CONTACT:
Paula Rosenthal
HearingExchange
P.O. Box 689
Jericho, NY 11753
314.991.0512
Email: info@hearingexchange.com
http://www.HearingExchange.com

HearingExchange Offers Distinguished Panel of Experts on Hearing Loss

ST. LOUIS, MO – April 25, 2001 – HearingExchange, an online community for people with hearing loss, parents of deaf and hard of hearing children and professionals who work with them now offers a panel of experts who answer questions on hearing loss. Each member of the distinguished group of professionals specializes in a different area: audiology and assistive technology, auditory-verbal therapy, cochlear implants and special education and advocacy. Visitors to the HearingExchange web site can post questions to individual experts as well as read past questions and answers. This feature is in addition to the relevant and up-to-date news, articles, forums, resources, events and other services provided by HearingExchange.

"Since our launch in September 2000, our mail has been flooded with calls for help," said Paula Rosenthal, founder of HearingExchange. "In particular, parents of children recently diagnosed with hearing loss are overwhelmed with all of the information they need to learn. Plus, rapid changes in new technology such as hearing aids, cochlear implants and assistive devices for the deaf and hard of hearing are often confusing. People will turn to the Internet for research, but often can't find exactly what they are looking for. Our experts will answer their direct questions and refer them to pertinent resources online and offline."

Using her wide network of contacts as a hard of hearing parent of a hard of hearing child, Ms. Rosenthal has assembled a group of professionals held in high esteem in their fields by their colleagues and clients.

Dr. Pat Chute is an Associate Professor at Mercy College in New York. She is the Coordinator of Audiology, the Director of Research and a member of the Board of Directors of the Children's Hearing Institute, an organization that raises money to support research related to hearing and its disorders. She was formerly the director of the Cochlear Implant Center at Lenox Hill Hospital and Manhattan Eye, Ear and Throat Hospital, both in New York. She has been active in the implant field since 1979 and has written over 40 publications including "Children with Cochlear Implants in Educational Settings." Dr. Chute answers questions sent to HearingExchange that pertain to cochlear implants, implantable hearing aids and aural rehabilitation for children and adults.

Ira Springer, M.A. Audiologist, FAAA is an audiologist in private practice in New York. Mr. Springer will receive his professional doctorate in audiology (AuD.) in May 2001. He has dispensed hearing aids and assistive devices for 36 years. He is a member of the American Academy of Audiology, the Academy of Dispensing Audiologists, the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association as well as other professional associations. He is also the co-founder of the Hearing Care Group. He responds to visitor's questions about hearing aids and assistive technology.

Linda Daniel, MA/MS Rehabilitative Audiologist./Cert. Auditory-Verbal Therapist, has an additional Master's degree in Communication Disorders. She is the owner/director of HEAR In Dallas, a private practice in aural rehabilitation and Auditory-Verbal therapy. Ms. Daniel is also the aural rehabilitation specialist on the cochlear implant team at Dallas Otolaryngology Associates. At HearingExchange, Ms. Daniel fields inquiries related to speech and language therapy and auditory rehabilitation for deaf and hard of hearing children.

Lisa Simmons is the Parent Support Expert at HearingExchange. Among her many credentials, she is a licensed teacher and certified Education Advocate. She has 15 years of experience in family advocacy. Over the last decade, Lisa has lectured extensively on disability issues in public arenas and private consultations. She is the founder of The Ideal Lives Project and its related web site, IdealLives.com, a community for parents, teachers and professionals who care about individuals with disabilities. Ms. Simmons' recent publication is an e-book entitled, "The Internet Resource Guide for Parents & Disability Professionals." She answers questions at HearingExchange related to advocacy, inclusion and special needs parenting.

As Special Educators experts, faculty members of the Moog Center for Deaf Education located in St. Louis respond to questions involving special education issues, how to teach deaf and hard of hearing children and mainstreaming them into general education programs. Jean Sachar Moog, Director and Founder of the Moog Center is an internationally renowned leader in oral education of deaf children as well as training teachers and speech pathologists who work with them. She has lectured extensively throughout the US and Canada and has conducted workshops and presentations in England, Italy, Japan and New Zealand.

The highly qualified experts at HearingExchange are a valuable resource for the deaf and hard of hearing community, as well as for parents and professionals working with children with hearing loss. While not all questions are able to be answered, many are chosen for their appeal to a broad audience and for the important information that can be provided. To submit a question for review, go to http://www.hearingexchange.com/experts/. To read past questions that have been answered, go to http://www.hearingexchange.com/experts/past_questions.htm.

Founded by Paula Rosenthal, J.D., HearingExchange was launched September 14, 2000. Diagnosed with a progressive hearing loss at the age of three, Ms. Rosenthal is completely oral and wears two hearing aids. Unaware of early testing for hearing loss in newborns and children, she discovered her daughter had a previously undiagnosed hearing loss when she was 23 months old. Using her personal experience as a woman with hearing loss as well as a parent of a speech and language delayed hard of hearing child, Ms. Rosenthal created HearingExchange to assist people with hearing loss, parents and professionals.

 HearingExchange.com is an open forum of support for the discussion of ideas and information related to hearing loss. All methods of communication are respected.

For further information about HearingExchange or its founder, visit the Press Room online at: http://www.hearingexchange.com/press/ Qualified media agents can join the media distribution list by sending a blank email to mailto:HearingExchangeMedia@listbot.com. To contact Paula Rosenthal, send an email to her at mailto:info@hearingexchange.com. Due to her significant hearing impairment, Ms. Rosenthal prefers to be contacted by email or by fax at 314.991.0190.

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