"HEARING DAY"
Campaign For Prevention Of Deafness Public interest in the prevention of deafness in New Zealand lias grown considerably Within the last few years, and this is in no small part because of the extensive scope of the New Zealand League for the Hard of Hearing. With the idea of further drawing the attention of the public to the means whereby the affects of deafness may bo minimised or overcome, the Wellington branch of the league will bold a “Hearing Day” tomorrow, when the public is inviied to demonstrations of the work.
The campaign is the first of its kind in New Zealand, and follows overseas examples of promoting public interest in work for the prevention of deafness. Mrs. K. Hurd-Wood, convenor of the Hearing Day committee, said in an interview, that America held a "Hearing Week" every year, with great success in stimulating public interest. The work in New Zealand, she said, is still very much in the early stages, though considerable advancement has been made since the establishment of the league in this country. The Wellington branch of the New Zealand League for the Hard of Hearing was formed in 1935, with 28 students and one lip-reading instructress, Miss Eggleton, who is still with the branch. Today full membership of the branch stands at 155, including SO student members. The total number who have received tuition since the inauguration of the branch is 108. Mrs. Hurd-Wood said the strain imposed on those who were afflicted with forms of progressive deafness was not fully appreciated by those with normal hearing. The league was of great help in these cases by assisting them to retain their place in the normal social and business world.
| The problem of deafness, like blindness, was a national one, with those afflicted numbering about one in every 20 of the population of New Zealand. The public demonstrations will be held on Thursday afternoon and evening in the league’s rooms, and' all the helpers will be students, thus enabling the visitors to see for themselves the scope of the work. Lip-Reading. Mrs. Hurd-Wood . emphasized the necessity for speaking naturally when conversing with those learning to lipread. There were two distinct processes in training a student to lip-read-she said. The eye had to be trained to recognize the visible formations, and the intuitive sense had also to be developed. Lip-reading was essentially a synthetic process, which was apparent when the rapidity of modern speech was considered. It was estimated that there were 12 or 13 movements a second. The ability to put two and two together was of great assistance to a lip-reader.
“Lip-reading means sheer, hard work,” said Mrs. Hurd-Wood, “but it is the best substitute by which a person who is hard of hearing fits himself to normal life. “The demonstrations which will be given at the Courtenay Place rooms should prove, beyond any shadow of doubt that lip-reading is possible for people of varying ages, different degrees of education, and for people in all stages of life.” Dr. W. Macdonald, president of the Wellington branch of the league, will open “Hearing Day.” Speakers will include the mayor, Mr. T. C. A. Hislop. Mrs. Hurd-Wood, and Mr. T. R. Clarkson, honorary acoustical engineer to the league, who will also give demonstrations of the audiometer.
Miss M. Eggleton will demonstrate methods of lip-reading.
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Dominion, Volume 32, Issue 145, 15 March 1939, Page 4
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558"HEARING DAY" Dominion, Volume 32, Issue 145, 15 March 1939, Page 4
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