Members of Hearing Loss Association of America Fort Worth Chapter

_{David is retired after serving for 32 years at TCU. He held various positions in the Technology Resources unit, with his last 20 years as the Chief Technology Officer. He and his wife Sharon Crouch both have bilateral cochlear implants and met at an HLAA Fort Worth Chapter meeting. He has a genuine love for this organization that has given him so much over the last 20 years. David became the chapter’s president in January 2015. He was born with a hearing loss, and his loss has progressively gotten worse over the years. He has worn bilateral hearing aids since 1980 and received his first cochlear implant in March, 2013. Then in January, 2014, he received his second implant to become bilateral. His hearing is now remarkably improved due to this incredible technology.}

I am a native Texan and have lived in the state (Lubbock, San Antonio, Waco, Arlington) most of my life. Graduated from Arlington High School, where I met my wife of 57 years in the 10th grade. Then on to Univ. of North Texas, Univ. of TX at Austin, and the Univ. of Tennessee. Veteran of U.S.Army (6 years active and inactive). Professor of English, Texas Tech Univ. for 32 years. (I was just a little kid from Lubbock with no particular educational tradition in my family who liked school and never really left, until I retired from teaching). Have been an active community volunteer and continue teaching bible class at church in retirement (the past 16 years). Love books, movies, theater, classical music (and most other kinds of music), gardening, and travel. Had quadruple bypass surgery 10 years ago and have been active in Mended Hearts, Inc., Friends of the Library (Arlington), Texas Retired Teachers Association, and for the past nine years have volunteered in the auxiliary of the Arlington Memorial Hospital as well as in Community Hospice of TX. Continuing goal: to be a "happy old man."

Over 20 years ago I began to have difficulty hearing in the classroom. It was obvious that I was experiencing more than normal aging. After numerous MRIs and other tests, I was officially diagnosed with Maniere's disease and have lived for the past two decades with periodic vertigo, nausea, and continuing hearing loss. A couple of years ago, as my hearing aids were becoming less and less effective, a friend at church, Jeannine Brown, now on our governing board at Hearing Loss Association of America, Fort Worth Chapter, introduced me to this organization where I met numerous people with a variety of forms of hearing loss. After attending a national convention of HLAA and seeing a physician recommended to me by a new friend in HLAA, I was tested (and tested) and about 7 months ago had cochlear implant surgery. The results I am experiencing in this short time are difficult to believe for they truly seem miraculous. Our goal is to welcome anyone with hearing loss to join us as we continue to help others find solutions to hearing issues and help to educate the public about the real story of hearing loss as a disability.

My story, how my journey began. I was a change of life baby and by that I mean my mother was 36 when she had me, and 34 when she had my sister. Both of us have a hearing loss, mine being more profound. As a baby I had strep throat and ran a temperature of over 102 for a week which doctors gave me penicillin which did not help. So they gave me Streptomycin which at the time we didn’t know until much later that nerve deafness was a side effect of that drug. I had normal hearing up until the time I was in 2^nd grade. Which my teacher told my parents that either I was not paying attention or I was not hearing. I was tested and found out that I had a severe hearing loss. Back then we use those bulking body aids with long dangling cords and buttons in the ears. I hated them and was made fun of by my peers. The ear molds themselves were a nightmare and I developed sores in my ears. Eventually, I was transferred to a public school, worked on my speech and learned lip reading. As the years went on, my hearing got worse. By the time I was in high school I was tested again and my doctor at that time wanted to put me in a deaf school to learn sign language but my mother refused since I only had two years left to graduate.

Fast forward to 1970s. I don’t remember exactly when, but I eventually was fitted much to my surprise with a "behind the ear" hearing aid. I didn’t think it would be able to provide enough power. It did wonders for my self-esteem. Yet I still relied on lip reading to survive in the world we know. People thought I was mean or ignorant but little did they know I just didn’t hear them. By 2006 I met Dan White at my church and he noticed I was straining to see the screen for a leadership seminar and asked if I was hearing impaired. After more extensive tests it was determined that I only heard 8 words out of 100 and he told me, "wow, you’re really good at lip reading." So, that started my next journey as I qualified for the Med-El implant on my right ear. Needless to say, this is a short version of my journey but it truly has been an amazing one.

