A Conversation with Dr. Tina Childress!

This week I am excited to sit down with Dr. Tina Childress, a fellow educational audiologist, CI user, and supportive friend. In this episode, Tina and Carrie talk about the dilemma of communicating in our masked and physically distanced world. Over the past few months, we have both acquired a generous collection of different clear masks and shields. Join us to find out why “one shoe (aka) mask does not fit all”.  Join us as we share real life experiences and collective solutions as we power up to go back to school.  

You can learn more about Tina and her abundance of resources  by visiting http://bit.ly/TinaChildressResources

Mask and Shield Survey and Summary of Results
https://tinachildress.wordpress.com/

For more information about Dr. Carrie Spangler- check out her LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/carrie-spangler/

For transcripts of this episode- visit the podcast website at: https://empowearaudiology.buzzsprout.com

Transcript

[00:00:00] Welcome to episode three of EmpowEar Audiology with Dr. Carrie Spangler.
[00:00:16] Welcome to empower audiology podcast. My name is Dr. Carrie Spangler, and I am a passionate audologist, and I'm really excited to bring this podcast to you today. Today I have a great friend and colleague, on the podcast, Dr. Tina Childress, and she is going to take a second to introduce herself. So do that.
[00:00:41] Thank you for being on this. Podcast this morning, I'm excited to have you and excited to have a conversation this morning. Thanks, Carrie. It's so great to be here. So hi, everybody as Carrie mentioned, my name is Tina Childress. I live in Illinois. [00:01:00] I am also an educational audiologist. I am also a cochlear implant user.
[00:01:06] Like Carrie, our hearing histories are a bit different. I did not lose my hearing. Until I became an audiologist. So be careful out there. It might be contagious. No, I'm just kidding. Um, so I was actually, um, I had been practicing audiology for about nine months when I noticed that I had hearing loss and, um, over the next nine months I lost the rest of it due to auto immune inner ear disease.
[00:01:34] I used hearing aids. I used, you know, big boom in hearing and all the things. And then, um, decided to get my first cochlear implant in 2000. And I got my second cochlear implant in 2005 and it has definitely been a game changer. Funny, like getting into audiology. It all started, um, when I took a sign language class, so my first [00:02:00] major was actually engineering and I realized I don't like engineering.
[00:02:05] So I'm going to take a class that had nothing to do with that. And that was sign language. And then it introduced me to this field called communication disorders, which I had never heard about. Um, and in undergraduate classes, in both speech pathology and audiology, and I decided to go the audiology route and the rest is history.
[00:02:27] Um, for me learning sign language in the beginning was kind of a blessing. Um, I took that class, you know, and then introduced me to audiology. Um, I taught that class. So as a grad student, so it paid for like a year of my master's program. Um, my then boyfriend who's now my husband of 25 years took that class too.
[00:02:51] And so we've always signed with each other. And so then when I started losing my hearing, um, it was so nice to have almost kind of like this personal interpreter. Um, that came with me and, you know, to this day, you know, our family signs, I have two daughters, one is 18 and one is 13. Um, they both signed the first one is more fluent.
[00:03:15] The second one is typical. Second CODA. She’s kind of stubborn and not wanting to sign, but she can. Um, but our family has, you know, we have communication and all kinds of modalities. So, you know, Carrie and I were talking before this podcast and. You'll see a theme in my life. It's all about options. I'm not scattered, it's about options.
[00:03:38] And so I truly believe in that you need to find the right option for your situation. So for me, when my implants are off, that means signing. Um, you know, for me that means captions are on all the things in my house all the time. And you could see how that trickles down to my kids. Like, you know, when we were still [00:04:00] able to do like sleepovers and stuff like that, my kids who I like to call hard of listening, um, are the ones that telling the other kids to turn on the captioning because she's so used to that.
[00:04:11] And then all the kids are like, Hey, this is kind of cool. 
