Pocketalker®
The following story was submitted to Williams Sound by MAJ Cameron Jamieson, Australian Army. This event took place during Pacific Partnership 2012’s mission stop in Sihanoukville, Cambodia.
A profoundly deaf Cambodian man can hear the world around him, thanks to the help of the U.S. Navy-led Pacific Partnership 2012 mission and Williams Sound.
The 27 year-old man, Lorn Siiha, has had his quality of life amplified to an exciting new level thanks to the gift of a product that was not in his own means to obtain.
Siiha was born with practically no hearing and has led a silent life, communicating via sign language.
With the help of Cambodian non-profit organization M’Lop Tapang, the young man is learning how to be a waiter at the charity’s Sandan Restaurant, which runs a hospitality vocational training program.
Siiha’s life-changing moment found its genesis when the restaurant manager approached two Australian military nurses serving on Pacific Partnership who were dining at the restaurant.
The manager wanted to know if Siiha could be tested onboard the USNS Mercy, the massive hospital ship that serves as the floating base for the Pacific Partnership mission.
He was hopeful the multinational team could provide Siiha with a hearing aid of some description to help him be more situationally aware of his surroundings and perhaps learn to talk.
The nurses decided to approach their U.S. Navy commanders with the proposal of having Siiha tested for the one remaining Williams Sound Pocketalker® personal amplifier, one of two donated by the U.S. company.
IMAGE CAPTION: U.S. Navy audiologist Lieutenant Amanda Boudreaux fits Siiha with a Pocketalker® personal amplifier, one of two donated to the ship by William Sound. Siiha can now hear enough to give him situational awareness.
Permission was granted and on the appointed day, Siiha and his friend, a selftaught sign language translator, boarded a ferry for the short ride to the Mercy and a chance for assisted hearing.
U.S. Navy audiologist Lieutenant Amanda Boudreaux met with Siiha on arrival and took him to the ship’s audiometric testing booth to see what hearing the man still had.
“We determined that he had a mild to severe hearing loss in one ear and a mild to profound loss in the other ear,” she said. “There was enough hearing ability for him to be able to use an amplifier, so we gave him our last one. It was really exciting to be able to help this young man to understand a bit more of what’s going on in his world.”
For Siiha it was a life-changing moment. “I can hear a little bit of what’s going on around me now,” he said via his sign language translator. “It’s so much better than before. I’m very grateful to everyone for making this happen.”
Now that Siiha can hear his surroundings, he can try to learn how to speak for the first time.
For Lieutenant Rebecca Linich, one of the two Australian nurses who first heard Siiha’s story, a chance meeting at a restaurant has led to a standout moment for her deployment.
“It feels very satisfying. It feels like I’ve made a difference to someone,” she said. “I thought organizing this would be too difficult, but it wasn’t. Everyone saw the bigger picture and wanted to help, and now we’ve changed a person’s life.”
A graduate of DeVry Institute of Technology, Doug has been in the Technology industry since 1976 and actively oversees Fearing’s daily operations. Along with his wife, Lois, and three others, Doug started Fearing’s in a 600 square-foot facility in Portage, Wisconsin. In the 25 years since, the company has grown to over 30 employees with offices in Madison and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Doug likes to say he’s a “TV Technician with a dream� going back to his history with the family’s original business-Fearing’s TV and Appliance.
Doug values time with family, watersports, hiking, snowshoeing and skiing. In addition to being a devoted member of his church, Doug serves as Board President for Kinship Mentoring of Columbia County, Board member of Schools for Haiti and Scripture Chair of the Gideons-Portage camp.
A graduate of MATC, Lois oversees Fearing’s daily book keeping along with various HR responsibilities.
Along with Doug, Lois is deeply connected to community outreach, serving as a Board member and Fundraising Committee Chairperson for Kinship Mentoring of Columbia County. She also serves on the Schools for Haiti Fundraising committee. In addition, Lois’ ongoing passion and commitment to provide care for the elderly comes from her 10-year history of working in a Reedsburg, Wisconsin Nursing home.
Lois enjoys singing, hiking, sunny days on the pontoon, and spending time with her 4 grandchildren.
Ehren drives Fearing’s technology by continually seeking out trends to enhance capabilities while supporting Sales, Engineering and Installation teams. Throughout his years with Fearing’s, Ehren’s talent and vision have joined forces to create a wide variety of projects and strategic solutions that exceed expectation.
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With 10 years with Fearing’s and over twice that long in the industry, Ben continues to lead, coordinate, and develop the Commercial AV team.
By consistently delivering an outstanding experience and outcome, Ben contributes to the Fearing’s legacy of long-lasting partnerships that truly make a difference. Whatever the Commercial AV need may be, Ben and team deliver at the highest level.
Ben is an avid fisherman and photographer. He enjoys coaching his sons and other youth.
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Married for 19 years with 3 children, Chris enjoys skiing, hiking, fishing, boating, hunting, camping and golf. He’s also been actively involved as a Youth Football and Softball coach for his family and others.
