'Hears' to Life!

*Note:  This is a series of articles on my testing of the America Hears hearing aids.  Keep in mind that I have some very strict criteria regarding my venturing into this area.  I was not 'gifted' anything by this company and will be returning the HA's in a couple of weeks.  For more information on how all of this came about, please go to my columns titled 'A little Experiment' and 'Part One, America Hears'.* 

Sorry for the delay in this update!  Brian's Mom had a minor stroke last Friday and I just got back to Wisconsin last night.  All is well and life goes on!  (ha)

I must say that when I saw the box, I was wondering why it was so big.  I've always picked up my hearing aids from my audiologist and left with a small case along with a few papers.  This one is about the size of a shirt box.  Upon opening it, I was very impressed with the packaging.  You get quite a few things in addition to your hearing aids.  For those of you interested, there is also more information on the America Hears website located at www.americahears.com   

Below is the list of contents:

2 Hearing aids - Freedom AD with directional microphone -  Processor is AD32 (32 channels)  -  BTE (behind the ear) - Style is LOF

2 boxes of size 13 batteries for a total of 48                      Programmer/USB Cable/Programming Cord/Instruction booklets to walk you through the programming

Memory Selector Wand           Dry Aid Kit       Cleaning Tool with Brush     Hard Case for the HA's     Soft Pouch for the HA's   

Repair shipping box with foam    Ribbon Connectors to program the HA's    Variety pack of ear tips    EZ return FEDEX label    Battery Holder

FEDEX box for return of HA's if service is needed    Warranty/Protection plan Info. Guide    General Information Pamphlet    HA Pamphlet

America Hears Virtual Office Software CD    Quick Start Guide    Brochure and Referral Card/Program

That's a lot of stuff!  I must admit that I was a bit intimidated at first.  Remember, I'm used to going to an audiologist and letting them do all of the work!  But, you need to keep in mind that you are literally saving hundreds (in my case thousands) of dollars by going this route.  I was also chuckling a bit as I remembered all of the times I would get after Brian to read the instructions before attempting to use a new tool or put something together.

I spent the time needed to look over all of the brochures/directions/booklets, ect.  Even though I'm used to working with hearing aids, I still needed to familiarize myself with how these particular brands worked.  At last, I opened the box that had the HA's in it.  You will need to be in an area with good lighting so that you can compare the instruction booklet pictures with the hearing aid itself.  I found the button to select which of the 3 programs I would want (they beep to correspond with the number of the program that you are on once you have the HA's in your ears and turned on).  I also checked to see how to remove/insert the flex connector which will be used to fine tune the programming on the HA's.  They arrived already programmed for my hearing loss, but as those of you with hearing aids know, you will need to do some fine tuning.  It will be nice to have the actual CD/USB Cable/Phone support from HA to do this as many times as I wish.  It will also save me from having to go to the Audi's office/schedule an appointment/go without my HA's because they are not programmed to my liking.

Now, the big moment!  I inserted the batteries into each aid, tried out a couple of the ear tips to see which one fit me best and put them in my ears.  The biggest difference for me was the fact that there was no ear mold to block the sounds that I normally hear.  The fit was very comfortable and the HA's themselves are very lightweight.  I located the volumn control and turned it down a bit since I was hearing some feedback.  There was no one home while I was doing this, so I had no choice but to start talking to myself (no comments please!) and turn the TV on to see what kind of job these HA's were doing.  I immediately noticed that I could 'hear' the TV at a much lower volume level vs. if I had no HA's in my ears at all.  This also happens with any other aids that I've had in the past.

Today, I will be contacting America Hears to fine tune the programming on the aids.  First, I will be installing the software on my computer/laptop and attempting to fine tune it myself based on the directions for this that came with the HA's.  Even if I do get the programming right, I still want to interact with AH staff to see how that part of the process goes.

Will update you all later after we've completed that step and I've worn them for a few days.  So far, the only thing that I can see as problems would be if you don't have the ability to read the instructions, handle the small pieces of the hearing aid, have really bad eyesight and do not know how to use a computer.  But, it is also always a good idea to have someone with you so that you can ask them if they are hearing any feedback and have a conversation with to see how your new HA's are working!  It's a family affair....