(Carrie) That's awesome. I just I've no, for this podcast too. We are trying to think about it. How you and I met. And I think it was at an EAA educational audiology association conference back in. Something nine. No, it was in New Orleans. That's right. So I think that was the first time that I had met you.
[00:04:42] And it was just so powerful to me, that other audiologists who also have a hearing journey. So, um, one thing that I wanted to share too, because of your cochlear implant journey, [00:05:00] you inspired me to go on that journey as well. And I had been thinking about a cochlear implant for a couple of years because my hearing was
[00:05:13] getting worse. And I was having more difficulty understanding and every opportunity I had to talk to an ENT or user or a cochlear implant audiologist, I took advantage of it. And last summer, when we were in Denver, I was still on that path of making an appointment and having a consult done. And you were such a huge support to me about that cochlear implant journey and what to expect.
[00:05:47] And even I remember our little group of cochlear implant audiologists on a private message. And I'm asking questions like, what questions should I be asking when I got there? [00:06:00] And all of you were so supportive, so it's helpful to have those people to support you. And I think that really goes into our next conversation.
[00:06:13] This is pandemic, right? I mean, what, in the situation right now of reopening schools and going to virtual learning and being deaf or hard of hearing, and it's presented with a lot of challenges that. I don't, you know, that we've always had, but are amplifed right now, so, um, Tina, do you want to talk a little bit about, um, how we kind of [00:06:43] Started collaborating about mask and face shield then. 
So, um, I talk about options, I guess I'm also a hoarder. And so I have had a conversation with another actually she's a deaf and hard of hearing, too, um, she is a [00:07:00] teacher for the deaf. And she also has bilateral cochlear implants. And so we had been talking about what we liked and what we didn't like about masks.
[00:07:09] And then, you know, when shields became an option, we were all excited because then we thought, Hey, finally, we're going to have something that provide our deaf and hard of hearing kids with visual access and keep people safe. Well, You know, long story short, we know that that kind of, um, opinion or perspective has changed a little bit.
[00:07:31] Um, so anyway, I was chatting with her and then that's when you started, you know, putting out the statement with the American cochlear implant Alliance and, you know, you have the, the position statement or the, uh, whatever the PDF that you did for the educational audiology association. And so we kind of brought you into the conversation because both the other teacher and I were really kind of trying to advocate for using more shields.
[00:08:00] [00:08:00] And then we realized that. You know, the three of us have our ideas, but we want to know what other people were also thinking. Just, you know, we were all, we were just, the three of us were in our little bubble and we wanted to see, well, what does everyone else say? So me who I am, I'm like, let's do a survey.
[00:08:20] So I created a Google form and, and, and the rest is history. So You know, we've looked at a variety of masks that had the clear window. We've looked at a variety of shields. And, um, we had hoped we were going to get a few more responses and I think that we have gotten, um, and I understand, you know, what's the summer people are kind of probably maybe tired.
[00:08:45] I'm thinking about this, you know, I was just thinking about the fact that maybe we should keep the questionnaire open because when we do go back to school, I think there might be a surge when people realize what works and what does not work. I agree [00:09:00] with you. Yeah. And so I loved your analogy that you shared.
[00:09:06] About shoes and mask and shields. Do you want to talk about that? Yeah. So again, when it comes to options, you know, everyone has their own tolerance for what style or features of a mask or shield that they like. Some people like air loops. Some people don't like for me, I don't like air loops because I've got my.
[00:09:29] glasses. And I've got my implants and I feel like my ears small and kind of pliable. So when I put the ear loops on everything yeah. Just falls off. But some people really do like them. You know, some people like to have masks that they can put on a baseball cap. You know, I don't wear a baseball cap, so that wouldn't work for me.
[00:09:50] So I have used this analogy of like shoes, you know, everybody has a different pair of shoes for different kind of, um, [00:10:00] situations like you would not wear like heels to go hiking in the woods. And, you know, maybe some people would, but you're not going to get very far, but you know, different people have different preferences for shoes.