My insight I only wished I had checked into cochlear implants earlier, it was procrastination on my part. I would say there are benefits to being deaf, just as there are to be hearing. So, if you are contemplating, remember the world is a very noisy place but in it are also some truly amazing sounds. If you have children who are deaf I would say please give them the opportunity to hear what the normal world hears. Ultimately they will still be deaf, but then again, they can hear. Happy journeys!

In 1990, while employed by the Goodrich Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Dan White initiated the formation of the Fort Worth Chapter, then called Self Help for Hard of Hearing People (SHHH), in collaboration with audiologist Marsha McClean and speech pathologist and lip reading teacher Judy Oetting. Dan has served as a professional advisor ever since. He also serves the chapter as newsletter editor. Dan is a former director of the Goodrich Center and currently is employed by Senior Citizen Services of Greater Tarrant County as director of the Arlington - New York Avenue senior center. His entire career has been in social services and church-related ministry in Mendocino, San Francisco, Honolulu, and Fort Worth. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Grand Canyon College, Master of Divinity and Master of Religious Education degrees from Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary, and a Master of Arts in Communications from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Dan has a moderate bilateral hearing loss and uses hearing aids. His mother had a severe-to-profound hearing loss, and three of her siblings were deaf, so Dan has had a lifelong exposure to the conditions and needs of people with hearing loss and deafness. He has worked to address them for the last 31 years. He and his wife Sandy have two adult children and one grandchild.

I was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois and moved to TX in 1971. I am a speech therapist and work in various health care settings such as hospitals, nursing homes and clinics. I worked at the Goodrich Center for the deaf in the early 1980's and developed a program of services for hard of hearing adults which included information and referral services, lip reading classes and coping skills classes for hearing-impaired people, and with Dan and Marsha McLean, initiated a support group which started out being called "Speak Up", and changed to SHHH, and now is HLAA. I have 4 grown children who all live in Texas. I have volunteered at Fossil Rim wildlife Conservation Center in Glen Rose, for over 30 years, giving tours to the public to educate people about endangered species and worldwide conservation efforts. I love to travel and have visited several countries to pursue my hobby of wildlife photography. Reading and needlework are also favorite pursuits. I' m fortunate to have normal hearing, and I have great admiration for the wonderful people that I have met over the years, who live with the daily challenge of hearing loss.

Jeannene is serving her second term as Hospitality Chairman for our Fort Worth Chapter of HLAA. After experiencing a sudden hearing loss in 2007 she has been on a quest to learn as much as she can about hearing loss to not only benefit herself, but to help others. She is active in the SayWhatClub (www.saywhatclub.com), an international organization for the hearing impaired. She is a strong advocate of telecoils and looping and strives to spread the word wherever she goes. She is a native of Arlington and attended Arlington State College (UTA). She and her husband, Ray, have two married children and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

As someone who personally knows the power of better hearing, Joyce Parlin loves helping others with their hearing challenges and educating the public about the benefits of treatment. “I have worn hearing aids for more than 25 years,” says Joyce, Cityview Audiology’s practice liaison. “The mix of my own experience and my past work with the senior population has made this position a great fit for me.” Joyce’s passion for learning and service has always lighted her path. Her experience includes serving as an assistant executive director of Senior Citizen Services of Greater Tarrant County and as a CaptionCall trainer. She volunteers with the Hearing Loss Association of America’s Fort Worth chapter and currently sits on the board as Program Chair. Joyce earned a bachelor’s degree in studies in aging at the University of North Texas, where she received an Outstanding Academic Award. She also counts her Cityview Audiology family as an important part of her lifelong education. Says Joyce, “I have learned so much since being a part of this team.” In addition to helping people along their better-hearing journey, Joyce enjoys spending quality time with her husband, Ken, who is a pastor, and their blended family of six adult children and spouses and 11 grandchildren.

2016 BOARD OF DIRECTORS

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