Have a great week!

Copyright 2009 Tami Klink 

BILL:  Appropriates $2,000,000 to the Department of Public Health from the General Revenue Fund to fund the activities and costs associated with the Universal Newborn Hearing Program. Effective July 1, 2009.

STATUS:  Assigned to Appropriations I; Hearing has been scheduled for April 28, 2009 at 4:00 p.m. at 212 Capitol in Springfield

TO VIEW FULL TEXT:  Go to http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/billstatus.asp?DocNum=237&GAID=10&GA=96&DocTypeID=SB&LegID=40817&SessionID=76

America Hears – A new way of getting a Hearing Aid!

This is the first of 3 columns on this subject.  I will be addressing the process when dealing with America Hears.  I'm a very strong advocate for going to a reputable place to get your hearing aids.  So, this is a really big step for me to try it this way.  The 2nd column will focus more on the programming of the HA's via the computer.  The final column will be a conclusion of the experience along with the pros and cons.

  For those of you that read my postings regularly, you know that I don’t advertise for businesses unless I find that they truly are providing a valuable service to those with hearing loss.  This is the first time that I have actively sought out a Hearing Aid Vendor and contacted them.  I can’t stress enough the number of times that I have turned down ‘free stuff’, samples, ect. from companies trying to get me to write about their products.

With that being said… Here’s how all of this came about.

Earlier this week, I started checking into Hearing Aid providers/manufacturers through-out the United States.  I get so many emails every week from people with hearing loss that just cannot afford the thousands of dollars that it costs to improve their hearing.  It’s very frustrating to hear that a person has basically given up and resigned themselves to not hearing what is going on around them, losing their job, giving up on going out with friends and in the worst case scenarios, losing their marriage/spouse all because they can’t hear and interact with those in the hearing world.

I had some criteria that they had to meet.

1. There could be no high pressure sales tactics to the purchaser.  In other words, they could not call or email you repeatedly promising the sky if you bought their product.
2. There could be no complaints to any Better Business Bureaus or online in Hearing Loss chat rooms.
3. They had to have a trial period with a written guarantee of a full refund if you found that their product did not meet your expectations.
4. They had to have genuine audiologists that you could talk to via email or phone, not just people that have a State license/permit to sell hearing aids.
5. It had to be a relatively easy process.
6. The cost had to be something that just about everyone could afford. 

There is only one company in the U.S. that met all of these criteria.  Yes, even I was surprised!  That company is America Hears out of Bristol, PA.  Here’s the link to their website.  http://www.americahears.com/  

After finding this company, I thought it only fair that I try and communicate with the President.  I sent an email from the website using their 'contact us' link and Mr. David Wright, President and COO got back to me.  I explained to him what I was going to do and asked him if he would be acceptable to this.  Being a business owner myself, the last thing I would want anyone to do is to publicly write a negative article on our business practices or services without the opportunity for us to respond first.

Much to my surprise, he wholeheartedly agreed to send me a pair of their hearing aids and check them out to my hearts’ content.  And yes, he is also fully aware that these hearing aids will be returned to him.  They are not a gift to me and he didn’t make that offer either!  He did not notify the staff of the company as to what would be happening and sent my request on for service so that I would be treated like any other customer.  I have proof of that when I got a call today from their billing department wanting my credit card number so that they could FedEx me my new hearing aids.  It was quite obvious that the person calling me had no idea that I was doing an ‘experiment’ on their product.  I told her that I had already made arrangements for payment and then quickly notified my contact so that they could confirm that the aids could be shipped out.  Whew!