[00:10:12] And I think. We're going to see that also with shields and masks. Um, I think I'm finding, you know, that people have multiple. Masks. Sometimes they're all the same style, just different colors. I have different master shields for different situations that I'm going to be going into. So the mask that I might use to go to the grocery store is going to be very different than the mask and shield that I will be using in my audiology office.
[00:10:42] Right. And so. Yeah, it's all about options and, and being prepared, you know, Carrie and I were talking that I think the hardest part of this whole pandemic is we don't know what we don't know. So how do you plan for something that you have [00:11:00] no idea how it's, you know, how the virus is going to react. And so again, it comes down to options, but.
[00:11:08] Knowing what the options are and knowing how to maximize that option for that situation. And, and really that comes down to knowledge is power. Right. And that's why, you know, I carry an eye and like other people have been so passionate about like educating other people and using our perspective. Um, you know, like Carrie and I talk about, you know, what it's like to have to listen to a computer all day.
[00:11:36] I mean, the whole zoom fatigue is so real and even more so, you know, for our students that are deaf or hard of hearing. Um, and so, you know, with this upcoming school year, some kids are going to be all virtual. Some kids are going to be in the classroom. So obviously there's not going to be one solution that's gonna work for all.
[00:11:57] So you gotta pick your shoes. [00:12:00] Yeah. It's almost like. We have to have a big recipe of different choices that. Out there. And like what you said, Tina, I think knowledge is power and being able to try out these different options that are out there and say, Hey, this one works really well for me, but this one doesn't work as well, 
[00:12:23] For me in this situation. So putting yourself out there and trying different things is really, I think, critical at this point in time. And you brought up a good point too, about, you know, we don't know what we don't know. And I think that goes back to. When you look at this pandemic, which is worldwide, but we're looking at it from reopening in the United States.
[00:12:49] There's not a one plan to reopen every school. Local school district is really lucky, could not their own plans for [00:13:00] reopening. And I think at the top of their list right now is if there be opening is how do we do busing and how do we. Make sure we have enough space to spread people out. So I think even though mask or face coverings are going to be required, I don't think the impact of how it's going to affect listeners, whether you have a hearing loss or not how much this is going to impact them.
[00:13:32] So I think being able to do this research ahead of time. It's really going to be helpful when schools do video, um, and know what their plans need to be. So if, if a school says, yes, you can wear a face shield. If you have physical distancing, we have tried out some face shields that might be good, or no, you can't use facial.
[00:13:55] Does that? All, these are some ideas, but clear my ass, [00:14:00] um, that would give some visual access. So. Um, I don't know. Do you want to say anything else about that? You know what I was just thinking about, you know, you and I have been concentrating a lot on educating other educational audiologists and teachers of the deaf and kind of spreading our, our message, but what you just said, just really kind of hit home that.
[00:14:26] Everyone is starting to realize how much harder it is to hear, and to listen, um, behind the masks and shields. You know, we were on a call yesterday where we were talking about, um, vocal fatigue, you know, our teachers that are going to be, you know, in the trenches, your voices are to get tired. You know, it's not going to be as easy to just take a sip of water as it was before.
[00:14:49] It's going to take a few more seconds. Cause you got to find a safe place. Take off your mask, put your mask back on, but I'm almost thinking, you know, some of the things that we've been thinking about, we need to start [00:15:00] reaching out to gen ed teachers too. Or, and, or we've just, we need to go straight to administration and let them know, Hey, you know why we know about some coats technologies that can help your teachers with their voices.
[00:15:14] We know some technologies can help your kids hear better. Um, even if they have normal hearing, I mean, in our area, the kids that are going to be like prioritized for going back to school are going to be kids on IEP and 504s, the kids that are English language learners. The kids that are getting free and reduced lunch.
[00:15:38] Those are like the, the groups that we're looking at. And for them, it's going to be the hardest for them to stay focused. Exactly. And we know from just a few studies that are out there, no matter if you're wearing a cloth mask or the paper, a surgical mask or a shield. The decibel level or [00:16:00] that loudness level, the clarity level is reduced. so about all, uh, younger grades who are learning literacy skills, phonics, and you need to hear high frequency, S an S H and T H and C H in order to.
