HARD OF HEARING

Wairarapa Times-Age, 18 March 1939, Page 10

HARD OF HEARING

WELLINGTON LEAGUE’S WORK. DEMONSTRATION IN ROOMS. The work being done by the New Zealand League for the Hard of Hearing was demonstrated recently when the Wellington branch invited representatives of various societies in Wellington to attend a “hearing day” gathering in the branch’s rooms in Beehive Chambers. The president of the branch, Dr. W. Macdonald, welcomed the visitors anil introduced the deputy mayor, Mr M. M. F. Luckie. The league rooms were not only a place where people might come to enjoy the use of the powerful group hearing aid. Help could be given to them in choosing hearing aids and they might use the library and social room, Dr. Macdonald said. It was much more besides, for its aim was to help the hard of hearing squarely to face up to their difficulties and combat the disability of deafness, which to a very large extent could be conquered. During the branch’s four years of activity, Dr. Macdonald said, there had been 118 pupils in the lip-reading classes, and all of them had benefited to a very great extent. The aim of the league was to get into touch with as many hard of hearing people as possible, and its membership was open also to members of the general public who were in sympathy with its aims. Mr Luckie, on behalf of the, city, congratulated the branch on its fine work and the results- which had been achieved in alleviating the distressful results of hardness of hearing. Immense steps had been taken, but much more might be known by the public of what was being done. A short demonstration of a lip-read-ing lesson was given by Miss M. Eggleton, the Wellington branch’s teacher of lip-reading, and Mrs G. A. HurdWood gave an address on the group hearing aid system. The audiometer was described by Mr A. D. McKinley, who demonstrated its working. The Minister of Education and Health, the Hon. P. Fraser, was a visitor during the afternoon and displayed great interest in the work being done by the league.