Here’s what has transpired so far.  On Tuesday, I got an email from one of their audiologists, Judy Boersma, M.A., CCC-A.  She asked me to fax, email or snail mail her my hearing test/audiological evaluation so that she could look at it and decide which hearing aid would work best for me.  You will need to have a copy of this from the place that you got your hearing test/audiological evaluation done at. Again, I can't stress enough the importance of going to a reputable place to have this done!  If the test is not done correctly with the proper equipment, you really have no base to build on when it comes to getting your HA's programmed.  They have to give you a copy if you ask for it!  It cannot be more than 6 months old.  After all, you want them to have the latest information so that they can get the initial programming on your hearing aid that will work best for you. There will be more on the programming aspect of this in the next column.

I faxed what she needed and within an hour, she sent me another email asking what color I would like (beige or grey) as well as what aid she was recommending to me.  They will be the Freedom 32 series  - here’s the link.

 http://www.americahears.com/Products32.html 

To my surprise, instead of sending me the ‘home’ ear mold kit, she told me that I was a great candidate for the open fit.  For those of you not familiar with this terminology, right now each of my hearing aids have an ear mold that fits snugly in my ear.  Unfortunately, this also blocks my ability to hear any sounds that I would normally hear.  Having an open fit enables you to still hear what you can hear normally.  Kind of like listening to a CD vs. a vinyl record.  When I got my aids last July, they tried an open fit, but were getting too much feedback, so I'm excited to see if it really can be done.

She also sent me a download via email on how to measure my ear for the tubing.  It was very easy to do and yes, you do need another person to help you out.  If you can cut well with scissors, you should have no problem doing this!

So, it’s now been 3 days since this process was started.  I just received an email from Judy letting me know that my hearing aids are being shipped overnight via FedEx.  So, I should have them tomorrow.  I know that when I got my last set of aids in July 08’, it took at least a week to get them in at the Audi’s office.

The best news of all….Each BTE Digital Hearing Aid costs under $1,000.  And, they have a no interest 18 month payment plan.  Of course, you have to fill out a few forms to get approved for it.  I did ask if there had been any problems with the recent credit crunch and so far, things are still going fine for those that have good credit and apply.  And yes, there is a very good warranty. 

So, I should receive these 2 HA’s sometime tomorrow.  I will do my next column after a few days of trying them out as well as having any programming tweaked via their online software as needed.  As those of you with HA’s know, getting new aids takes a little getting used to.  No, I’m not looking forward to that, especially since I plan on keeping the relatively new ones from last July.  But, if this is going to help someone out there be able to get the equipment that they need to get back into the hearing world, it’s a small price to pay!  Keep your fingers crossed!

Have a great week!

Copyright 2009 Tami Klink

Don't forget!  If you live in the Milwaukee/Racine area, the HLAA Chapter meeting for that area is coming up!  Details below.  If you have questions, you can contact Caroline at carolinesumm@yahoo.com or Jean at szaboshhh@yahoo.com   Meetings are held at the Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing in West Allis, WI.

Hello all!
It's that time again to send you all friendly reminders! Our next upcoming meeting is Thursday, May 7th at 6:30pm at the Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, lower conference room. Jean will provide the updates on the progress of the HLAA WALK 4 HEARING!!!! The WALK 4 HEARING will be held at the Lake Front in Milwaukee by next year 2010!!! You don't want to miss this event!!! Your participation will be much appreciated!

For more information regarding the WALK 4 HEARING - http://hlaa.convio.net

We hope to see you at the meeting!
Caroline and Jean

Just got this from the Illinois Office for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.  They will be holding the State Spelling Bee for the D/HOH tomorrow (Friday, 4/24/09).  They will have a link on their website that will take you to the event live.  It will be available approximately 10 minutes before the start time of 10:00am.

So, for those of you wanting to see what one of these is like, feel free to 'join' the event via the internet!

Have a great week!

Copyright 2009 Tami Klink

What’s going on tomorrow?  Do ya’ all know??  YES- It is our Annual Statewide DEAF Finger-Spelling Bee!
The Bee begins at 10:00 a.m. at the Hoogland Center for the Arts.  This Finger-Spelling Bee is for any 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th graders with a hearing loss in the state of Illinois regardless of their communication methodologies. 
The Bee will be broadcast LIVE via internet.  If you would like to watch it, please go to our website at http://www.idhhc.state.il.us/   You will be able to click on the link approximately 10 minutes before the start of the Competition.
Please either come and watch the Bee or view the event via internet.  Help us spread the word!! 

