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COMMUNITY 31 Graham Paine/Metroland Clockwise from left, long-time Dearcroft Montessori employees Anna Campbell, left, and Rachel Shipton take a look at the photos featured in an album on display at Moonshine Cafe, where the Oakville Montessori school hosted its 50th anniversary celebration March 1. The festivities included live music by blues guitarist Mike Branton and a special guest appearance by CBC's Hockey Night in Canada host Ron MacLean, who shared a memory from his time taping segments with figure skater Kurt Browning for Battle of the Blades. School director Gord Phippen (right) presents MacLean with his own personalized Dearcorft Wolves hockey jersey at the 50th anniversary celebration after showing MacLean photos from a road hockey tournament he participated in several years ago at the school. The anniversary event saw alumni, friends and family come together for a night of fun. It also served as a fundraiser for a new scholarship in honour of Rob Stewart, who died in a scuba diving accident last year. Stewart, a "close friend of Dearcroft," was a globally-acclaimed documentary film maker. Major university hearing study seeks participants. Connect Hearing, with hearing researcher Professor Kathy Pichora-Fuller at the University of Toronto, seeks participants who are over 50 years of age and have never worn hearing aids for a hearing study investigating factors that can influence better hearing. All participants will have a hearing test provided at no charge. Qualifying participants may also receive a demonstration of the latest hearing technology. The data collected from this study will be used to further our understanding of hearing loss and improve life­ changing hearing healthcare across Canada. Why participate in the hearing study? Hearing problems typically result from damage to the ear and researchers have spent decades trying to understand the biology behind hearing loss. More importantly, researchers now realize the need to better understand how hearing loss affects your everyday life*. In this new hearing study, Professor Pichora-Fuller and her team are trying to find out how people learn to live with hearing loss and how new solutions could help these people take action sooner and live life more fully. It is estimated that 46% of people aged 45 to 87 have some degree of hearing loss1, but most do not seek treatment right away. In fact, the average person with hearing loss will wait ten years before seeking help2. This is because at the beginning stages of hearing loss people often find they can "get by" without help, however as the problem worsens this becomes increasingly harder to do. For some people this loss of clarity is only a problem at noisy restaurants or in the car, but for others it makes listening a struggle throughout the entire day. By studying people who have difficulty hearing in noise or with television, we hope to identify key factors impacting these difficulties and further understand their influence on the treatment process. If you are over 50 years of age and have never worn hearing aids, you can register to be a part of this major new hearing study by calling: 1.888.242.4892 or visiting connecthearing.ca/hearing-study. * Pichora-Fuller, M. K. (2016). How social psychological factors may modulate auditory and cognitive functioning during listening. Ear and Hearing, 3 7 ,92S-100S. t Study participants must be over 50 years o f age and have never worn hearing aids. No fees and no purchase necessary. Registered under the College of Speech and Hearing Health Professionals of BC. VAC, WCB accepted. 1. Cruickshanks, K. L., W iley, T. L., Tweed, T. S., Klein, B. E. K., Klein, R, Mares-Perlman, J. A., & Nondahl, D. M. (1998). Prevalence o f Hearing Loss in Older Adults in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin: The Epidemiology of Hearing Loss Study. Am. J. Epidemiol. 148(9), 879-886. 2 . National Institutes of Health. (2010). [ W ] U N IV E R S IT Y O F IP T O R O N T O Connect Hearing | O akville B eaver | Thursday, M arch 15, 2018 insidehalton.com Major university hearing study seeks participants. Connect Hearing