Hearing Health Fair

Hearing Health Fair: A Successful Event and a Call for Advocacy

By Rick Waters

"Yes! The Hearing Health Fair was an unqualified success.

Floral Hall was packed. Speakers included: Dr. Paul Mick, a cochlear implant surgeon from St. Paul’s; Meredith Wilson, an audiologist from St. Paul’s; Lisa Dillon Edgett, who spoke on communication strategies; Lorienne Jenstad, from the UBC Department of Audiology; representatives from the three manufacturers of cochlear implants; and a very enlightening panel discussion with Barbara, Doug, Lisa, Lorraine and Sydney, led by Patti.

In addition, there was free hearing screening from UBC Audiology students, and information tables from ALDS, CHHA-BC, and Wavefront Centre.

At this time, we owe thanks to those corporate sponsors that paid the bills: Advanced Bionics, Cochlear, MED-EL, ALDS, Wavefront, CHHA-BC, and the Rotary Club of Vancouver, who also made a significant financial contribution to the event.

Most importantly, we all owe heartfelt thanks to Bowen Tang, who had the vision and the energy to make this event so successful. He demonstrated excellent organizational skills, and his deft leadership was invaluable in leading the organizing committee through all the myriad details to put the event on.

The committee included David Kelly, who had the task of arranging the catering, Barbara Porter, Teresa Hemsing, and Rick Waters.

Special thanks also to Mackenzie Wong, who contributed his graphic design skills to our posters, programs, signage, etc., and to Eric Cham, Nicole Leung, and Marlyn Tyzzer for helping out during the day.

One of the outcomes of the meeting was a sense of urgency regarding the need for assertive advocacy to convince the BC Government that funding must be increased for this vital health issue. Statistics presented at the Fair showed that BC is at the bottom of the list in Canada when it comes to wait times.

We are currently working with St. Paul's CI clinic to put together an advocacy campaign. There was a petition at the Fair where many signed to support this need for enhanced funding."