Lines of Communication

Catching up with Matthew Ricker We caught up with Matthew, now an accomplished employee benefits expert, for a quick Q&A about his Facebook fundraiser. CHC: What inspired you to create a Facebook fundraising campaign? Matthew: I received communication therapy at CHC for several years as a child after getting a cochlear implant. That experience made a big difference in my life, and I’m grateful. CHC: What was the reaction from friends and family? Matthew: Lots of people donate

iHEARu: Guide to ear-friendly dining iHEARu uses crowdsourcing technology to generate data by empowering consumers to act as citizen scientists. The app turns your smartphone into a sound meter to get a decibel reading that is combined with those of other users to form the basis of each restaurant’s rating at different times of the day. Download iHEARu » iHEARu is available in app stores and was initially rolled out in San Francisco and other cities in the West This means tha

Trekking for the Gift of Sound is Yoni’s way of giving back to CHC and ensuring that a child who is deaf and hard of hearing can get the care they need to reach their full potential. Yoni certainly is reaching his. For CHC kids, the sky’s the limit I first met Yoni when he was 11 months old. I gave him a hearing evaluation that confirmed his severe hearing loss and fit him with hearing aids. Five months later he received his first cochlear implant. The journey since then has

Victor Calise is the commissioner of New York City’s Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities (MOPD). He understands how difficult it can be for an “able-bodied” person to understand what it’s like living in a world that wasn’t built for your access. When Commissioner Calise came to speak at the Center for Hearing and Communication’s (CHC) 104th annual meeting earlier this month, he shared a bit about his perspective and how it energizes his work leading MOPD. Years ago, a

Ellen Lafargue, Au.D., CCC-A (l) and Cecile Nipal (r) The Center for Hearing and Communication (CHC) chose Cécile Nipal for the Volunteer of the Year award at CHC’s 104th Annual Meeting December 2, 2014 in New York City. Cécile is a seasoned marketing professional with 30 years’ experience in the advertising world. We’re lucky that she’s chosen to give so much herself to our mission by volunteering at CHC. Her years at Saatchi and Saatchi and other leading ad agencies have ma

Aidan’s journey to speaking and hearing began at CHC The 2014 season of charitable giving kicks off December 2 with #GivingTuesday! Please remember CHC and the community we serve: people with hearing loss and auditory challenges in desperate need of our comprehensive care and support. It’s only with generous donations by individuals like you that we are able to give the highest quality clinical services and comprehensive care that truly transform the lives of individuals and

The Chikarmane family of India spent spring in New York City so their son Ved, who has a significant hearing loss, could receive communication therapy at the Center for Hearing and Communication (CHC). During their two-month stay, the staff at CHC got to know the entire family including Ved’s older sister, Inika. The Chikarmanes are back in India now, and Ved is doing great. His story was the inspiration for a wonderful essay that Inika wrote for her school paper. CHC is grat

Spring is a great time to embrace self-improvement. May we suggest improving your speechreading skills? Speechreading (once known as lipreading) is a highly effective tool to help people with all degrees of hearing loss hear spoken language better. Most people learn to speechread to varying degrees. But at the Center for Hearing and Communication (CHC) we help people develop their speechreading skills to the highest level possible so they can get the most benefit. We’ve been