INDIAN MOTHER KILLS SELF, DEAF DAUGHTER

A 7-year-old deaf girl died with her mother Sunday in a public garden in Vastrapur, India when the mother committed suicide by pouring gasoline on her body and setting herself on fire. The young mother, named Praveena, held her daughter Dhvani in her arms, said the Gujarat Global News Network, and both died. Praveena left a suicide note blaming her husband, a computer repairman, and her in-laws for harassing her about her dowry. source

JUDGE ENDS DEAF MAN’S CHILD ABDUCTION TRIAL

A Newcastle, England judge has ended the child abduction trial of 86-year-old Benjamin Fisher because Fisher cannot hear the evidence against him, reported The Evening Chronicle. Fisher, accused of trying to force an 11-year-old girl into his home, cannot instruct his defense team, Newcastle Crown Court Judge Peter Armstrong ruled February 27, and thus the case cannot continue. Fisher is profoundly deaf in one ear, has limited hearing in the other, has little sight and is virtually housebound after a September 2006 assault left him with two broken hips. “My daughter’s life has been destroyed,” said the girl’s mother, “and now we won’t see the man accused of snatching her be put before the courts.” source

LONDON BUS RIDERS EXPOSED TO SIGN LANGUAGE

A 30-second film about sign language was shown on more than 350 buses in London on Sunday and Monday, said MayorWatch. The film was produced by deaf people in support of British Sign Language Recognition Day, which was marked Monday at City Hall with a day of British Sign Language film, poetry and performance. Londoners use over 300 languages, noted Mayor Ken Livingstone, and more than 200,000 deaf and hearing people use British and Irish Sign Language. Livingstone, calling BSL “a real, full and living language that is part of a rich cultural heritage,” said he hoped commuters would find the film informative. source

CHINESE ADVOCATE AIMS FOR BETTER DEAF LIFE

Yu Bing’s inability to hear or speak does not stop him from speaking out, reported China Daily. Yu, an art professor in the Chinese province of Jilin, has attended every annual meeting of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, China’s top political advisory body, since 2003, where he promotes such ideas as TV captioning – “It’s kind of miserable” without it, he said – and standardized Chinese sign language. Interpreter Xian Shuli was at Yu’s side for the fifth straight year, helping him understand other members and express his own ideas. Yu was particularly excited, said the report, about a government decision in January to recognize “dactylology interpreting” as an official profession. source

CAYMAN ISLANDS WELCOMES FIRST AUDIOLOGIST

The Cayman Islands has its first audiologist, Cayman native Annette Stephenson, whose career choice was inspired by her 76-year-old deaf grandfather. Stephenson left the islands to attend college overseas and planned to become a teacher of the deaf, said the Caymanian Compass, but a lecture on audiology – and Cayman’s lack of audiologists – led to a career change. “I was more interested in what causes the hearing loss, how to restore the hearing and to help people hear well,” she said. Armed with a doctorate from Nova Southeastern University of Florida, Stephenson has set up shop in a former medical center, where she offers a full range of hearing services. “There is a lot more than taking the hearing aid out of the box, putting the batteries in and saying here you go,” she said. source

ENGLISH MAN IS NEW SONIC GOLF FRANCHISE OWNER

James Wengraf-Townsend of Surrey, England launches his new Sonic Golf franchise this month, said The Franchise Magazine. Wengraf-Townsend said at first he “didn’t really know what franchise meant,” but when he came across Sonic Golf n the Internet and followed up with The Franchise Magazine, “I realized that it was what I had been searching for.” He was welcomed to the industry by British Franchise Association Chairman Nigel Toplis, who advised him, “When you’re slack don’t sit back – when you’re busy do more!” He added: “Your deafness will change the context of the business only in the way you need to deal with things.” source

HYBRID COCHLEAR IMPLANT NOW BEING TESTED

A hybrid cochlear implant that only adds high frequencies is now being tested in clinical trials and could help an estimated 50,000 people if the FDA approves, said Ivanhoe Broadcast News. The hybrid, which doctors implant in the inner ear to stimulate auditory nerves, helps users hear distinct sounds like consonants and is especially useful for patients such as Kathy Barger, 40, who had a hereditary disease that was causing her to go deaf. “It was like, ‘Whoa, I heard that!’” she said. “It’s sort of shocking because you’re used to not hearing, and all of a sudden, it’s ‘Gee, I can understand that.’” source

TENNESSEE CHURCH OFFERS GOOD VIBRATIONS

Brentwood (Tenn.) Baptist Deaf Church pastor Brian Sims was inspired to create a one-of-a-kind church for the deaf when a car with a booming stereo pulled alongside him in traffic, said the Associated Press. The vibrations from the pulsating vehicle led him to install more than 30 speakers under the floor of the Nashville-area church, which was built in 2003 with a $1.5 million donation. About 150 people attend services, which are also simulcast to nearly 700 others at 16 locations across the country. Texas architect Cynthia Styles, who is deaf, designed the church to have a clear line of sight and good lighting and music. “If you’re a deaf person,” she said, “I think it makes the service more meaningful to be able to feel the music from the floor.” source

PREGNANT DOLPHIN FOUND TO BE DEAF

A pregnant dolphin who was nursed back to health after becoming stranded off Vero Beach, Fla. in November has been found to be deaf and cannot be released into the ocean, said a marine mammal expert last week. According to the Associated Press, “Castaway” was released January 30 but returned to the beach three times. Dolphins use sonar to locate objects and fish for food, said Blair Mase of the National Marine Fisheries Service, and without the ability to hear, Castaway is unreleasable. “Deafness and other central nervous system issues she has would prohibit her from functioning normally,” said Mase. Castaway will be relocated to a permanent care facility. source

MARYLAND AGENCY PLANS ‘MAGICAL’ FUNDRAISER

Baltimore, Md. marketing firm Vitamin announced Monday that it has been selected to promote Vibe ‘07, a fundraiser for The Hearing and Speech Agency (HASA). Vitamin will handle all branding, marketing and public relations for the event and has posted a glimpse of the event brand at http://www.hasa.org/vibe. With the theme “A Night of Magic,” the May 11th event at the American Visionary Art Museum will feature WJZ-TV weatherman Bob Turk, a cochlear implant user, along with a mind reader, a magic show, live and silent auctions and a strolling magician. Donations will help HASA “in improving lives through better communication,” said a news release. source