[00:16:17] To develop those skills and you put that mask on and you've just filtered all those sounds right out. So I agree. I think this masking dilemma or masking face coverings is not just. It impacts us greatly because we really rely on a lot of the visual facial expression. But I kids with normal hearing, all of a sudden saying, I can't understand you either.
[00:16:46] And because you don't realize how much your face communicates right. So one thing I wanted to kind of go back to too is we've you said you're a hoarder of mask [00:17:00] and I keep buying mask like left and right. Different clearmask to try out. Um, what are some of the things that you've seen? And I was surveys.
[00:17:13] That really stand out as far as pluses and minuses for when you wanna buy your mask or when you want to buy your shield. Oh, that's a really, really tough question. Cause it's, it can be so individual. Right. So let's think about this. So retention, so people have different opinions about the ways they want to put on the mask.
[00:17:37] So again, like I said, some people like your loops and some people. Like the tie behind or the elastic band. So that's something to consider in the mask or the shield that you're going to buy. Um, you know, people are really concerned also about breathability, you know, like if you're going to wear, especially a mask that has the clear window [00:18:00] because it's plastic.
[00:18:02] or vinyl, the airflow was not going to be as efficient as, uh, an all cloth mask. Um, yeah. And you know, from what I've been reading that masks that are essentially cotton, um, you know, like two or three layers of cotton are the most breathable. So finding a mask that has, you know, cotton in it is pretty important.
[00:18:26] Um, people are also concerned about, um, how much the clear window might fog. So for me, I have found that the more rigid or the thicker vinyl or plastic stick works better for that, um, because it stays in its shape, whereas kind of like some people were using like shower, curtain, material, or something like that.
[00:18:48] But when it gets to. Wrinkly then it can create weird glares. And it's also kind of more prone to fogging versus like a really kind of solid kind of surface, [00:19:00] um, masks that don't sit flat on your nose, against your mouth. That kind of go jut out a little bit. And that can be accomplished. Pushed with the pattern of the mask.
[00:19:11] Like if there's darts, that's something I learned from the, um, the other teacher friend that I was talking about. Just the importance of having darts, because then it pulls the mask away from your face so that when you talk, the vinyl is touching your lips or like when you start breathing that you don't second, this plastic, um, what else.
[00:19:31] So for shields, um, in order to use shields in our area, it needs to extend below the chin and it needs to extend back. Um, one of the reasons that shields is not widely accepted and all situations is because there's still this open side. And if the purpose of the shield or the mask is to keep you from infecting others with respiratory droplets, [00:20:00] if you have it open, then that chance is still there.
[00:20:04] And so, um, you know, in our area, um, shields in some areas are going to be allowed, but you have to maintain the six feet of social distancing, right?
[00:20:19] Go ahead. Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt you. I can't remember one mask that we haven't talked about, but I was thinking about if you are allowed to wear a shield to almost the Gator mask where, you know, you have the shear, but if you have to get closer, you could pull that up. It might help with. The retention piece.
[00:20:42] Um, and then you can pull it back down. So, um, that might be another option. If the schools are able to wear a shield, but they have to wear something when they're closer. I'm shaking my head because I was just thinking yesterday, [00:21:00] I need to get a Gator, which I don't, because that's just one more thing that we have to buy, but I've seen a lot of people say that, you know, for, for people that are deaf and hard of hearing, they liked the Gator because it pulls up from underneath and it does not affect their hearing aids or cochlear implants or glasses.
[00:21:19] It doesn't, you know, like pop them off. So yeah, I think you and I are going to be buying some Gators. I think so too. I actually have some, and I use them to keep my implant on my head when I work out. So it's been nice because you don't have to wear a mask when you're actively waking out, but then when I'm done, I can pull it down and it becomes a mask.