Just received this from our State HLAA President, Brenda Arndt.  It appears that we have at least one Representative that has decided to back up the Insurance Lobbyists on this bill that will possibly be introduced on the Assembly Floor today.  What will they think of next?  If you are in favor of this bill being passed, please feel free to contact your Representatives and voice your opinions today.  For those of you living in Representative Ziegelbauers' district, feel free to contact him and let him know that you are extremely surprised at his actions on taking away our children's' rights to hear.

Have a great week! 

From: Alicia Boehme [mailto:aliciasidman@mac.com]
Sent: Tuesday, April 21, 2009 10:59 PM
To: letkidshear@googlegroups.com
Subject: BAD AMENDMENT TO BE INTRODUCED ON THE FLOOR - TAKE ACTION
Importance: High

1)    There is no other health condition that requires that a person pay back the cost of treatment if they chose to drop their insurance. This is unheard of and is a terrible precedence. Again, it is treating children who are deaf or hard of hearing and their families in a discriminatory way, which is exactly what we are trying to get away from!

2)    It restricts families from advancing in their work and life. So, if someone were offered a job that paid more or advanced their career, they would be forced to decide to pay back a lot of money to the insurance company, or forgo the opportunity to advance. 

3)    Representative Ziegelbauer and other Representatives who are for this amendment are concerned that families will choose to get insurance only to pay for hearing aids or cochlear implants and then once received will drop coverage causing a hardship for insurance companies. First, there is absolutely no evidence that this would occur; it is merely speculation. Second, the incentive for families is to keep insurance, not drop it. If a child receives a hearing aid and in particular a cochlear implant, there are follow-up appointments and adjustments that would keep families from wanting to discontinue treatment. Therefore, families are much more likely to keep coverage.

If you are in Bob Zeigelbauer’s District, please call him ASAP and ask him NOT to introduce this amendment and why. His district includes the city of Manitowoc and the Villages of Cleveland, Reedsville, St. Nazianz, Valders, and Whitelaw.

            Madison office phone: (608) 266-0315 Or (888) 529-0025

            District Phone number: (920) 684-6783

            Email Address: Rep.Ziegelbauer@legis.wisconsin.gov

Tell his staff your concerns, but also ask to speak to him directly. He does have a cell phone number, which you can ask for from his staff.  If no one answers in his office, leave a message, but keep trying back to speak to someone directly.

If you are NOT a voter in Representative Ziegelbauer’s district, contact your Assembly Representative to tell them that an amendment may be introduced and why you want them to vote against the amendment! If you do not know your Assembly Representative, click here: http://www.legis.wisconsin.gov/w3asp/waml/waml.aspx

As you all know, the cost of hearing aids is unbelievably high.  Most Insurance Companies will not cover this expense (they consider it a 'cosmetic' device!).  I get an ungodly amount of emails every week from those with hearing loss telling me their stories and frustrations of not being able to afford a hearing aid(s).  So, they continue to stay in a very frustrating and depressing world.  Imagine how hard it must be to go through life not being able to hear everything and knowing that the only thing that stands between you and being able to hear is money....

So, here's what I am going to do.  I've contacted a company that sells hearing aids online.  Yes, I checked them out to see if there were complaints on their products with the Better Business Bureau as well as internet chat sites.  So far, I haven't been able to find anything on their products that is a big negative.  I have also contacted the President of the company and in the interest of fair play, have told him what I am doing.  I gave him the option of not participating and much to my surprise, he wholeheartedly agreed to be my 'guinea pig'.  That right there says a lot about how confident he is in their product.

