing people as possible, and its membership was open also to members of the general puplic who were in sympathy with its aims. Mr Luckie, oil Isehalf of the city, congratulated the branch on its fine work and the results which had been achieved in alleviating the distressful results of hardness of hearing. Immense steps had been taken, but much more might l>o known by the public of what was being done. A short demonstration of a lipreading lesson was given by Miss M. Eggleton, the Wellington branch's teacher of lip-reading, and Mrs G. A. Hurd-Wood gave an address on Die group hearing aid system. The .audiometer was described b.v Mr A. 1). McKinley, who demonstrated its working. The Minister of Education and Health (Mr Fraser) was a visitor during the afternoon and displayed groat interest in the work being done by the league.