[00:21:43] That's brilliant. Right? We've become creative in this whole process as well. Don't we? Well, yeah. And that's, you know, like you talk about multi-use my husband asked to borrow one of my face shields, the one that has the [00:22:00] balaclava, or like the, you know, the cloth that goes down to the shoulders because he was going to be working with a, saw like a Woodstock and he didn't want saw in his face.
[00:22:10] So he asked to use my shield and it worked. And how do you like that one? I know it's called the humanity shield and I think some other companies might be coming out with something similar too, but it's that base yard with a little cloth. So it has a little more protection for droplets. I mean, there's really only two.
[00:22:33] Designs. And I've seen so far is that one. And then the Badger shield out of the university of Wisconsin that have, they basically take a shield and then they attach some kind of cloth to the bottom of it. Oh, that reminds me. I saw someone that they attach kind of like a, um, a scarf. Ah, yes, I think I saw that one too.
[00:22:55] Yeah. And so, um, those kinds of seem [00:23:00] to be the best of all worlds, um, because it does protect more so than having a totally open face shield. Um, some people like them and some people don't, you know, like one of the biggest complaints I think about these shields is that like, so if I'm, you know, I'm the person with hearing loss and if I'm wearing a face shield, But when I talk, the echo comes back so loud.
[00:23:25] Some people really don't like that. Um, some people, yeah, they just don't like the style. They're also a lot more expensive than just a traditional face shield, um, or even a mask. And so there've been, you know, like good and bad things about that. Um, but. To me, that design right now, you know, having some kind of face shield and having some kind of way to contain respiratory droplets with like a, a cloth kind of covering, um, is a good idea.
[00:24:00] [00:24:00] Um, we just need to figure out a way to make it, um, we need to make sure that it's reusable. So being able to like wash the cloth or something like that. And I, the one with a scarf, I think she put snaps on it. Yeah. But you could actually take off the scarf, right? Yeah. So it needs to be usable and we need to make it affordable for our schools because at the current pricing.
[00:24:26] And I get supply and demand. Um, the current pricing right now would make it kind of not possible. I mean, I know they're probably bulk discounts, but they're still pretty pricey for what they are and ordering for a limited number of people. But for like you said, a whole district, or that would not be feasible, I don't think.
[00:24:50] Yeah. And that's a whole thing too, right. That we're struggling with, like who, you know, it's been confusing because some of the language has kind of [00:25:00] suggested that the people that have an exception to wearing a mask are people that are deaf or hard of hearing. And it's like, no, it's the other way around.
[00:25:09] It's just the people that are talking to them, the people that are deaf or hard of hearing, which really means everyone else. Right, right. So the people, most of the people that I know that are getting these like clear mask or the mask with the clear windows are people that are deaf or hard of hearing.
[00:25:29] So think about that. It's a little bit backwards. It really is. But you know what? I think it kind of goes into. Being an advocate. Right? So when we think about reopening schools, parents, and, and people, you know, who work with deaf and hard of hearing, um, people like you and me, we want to know what does work and what options there are out there so that we can share that knowledge with.
[00:25:59] [00:26:00] Others. And I think that's with school right around the corner that some of the questions that I'm getting right now. Is Okay. We have these students which been talking about, but now what should we order? And I think that's kind of our going to be our next step and why the survey is so important, because like you said, um, You know, what, what shoe fits you might not fit me.
[00:26:27] And by having that knowledge out there and being able to rate, you know, someone might say, well, I don't, I like the ear loops. And you say, I don't like the ear loop. So let's find a mask that would not have your loop, so it would have your loop. So I think those are important. Things to have out there. So when we do go back and people do need to order something and they are in a bind, they have that information, right?
[00:26:55] Yeah. I know we had talked about, um, getting the [00:27:00] summaries from the responses and doing kind of like trends. You know, and I think that'll be important. You know, the other thing that I think it just occurred to me too. So like you and I have this power to help administration make a decision about what masks and shields to, to order based on our kind of perspective and our knowledge and things like that.
