Happy New Year 2.0

Happy New Year!  I apologize I'm three weeks late in wishing that, but tis better late than never.  Or maybe I was just waiting for the Lunar New Year which is tomorrow (aka New Year 2.0 ;-P).  Anyway, I can't believe it's already 2012.  I know it's been said that the years seem to go by faster as you get older, but man, 2011 went by so fast that it was a blur. 

My apologies for not posting anything for a couple of months.  Clinic and class keep me busy.  Also undergoing/underwent some personal difficulties.  Hopefully the Lunar New Year gives my 2012 a second chance to make a first impression.  Fingers crossed.

As I hopefully get my blogging groove back, I leave you with two audiologically-related tidbits:

1. "Switched at Birth" made its winter premiere on 3 January 2012.  The show airs on Tuesday nights at 8/7c on ABC Family.  I mentioned this show back in June 2011 when the show first premiered.  The following is a description of the show from the ABC Family website: "Switched at Birth tells the story of two teenage girls who discover they were accidentally switched as newborns in the hospital.  Bay Kennish grew up in a wealthy family with two parents and a brother.  Meanwhile Daphne Vasquez, who contracted meningitis and became deaf at an early age, grew up with a single mother in a working-class neighborhood.  Things come to a dramatic head when the families meet and struggle to learn how to live together for the sake of the girls.  This season, the families must deal with the arrival of Bay's biological father Angelo, inflaming old passions and creating new rivalries.  During their lawsuit with the hospital, the Kennishes find an unlikely ally in Angelo.  But can he be trusted?  Everyone struggles to navigate the complicated family dynamics as the girls clash in a love triangle with Emmett."
2. Can't stress the importance of seeing an audiologist for your hearing health needs (diagnostics, treatment/rehabilitation, etc.)!!!  An article about a hearing aid exploding near a man's face was forwarded to classmates & me by an audiology professor early last month.  Mind you, this hearing aid was bought on-line for about $22.  Two giant red flags in that last sentence...hearing aid bought on-line & $22.  For the full article, go to http://www.12ktrv.com/Global/story.asp?S=14310896. 

I'm "Hear 4 U Always"...even if my lack of on-line presence may seem like that I'm not.  Feel free to contact me anytime via e-mail if you need a dose of "ear geek speak" (totally coined that term just now!) or have any questions. It's been very pleasing in recent months for friends to reach out to me with their audiologically-related questions e.g. a college friend had a baby & wondered how his baby's hearing was screened at the hospital, etc.  I can't believe I'm graduating this year and finally earning the doctoral degree I've been working on for the last few years.  Four Januarys ago, I never imagined that this is the path I'd be on.  Life works in mysterious ways.  That's part of the beauty of life...the unknown.  May your life be full of wonderful surprises, readers! Happy 2012!