So, yesterday, I started the process by contacting them as a 'normal' client.  The President agreed that I would be treated as any other client in that their staff will not know what I am doing or who I am.  In the next few weeks, I will be trying out their product and then writing a series of 3 columns on the process, outcome, negatives and positives.  I'm really excited about this!  I feel that since I've worn hearing aids for almost 30 years now, I know quite a bit about them.  I've had 12 of them and am pretty picky about how I expect them to achieve my goal of hearing better.

The hearing aids that I will be trying are priced at $995 each.  Yes, they are digital and BTE's.  If they are as good as the President is telling me they are, this will open up a whole new world for those with limited incomes and get even more people back into the 'sounds of life'!  Imagine the possibilities!  If someone can get a hearing aid, have it 'financed' at no interest for up to 18 months and have a payment of around $50 a month, that will enable a lot of people to improve their hearing without breaking their budget.

Keep your fingers crossed!  More to come....

Have a great week!

Copyright 2009 Tami Klink

• This is my letter:

Janice L. Schacter

Chair

This was on the JSOnline website this morning.  It appears that there are quite a few states setting these websites up for those looking for jobs.  Reason?  All of the Economic Stimulus Money going to each state to create those 4 million jobs.  For those of you looking, the site is averaging thousands of visitors.  Just click on the link to the story and the link to the Wisconsin Jobs Website will be in there.  To make it a bit easier, you may want to pick a County where you are going to be looking for a job.  Check the site every few days since there will be new postings based on monies being received from the Federal Government.  Best of Luck!

http://www.jsonline.com/business/43281062.html

Everyday I get emails from readers with different questions and situations.  Out of all of them, probably the story that I hear about most is how difficult it is to maintain relationships with friends, relatives, co-workers, ect.  For those of you out there that are not familiar with the challenges of hearing loss, here's a link to another publication that did a story on it.

http://www.bclocalnews.com/okanagan_similkameen/vernonmorningstar/lifestyles/43002652.html

Recently, I contacted a few of our local news organizations to see if they were planning on 'featuring' any stories on hearing loss in May.  May is National Hearing Month.  So far, I still have not heard back from any of those that I contacted.  I can understand that they are all pretty busy these days with the political, financial and jobless news, but when you have hearing loss, you deal with a lot of these major topics everyday in that you are constantly trying to figure out ways to stay ahead of the game and in the hearing world. 

The above story gives a little more perspective on this topic. 

Have a great week!

Copyright 2009 Tami Klink

I was looking through the 50 plus news magazine today and saw an advertisement for Home Hearing testing.  The ad looks like they are a popular choice, but I can't stress enough that if you have someone coming to your house and offering you a free hearing test, odds are it is not going to be the audiological evaluation that you really need.  I called the number with a few questions and unfortunately got the answering service.  But, I did find out that the person(s) administering the test in your home are NOT audiologists.  They are 'Hearing Technicians".  What does this mean?  Basically, that they don't have any degrees in anything having to do with hearing loss, testing, diagnosis, ect. 

Kind of like having a vaccuum salesperson come to your home and offer a free carpet cleaning if you'll listen to their spiel.  Oh wait, these people could handle that job too!  All that I'm saying is, choose carefully who you are going to have when it comes to evaluating your hearing.  This place says that they will take Title 19 and the person answering the phone said that a 'doctor' can recommend their company.  SCARY! 

Any place that offers to test your hearing via the internet (yes, there are actually some companies that claim they can test your hearing online!) or by coming to your home is not going to be your solution.  All that you are probably going to end up doing is paying their 'low cost' for a hearing aid that does not address your individual hearing loss needs along with the inability to have the follow up care and adjustments that you will also need once you get the hearing aid. 

There are a lot of people in our community as well as others that really don't want to 'go public' with their hearing loss.  This type of 'service' would provide them with the ability to 'keep it quiet' in more ways than one...

Have a great week!

Copyright 2009 Tami Klink

For those of you out there looking for some additional information and/or support, here's a really neat website that offers both!  They average 850,000 visitors a month and have all of the latest news and information on a lot of topics including living with hearing loss.  The link below will take you to the Hearing Loss/Deafness area of the website.  There is no charge to become a member and you can 'post' your stories, questions and advice on hearing loss. 

http://www.dailystrength.org/c/Hearing-Loss-Deafness/forum

Have a great week!