[00:27:26] I think we need to. So remember that we also need to ask the kids, like, don't assume that what we pick for them is going to be something that's going to work for them. You know, it's the same thing. When people give me an accommodation based on an assumption, but that's not really what I want for that situation.
[00:27:44] Um, if they gave me the wrong shoe and it didn't fit, the shoe did not fit or the shoe is ugly or the shoe doesn't match my clothes, whatever. But. Um, I mean, and that's hard, you know, like [00:28:00] things will become less expensive when you buy things in bulk. And, you know, I know that administration needs to make a decision, but understand that there may be some kind of outliers out there that, you know, if they have a sensory disorder, they may not be able to tolerate, you know, what another kid can tolerate.
[00:28:19] So again, finding the right shoe. Right. And I think having those options out there and having, I think we talked about different flexibility and guidance and contingency plans, right. So depending on how, you know, we're opening up and. The individuality of the student and what the accommodations of the student side is going to be really critical.
[00:28:45] And I think that's going to be a huge job as we start thinking, we are already thinking about schools and reaching out to parents and students now and saying, Hey, you know, how have you been doing in the [00:29:00] community? And what kind of accommodations have you used? As a student, if they're old enough to tell you or.
[00:29:09] As a parent and gathering that information now is going to be important to share with that educational team as we open back up again. Yeah. You know, it might be I'm thinking it might be good to target some of the administration, like, you know, within our group from like educational audiology, I think now would be a good time to start saying, Hey, did you know about this information?
[00:29:35] Because I understand. That too with hearing loss and, um, vision loss, being low incidents, you know, sometimes we're not even on some administration's radar, you know, one kid, you know, for three counties that has hearing loss. You know where we're not going to be on people's radar, but I don't think [00:30:00] it hurts.
[00:30:01] Um, but I think what is at the forefront is that everyone is struggling to hear behind masks and shields and everyone in all settings, you know, at the doctor's office, when you go to the grocery store, I school is going to be crazy. It really is. So as we kind of wanted it, the maybe leave out a positive creative kind of note with everything that's going on and maybe just kind of wrapping up with some different consideration that others might want to have as they be open.
[00:30:40] And I think you've said a couple of them, one being, I think. Again, we have to remember every student is individual and the accommodations or the shoe, um, might be different depending on how they're learning, whether it's in person hybrid, [00:31:00] remote situations, um, their shoes or their mask or their accommodations is going to be a lot different.
[00:31:08] What else do you think. I think everything is really different depending on your perspective, right? Like if you're a teacher right now, thinking about going to school, you know, you're gonna want to be thinking about how keep yourself safe, how to keep your students safe and still being able to teach. Um, I think I know I've talked about this before, but I'm really worried about vocal fatigue in our teachers.
[00:31:33] So definitely talk to your administration about like planned breaks. During the school day where you don't have to talk, um, you know, figure out a safe place to stay hydrated. Um, as I cough throughout most, every webinar that I go through, cause I drink so much coffee. Now I'm trying to drink water and it makes a big difference.
[00:31:54] Um, so you have that perspective, you know, from the teacher, um, you know, [00:32:00] from the student level, I, I think, you know, when we talk about shoes and contingency plans, Um, people need to think about how is a student going to get the best auditory access if they used the residual hearing, um, when they're online, how are they going to get auditory information?
[00:32:22] If they're in a classroom setting. And then the other thing we need to figure out is the transition going from both. Because, you know, we're going from basically going from virtual to in-person chances are that we're going to go from in-person back to virtual. So we do have to see, you know, we threw everything together and like a week in the spring, you know, and we were all kind of scrambling webcams were getting bought up headsets with boom microphones.
[00:32:50] Um, those situations need to be, you need to have a plan. Um, for those kinds of situations and for them, the students that maybe are more [00:33:00] visual, maybe they use sign language interpreters, or whatever, making sure that they have the technologies that, that they need, um, to get access with educational interpreters, um, you know, having a decent wifi connection.
