Digital hearing aids really rock!
I'm sitting at my kitchen table, the kids are having their midday nap and I've got my brand new Sony CD Walkman (thanks for the gift certificates to B&N, mom and dad!)playing some Louis Amstrong.
A few months ago, I made the plunge and bought a new hearing aid. Not just any hearing aid but a Siemens Triano SP digital hearing aid. One of the benefits of the aid is that it is infinitely programmable. Meaning you can program it to amplify/mute certain sounds/frequencies and it has a omnidirectional microphone. Additionally, the SP has 4 different programs. Here's how mine is currently set up:
Program 1: Omnidirectional microphone is on and is set up for moderate background noise and will bring up speech to a normal level. I use this for everyday use and in the fire house.
Program 2: Omnidirectional microphone is on background noise is not removed. Designed to be used for listening to music ior speech in a quiet environment.
Program T: This is for use with phones or other T-coil systems.
Program AB: This is for the audioboot. I've purchased an adapter that will allow me to connect my hearing aid directly to the walkman so I can listen to my music without bothering anyone else.
Monday, January 19, 2004
Sunday, January 18, 2004
FF1 - Day 1:
Some initial impressions:
1. I'm old in a relative sense: Lots of men there. Lots of younger men. I think me and one other person were the only ones above the age of 30. Everyone else was hovering around the 18 year old mark or lower. A very masculine group. One person of color there but the rest of us were lily-white. Then again, the demographics of the volunteer fire service is probably accurately represented.
2. Good instructors They're very committed to what they do and they really make the course understandable. I'm glad I went with a Saturday class.
The next two classes will cover CPR and first aid. In two weeks, we'll actually begin the review of various fire service topics. Yesterday's class covered basic evoutions of fire (how fire behaves) and we also discussed building construction. Fun fun.
Definitely will INSIST on interpreters for all classes from now on. I had someone sitting with me to ensure I was able to follow the context of discussion but even though the instructors were easy to lipread, it's difficult for me to do that for an hour at a time, never mind 8 hours. By noon, I was exhausted.
1. I'm old in a relative sense: Lots of men there. Lots of younger men. I think me and one other person were the only ones above the age of 30. Everyone else was hovering around the 18 year old mark or lower. A very masculine group. One person of color there but the rest of us were lily-white. Then again, the demographics of the volunteer fire service is probably accurately represented.
2. Good instructors They're very committed to what they do and they really make the course understandable. I'm glad I went with a Saturday class.
The next two classes will cover CPR and first aid. In two weeks, we'll actually begin the review of various fire service topics. Yesterday's class covered basic evoutions of fire (how fire behaves) and we also discussed building construction. Fun fun.
Definitely will INSIST on interpreters for all classes from now on. I had someone sitting with me to ensure I was able to follow the context of discussion but even though the instructors were easy to lipread, it's difficult for me to do that for an hour at a time, never mind 8 hours. By noon, I was exhausted.
Friday, January 16, 2004
FireFighter1 class starts tomorrow!
Today, my friends, is my last day of uneducated, ignorance=bliss firefighting. Tomorrow morning, I leave at 7am for Bucks County Fire Academy to begin my formal schooling in firefightin'.
There was one snafu with the interpreter. They weren't able to get one for the first class. This isn't too much of a problem because the first class will be an introductory class and won't cover the actual materials until next week. Next week there will definitely be an interpreter and we'll be all set.
With the recent cold weather in the Northeast, we've been busy. Last weekend, temperatures on Saturday (1/10) never went over 18degrees. Plenty of chimney fires and water main breaks to keep us busy. I missed most of the action as I was in NJ visiting family.
The past few days, we've had similar weather. Today was the coldest. Low temps last night were about -3 degrees. Highs today about 14 degrees. A few calls this afternoon for water main breaks or sprinkler heads breaking. Nothing major.
I'll try and write again this weekend regarding my first FA class.
There was one snafu with the interpreter. They weren't able to get one for the first class. This isn't too much of a problem because the first class will be an introductory class and won't cover the actual materials until next week. Next week there will definitely be an interpreter and we'll be all set.
With the recent cold weather in the Northeast, we've been busy. Last weekend, temperatures on Saturday (1/10) never went over 18degrees. Plenty of chimney fires and water main breaks to keep us busy. I missed most of the action as I was in NJ visiting family.
The past few days, we've had similar weather. Today was the coldest. Low temps last night were about -3 degrees. Highs today about 14 degrees. A few calls this afternoon for water main breaks or sprinkler heads breaking. Nothing major.
I'll try and write again this weekend regarding my first FA class.
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