Copyright 2009 Tami Klink

In honor of National Tax Day, I thought you might be interested in knowing where some of your tax dollars are going.  The link below will enable you to look up several years worth of Pork Projects by State, Politician, ect.  Granted, some of these are truly worthy projects, but the majority are not.

http://www.cagw.org/site/PageServer?pagename=reports_pigbook2009

For those of you specifically interested in what your Elected Wisconsin Politicians are doing with your money, click on the link below.  Then type Wisconsin in the State box.   Caution:  This is only for 2009!

http://www.cagw.org/site/PageServer?pagename=reports_pigbook2009_database

I think they should all be re-elected, don't you? 

And then, I did a search just to see if Hearing Loss was in any of them and this is what I found.  I should have been born a Marine Mammal....

--->

--->5 record(s) for a total of $4,704,000 State Cost Description Status Appropriation Fiscal Year Party House Senate HI  $1,600,000 Marine Mammal Hearing and Echolocation Research (Research, Development, Test and Evaluation - Navy)   DEF 2009 D   Abercrombie, Neil       $1,280,000 Use of Drugs to Reduce Hearing Loss from Acute Acoustic Trauma (Research, Development, Test and Evaluation - Army)   DEF 2009 R   McHugh       $1,000,000 Amelioration of Hearing Loss (Research, Development, Test and Evaluation - Navy)   DEF 2009 D     Baucus, Tester   PA  $800,000 Improved Lightweight Integrated Communication and Hearing Protection Device (Research, Development, Test and Evaluation - Army)   DEF 2009 M   Altmire   Casey, Specter   NV  $24,000 Nevada Speech and Hearing Association, Reno, to recruit and train special education teachers (Education: Elementary and Secondary Education)   LABHHS 2009 D     Reid

Happy April 15th!

Have a great week!

Copyright 2009 Tami Klink

FEMA just released the following 2 guides.  The first link will take you to the Classroom Preparedness Guide complete with additional resources for teachers, home and students.

http://readyclassroom.discoveryeducation.com/#/map

The second one will take you to the Comprehensive Preparedness Guide for Cities, Towns, Tribal Lands, Ect. 

http://www.fema.gov/about/divisions/cpg.shtm

For those of you wanting to know the latest that our government is doing/thinking/advising, feel free to check them both out.  Who knows, it may add humor to your day or get you to finally think about what you would do should an emergency strike.

Have a great week!

Copyright 2009 Tami Klink

I know that there are a lot of you out there that are interested in alternative ways to fuel the needs of your home and business.  I'm lucky in that we live in a Village that actually sends those of us interested in certain topics, emails letting us know when meetings and presentations are scheduled.  I know that this is late notice, but the Village of Wales is having a meeting tonight, 4/14/09 at 7:00pm at the Wales/Genesee Fire Dept. that will include a speaker on Geo Thermal use for the Home/Business.  Did you know that right now, there is a 30% cost incentive for homes and a 10% one for businesses?  Do you want to learn more about Geo-Thermal?  Here's your chance.   I know that we are looking at ways to avoid having to pay so much money to WE Energies and this looks like it would work for our existing home! 

If you are planning on attending the meeting, please email Pauline or Gail (Village Clerks) via their email to let them know that you are coming.

paulinew@bizwi.rr.com  or  walesclerk@bizwi.rr.com

Have a great week!

Recently, I was contacted by someone that uses the 711 voice relay system here in Wisconsin.  He had started staying home so that he would not miss important phone calls.  You see, most people that use VR don't have an answering machine.  Even if they did have one, they would not be able to 'hear' the message that was left due to their hearing loss.  So, if they are away from their phone and a call comes in, there is no answering machine to take the message.  Imagine not being able to hear an answering machine and having to stay close to the phone so that you don't miss a call that you've been waiting for?   For those of you that have another phone line with an answering machine, here is a solution. 