[00:33:15] Um, things like that I think are really important. And I think we've done a pretty good job. I'm thinking about it since March, when it wasn't kind of so acute in terms of the need, um, And then, you know, like parents, if you're a parent and your kid is going virtual and you have to stay home with them, you know, thinking about how are you going to help them, you know, get on the computer, listen to what they're doing, you know, talk to your education audiologists.
[00:33:46] That's what we're there for. To make sure that, you know, we can connect your computer to your kids' technology, um, provided you with resources and things like that. So we talked about knowledge as power [00:34:00] and, you know, I think that's what this is all about right now. We're still, you know, creating knowledge and we're still soaking up knowledge right now.
[00:34:09] Right. And then, yeah, always going back to that student and asking them. What's working and what's not working. And I think educational audiologist and teachers of the deaf and parents can really help them navigate. And this is, I think one of the pluses of this is we are forcing our kids To be better advocates for themselves because they don't have a choice right now.
[00:34:36] And so I think, you know, whether it's, I can't understand because of a certain mask or a face covering two, what other technologies could we utilize in order to improve the signal to noise ratio? So you might have a user or a non-user of remote technology or microphones who now becomes a user because.
[00:35:00] [00:35:00] They have to advocate more and they are in a more compromised environment. So I'm hoping we'll see a lot more strong advocates of I could because of all of this too. Yeah. And I was just thinking too, that we also need to remember about mental health. You know, like these family is some of them, you know, they're in a trauma.
[00:35:23] Environment. And so some of these kids, it's going to be really, really hard. And I know that the teachers know this, but our kids that are deaf or hard of hearing also you know, some of them yeah, in this situation or even more isolated than they were before, but at the same time, I have known kids that have also thrived.
[00:35:45] Um, in this environment because they do have the ability to hook into their computer. I mean, the fact that you and I can just do like zoom at the drop of a hat and have visual access and [00:36:00] auditory access. You know, when we chat online and stuff like that, but there's something more powerful about like seeing your face and you know, and all of that.
[00:36:10] And for some of our kids, this has actually been a great thing. Like I know that I've been able to participate in meetings and I never would have done before if we weren't, if everybody didn't now have the infrastructure to do everything online. Exactly. And I think it. Forces you to get outside of your comfort zone sometimes.
[00:36:33] So I know just kind of going off of what you said. I mean, being a newer cochlear implant user, when we went online, I was only three months Post activation. So I was freaking out about my ability to participate in zoom calls and Google classroom, like all of these different platforms that were out there and how, how I was going to navigate it.
[00:37:00] [00:37:00] And, but honestly pushing me out of that comfort zone made me realize that, Oh, wait, I. Doing a little better than I thought I would. And, um, I'm going to figure it out, other accommodations that I need in order to make it happen. So I think it, I don't know, jump started me with some of my confidence with my cochlear implant.
[00:37:26] So that was a positive, I think that came out of going online. Absolutely. Yeah. And like, for me, it's like, I'm so tucking that for me, what, the hardest thing for me is not doing so much of an information dump because I need to realize that people aren't as scattered or have as many options as I have in my head for how to do things.
[00:37:53] But you know, like off the top of my head, I can figure out seven ways that you can access zoom with captioning. [00:38:00] You know, but not everybody knows that. So, you know, like I know that things that you and I have been working on and other things is making them in more like, um, Like chunks that are more palatable for people to be able to understand, which is why, you know, we'll do the surveys and summarize it and help people realize that, Oh yeah, you're not the only one thinking about that option or what works for you and what doesn't work for you.
[00:38:27] Right. That is definitely one of your huge strengths. Tina. I think everybody knows you by your apps and your, um, Connectivity and all of the resources, you, you always have them. And I'm amazed. I asked you a question and like two seconds later, you'd come up with a solution. I love it. And then the thing is just like that.
