The Society's Annual General Meeting will take place at 7:30 p.m. on October 17, 2000, at SPEC, 2150 Maple Street, Vancouver, BC (two blocks west of Burrard, on the east side of Maple, between 5^th and 6^th, immediately north of the train tracks).

Speaking on the topic: "Hyperacusis and phonophobia: What are they, and do I have them?" will be Glynnis Tidball, an audiologist at St. Paul's Hospital who runs the Rotary and Westcoast Tinnitus and Hyperacusis Clinic with neurotologist Dr. Graham Bryce.

Hyperacusis is the decreased tolerance of ordinary levels of sound. It is thought to be due to the increased gain of sound in the brain's auditory pathways. The result is that everyday sounds that were once entirely tolerable are experienced as uncomfortable. A frequently inevitable consequence of this experience is that sound becomes associated with an unpleasant experience, and the hyperacusic individual develops a fear or dislike of sound based on its association or meaning. The term for this is phonophobia. This unpleasant association with sound can make it difficult to tolerate sounds even at a volume that is otherwise quite tolerable. Phonophobia can also exist in the absence of hyperacusis. There is more information about hyperacusis and phonophobia on the Internet at: www.tinnitus.org (follow the link to Jonathan Hazell, and then to Hyperacusis). "TRT explained" is another useful link on this site.

Everyone is welcome, whether a member of the Society or not. Please join us for this interesting presentation.

Municipal Act Campaign Update

Many thanks to those of you who assisted in our attempts to have the Municipal Act revised by sending the form letter enclosed with the Spring Newsletter, or a letter of your own, to the Minister of Municipal Affairs, the Honourable Cathy McGregor. Our power is greatly magnified when we act together in this way. The next step, which the Society is actively pursuing, is to enlist the help of the Union of BC Municipalities on this issue, as the Minister primarily takes her direction from that body when revising such legislation.

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What you can do about the intrusion of noise in your environment: complain and keep complaining. Write your local mayor, care of the clerk's office, requesting that copies also be circulated to all on council. Try to phrase your commentary to necessitate a response.

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