I contacted the 711 Operator and discussed this situation with a supervisor at the service.  There is a way that you can have an answering machine and still be able to 'hear' the messages.  Here's how it works.

1.  If you are unable to hear the instructions for leaving a voice mail greeting, have a friend or relative help you out with this step.  Also, make sure that you have your phone set to go to voice mail after the 4th or 5th ring.  If it is set to ring 6 times or more, the VR operator placing the call will tell the caller that no one is available at this time and to try later.

2.  You will need to be very well versed in how your answering machine works.  This means that when you arrive home, you need to understand how to check to see if you have any messages.  This usually means that you will see a particular light flashing along with the number of calls/messages left for you.  You will also need to know your PIN or password that will allow you to call from another phone and retrieve your messages.  The VR operator will also need to be told this along with how your answering machine message retrieval works.  Take the time to practice this with a friend or family member.  The last thing that you want to do is confuse the VR Operator and frustrate yourself.  Do a practice one by having someone you know with a cell phone come to your house, call your phone via the VR service and leave a message on your machine.  They can then be there to help guide you when you call the VR Operator and retrieve your message.  It also helps to have a 'script' written out for you to follow for when you call the VR Operator to retrieve your messages.

3.  You've practiced.  You know your PIN/Password.  You are now ready to try doing this.  Call 711.  Wait for the Operator to come on so that you can tell him/her that you need them to retrieve your voice mail messages.  Be ready to give them your PIN/Password as well as the phone number that goes to the machine if it is different from the one that you are calling from.  If you want them to delete or save a message, you will also need to tell them the procedure for doing this.  Remember, you will have hung up your VR enabled phone in order for them to call it back and start the message retrieval process!  On the off chance that you run into a VR Operator that says they cannot do that, kindly remind them that yes, they can.  Every once in a while you run into a new VR Operator that has not performed this service before.  So, you will need to educate them.  (We sure spend a lot of time educating, don't we?)

4.  After you have instructed the VR Operator on how to retrieve your messages, sign off and hang up.  DO NOT answer the phone when they call you back!  Let it ring until it goes to your voice mail/answering machine.  They will then start the process of retrieving the messages.  They will then call you again to let you know who called and what the message was.  It's just like when you receive a call with the only difference being you are now just talking to the VR Operator with no 3rd party involved.

5.  Make sure that you also have a piece of paper handy just in case you lose the typewritten communication from the VR Operator on your VR enabled phone.  And, after getting all of the messages, you will still have the VR Operator on the line to start returning some of your calls. 

That's it!  I know that it sounds like a lot of work, but wouldn't it be nice to be able to leave the house and not worry about missing a phone call?  After all, it's getting warmer out and you may have a lot of gardening to get done outside...

Have a great week!

Copyright 2009 Tami Klink 

Just received this via email.  There are several plans, topics and information regarding how the U.S. Government is instructing schools on a variety of topics including, disasters, pandemics, attacks, ect.  There are also some links to some grants should you be looking for them and have a student ready to enter college.

http://www.ed.gov/admins/lead/safety/emergencyplan/index.html

Have a great week!

For those of you living in Illinois, consider yourselves lucky you aren't in Wisconsin!  We can't even get our State to consider something like this...

BILL:  Amends the Illinois Insurance Code, the Voluntary Health Services Plans Act, and the Voluntary Health Services Plans Act to require coverage for hearing instruments and related services for all individuals when a hearing care professional prescribes a hearing instrument. Provides that an insurer shall provide coverage for up to $2,500 per hearing aid per insured's hearing impaired ear subject to certain restrictions. Provides that an insurer shall not be required to pay a claim if the insured filed such a claim 36 months prior to the date of filing the claim with the insurer and the claim was paid by any insurer. Effective immediately

STATUS:  Rule 3-9(a) / Re-referred to Assignments;  No hearing has been scheduled at this time

TO VIEW FULL TEXT:  go to http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/billstatus.asp?DocNum=68&GAID=10&GA=96&DocTypeID=SB&LegID=40313&SessionID=76

Have a great week!