[00:38:53] Can spread, like then you will use that, you know, like I think about all the great stuff you do with the teens and [00:39:00] those teens are our future leaders and that deaf and hard of hearing community. Right. So we all have a, I think. Purpose within educational audiology, for sure. And I love that we are a community that shares all of our knowledge, because like you said, it's a ripple effect, so it's not, it's really the future that's benefiting from it.
[00:39:23] And that's what we want. We want all of our kids who are deaf and hard of hearing to have the same opportunities. As anyone else, and to be able to do whatever they want to do, but they need the tools or the shoes as we're calling them today, um, to be able to do that. So I think, you know, this is just a powerful conversation about the pandemic and what we are kind of thinking forward about.
[00:39:50] Going back to school, but Tina, I feel like maybe in a month or so we might have to have another conversation [00:40:00] because I think, you know, what we thinking about and thinking about what might work, some of them are definitely going to work, I have no doubt about it, but it's just the little, you know, extra pairs of shoes we might not, we might need to have, um, In order to make things happen.
[00:40:20] And we, we don't know what those are yet. No, because we have not had the situation where teachers and students have had to be in the classroom socially distanced and wearing masks or shields. So I agree. I think this is ever evolving and I'm thankful to have you on this journey with me. It's always so awesome to like bounce ideas off of you because.
[00:40:45] It does. And you know, it's so nice to have that village. I appreciate everything you do today. And I so appreciate you coming on to the podcast today. And I hope that this information is going to be helpful. [00:41:00] To all of our listeners as we open up the school year. And, um, Tina, I will probably be reaching back out to you to maybe do part of our episode today and just kind of, what did we learn from reopening and.
[00:41:16] What new tricks and shoes do we have out there. So before we log off today, I know Tina, you have a website and you have different, um, avenues that you have your name out there. You want to share that with our listeners so that they can get ahold of you. So you had talked about like maybe putting out like our written description and it's basically, um, so like, you know, yeah.
[00:41:43] We were talking about earlier, I have this name to like gather yeah. Information. And then my thing too is I make lists. Or like spreadsheets. So it got to the point where I now have to make a list of my lists. And [00:42:00] so what I will get to Carrie is that it's just a, it's a Google sheet that has all of the different resources that I've created over the years.
[00:42:11] And, um, I will get that to carry to spread, but just know that. Um, there are different things that I've created, like app lists, like lists for apps that. Work for Apple devices or Android devices, um, geared towards people that are deaf or hard of hearing. Um, another thing that's really popular is one on speech to text options.
[00:42:35] So, you know, how do you get captioning? Um, when you're on a zoom meeting, Um, how do you get captioning? If you go to the grocery store and you can't understand someone? Um, I co-created a knowledge base with, um, a friend that looks more kind of at like the college level or the work level, having access and those kinds of [00:43:00] situations.
[00:43:01] Um, I have a social bookmarking site that has just. Over a thousand links that I've been saving for 12 years. But what I like about that is that categorizes things. So in the time of this pandemic, anytime I've seen like a video or resource that I think is pretty cool, I added to that social bookmarking site.
[00:43:22] So I have all kinds of like video tutorials about access for zoom or Google meet or all of those kinds of things. So I know it's, if you do a deep dive, you'll go down this rabbit hole for, for hours, but I figure I'm already looking for this information, so I'm willing to share it and kind of help whittle it down by categorizing it.
[00:43:45] And we do appreciate it. Cause I know I go to your website and you have a Facebook page and find the resources that I need because you do go down a rabbit hole sometimes, but to have at least it categorized and know that [00:44:00] I'm not gonna start looking at, you know, the best way to make pasta when I'm trying to look at something, but hearing is a good thing, right?
[00:44:11] Yeah. Well, thank you again for coming out to the empowEAR podcast. And like I said, you will be invited back again, but part two as when we opened back up. Awesome. Thank you so much, Carrie, for this opportunity and thank you to everyone out there. That's there to support our kids and this time. Alright, thank you.
[00:44:34] This has been a production of the three C digital media network.