President John opened the meeting, welcomed the guests and reported that Jerry is aiming for release from Darwin Hospital in the next week or so.

Paul Duke introduced our guest speakers. Nicole [on the left] is the CEO of Alll Ears and Speech and Little Allied Health. She gained her Masters Degree in Audiology in 2002 from Flinders Uni. She runs a team who are all qualified audiologists with Masters and certification. Her specialties include paediatric and neonatal audiology, cochlear implants and hearing assessment of newborns. Karen (daughter of Virgiinia Cossid and David Short) gained her Masters in 2020 and works across the age range.

 

Nicole explained that her team works differently to others in the field. They gather as much detail as possible to gain an understanding of how those with hearing difficulties manage every day life......this invariably involves other clinicians like ENT, paediatricians, psychologists and speech pathologists. 90% of other firms are tied to specific hearing aids manufacturers. It is vital to detect hearing deficiencies as soon as posible after birth. The three problem areas examined are the outer ear (normally readily fixed) ,middle ear (medical management) and inner ear - cochlear (with surgery and implant). A hierarchy of listening was establsihed in the 1800s to determine degree of deafness in each ear. It is only now being modified to relate more directly to a person's circumstance. Like adults, children are tested with a range of equipment (eg hair cells in the middle ear) but in babies greater reliance is placed on development milestones.A video was shown as to what sort of reactions should be expected by 0-3yos in response to different sounds. Being able to develop speech in a normal; fashion requires language learning - very difficult if hearing impaired. Ear cross over is also important - good hearing in only one ear will impair cognition.

Every year, 1-2 babies per 1000  suffer serious hearing impairment. Treatment often includes the use of toys to enable the youngster to be rewarded for sound identification. Before applying Baha or cochlear implants to pick up and transmit sound there is a full assessment by a range of medical professionals, as mentioned earlier, to determine the best way to proceed.

 

Karen quickly summarised the process for treatment of adults with hearing loss. Listening goals are questioned. Tests are carried out on the three parts of each ear. In most cases hearing aids will be prescribed. But for more profound cases implantable technology (like Baha and cochlear)  is adopted. In making such decisions there are about 10 issues that are considered , including expectations and physical capacity. Importance is placed on good hearing for quality of life and to prevent the onset of dementia. There was a case study of a 37yo woman who was suffering from deafness in one ear and successfully treated with cochlear...the ears were finally in sync The controversy over the cochlear implants at WCH was attributed to incorrect programming.

 

Nicole and Karen were warmly applauded.

 

On a less serious note, the 'get out of gaol card' since time immemorial has been "I didn't hear that!".

 

President John reported that a number of the heavy spot contributors were out of town....good news from the editor's point of view. Items needing attention were:

Vivienne Wood explained that we are in great need of volunteers at the Thrift Shop! Please ask relatives, friends and neighbours. Ken will replace Vera Ann for the afternoon shift on Saturday week.

Now guess who won the filthy lucre in the absence of Greg and the Becketts? No other than the Prez who expressed misplaced surprise at his good fortune. Eucumbeth justly won the chockies.

Finishing the meeting on time was nicely done.

 

 

Rhonda presenting the peace cranes and a peace poll replica from Unley Primary School to Hirsohima International School, whose students will take them to the shrine

 

      

Rotary Projects Around the Globe - October 2024

By Brad Wheeler

 

Colombia

Sonia Uribe and her husband, Alberto Londoño, created a stuffed animal collection called El Zoo del Amor, or the Zoo of Love, to comfort seriously ill children and raise money for polio eradication. Sales of Anna the giraffe, Lucas the tiger, and other animals — each wearing a shirt with Rotary and End Polio Now logos — have raised about $550,000 since their introduction in 2018. In addition to giving the animals to sick children, Rotarians carry them on their travels and snap photos of them at iconic landmarks. “All these animals have traveled, being ambassadors of the Rotary brand,” says Uribe, a member of the Rotary Club of Nuevo Medellín and, like Londoño, a past governor of District 4271. Londoño is a member of the Rotary Club of Medellín Nutibara. The couple also manage the Fundación Monica Uribe Por Amor, which assists children with spina bifida.

United States

The Rotary Club of Scranton, Pennsylvania, is helping a new generation learn about polio. Students from Dunmore High School have created a documentary based on interviews conducted during a polio and health policy symposium that the club and District 7410 organized for World Polio Day 2023. The film features interviews with International PolioPlus Committee Chair Michael McGovern, other Rotarians, and symposium attendees, and is scheduled for broadcast during the club’s World Polio Day events this month. “It is hard to get hands-on with history,” says Alan Roche, a Dunmore teacher who enlisted about 40 students to produce the video, which includes interviews with three local polio survivors, one of whom taught at the high school. The project was an eye-opener for the young people, he says. “It’s usually a page or two in the textbook, a blip in a slideshow,” Roche says. “It’s one thing to just learn about this and another to talk to someone who was affected by it and lives in your hometown.”

France

More than a dozen Rotarians and friends in southeastern France donned inflatable dinosaur costumes and stumbled along a 100-meter course in a playful footrace that raised funds and awareness for Rotary’s mission to end polio. Organized by District 1730, the T-Rex Race took place last October during the Fréjus International Air Festival, a kite fair that draws thousands of people. “The idea came to me to create an event to rejuvenate the image of Rotary in the fight against polio,” says Dinh Hoan Tran, the district’s immediate past governor and member of the Rotary Club of Nice. Spectators could place bets on the contestants. “We made people laugh and we informed people,” says Tran. More than 40 of the district’s 71 clubs participated in the event, as the district motivated clubs to “support PolioPlus to the tune of about $45,000,” he says.

South Africa

To draw attention to the need for vigilance and vaccinations, the Rotary Club of Newlands assembled Rotary members and others for a World Polio Day photo shoot with the landmark Table Mountain in the background. On the day of the shoot, however, a heavy mist enveloped the site. “We made the best of it, chatting and taking selfies, until eventually the sun came out,” says Past President Janey Ball. She used RI’s polio resources toolkit to create artwork for selfie frames and set up a Facebook event called Make Polio History to record the pictures and raise awareness. To encourage Rotary members, Ball suggested using the slogan “focus on the finish.” “The selfie frames have been in continuous use since the event, moving from one club to another,” she says.

Japan

Yoichiro Miyazaki switched into high gear to raise money for the PolioPlus Society. Miyazaki, a member of the Rotary Club of Tokyo Mitaka, cycled the length of Japan last October, covering 2,500 kilometers (1,553 miles) in 24 days. “If you don’t act, there’s no point,” he tells Rotary Italia magazine, using a slogan developed for his year as governor of District 2750 in 2023-24. Along the way, fellow district governors, other Rotarians, and well-wishers cheered for him as he traversed twisting roads, uphill climbs, and tunnels. RI General Secretary John Hewko, another avid cyclist, offered a video message of support. Prompted by news coverage of his ride, donors contributed $140,000. Miyazaki continues to pedal strong: In late April, he finished the Osaka-to-Tokyo challenge just three hours shy of the 30-hour goal en route to more fundraising for polio.

 

 

Coffee Chat at Impressa, Unley Shopping Centre