Rocky Stone. Rocky Stone is the founder and former Executive Director of SHHH, and former president The International Federation for Hard of Hearing People
"Are you interested in accurate information on hearing loss? Go to the Trychin website now! There you will find a great deal of consumer information, professional publications written in plain English, news on workshops and conferences, and much more.
The Trychin website is the result of the combined experience of Doctors Sam and Janet Trychin, whose long time interaction with consumers has given greater authenticity to their professionalism. They know what you need and their website provides answers to many of your questions.
I have worked with Dr. Sam for more than twenty years and find him the best teacher I have known in the hearing health field. He has the gift of explaining complicated issues in language we can all understand and with a sense of humor that always keeps his audience awake.
He has now transferred this skill to a website. "
Ann Liming Ms. Liming is currently the President of the Board of Directors of Self Help for Hard of Hearing People, Inc. (SHHH).
"Workshops, books and articles on coping strategies by Sam Trychin have had great value to me both personally and in my professional life. The basic knowledge that a person with hearing loss gains is vital to the individual's ability to advocate for themselves in everyday situations, cope with the challenges of hearing loss and elevate their general level of self-esteem. Every hard of hearing person should have the opportunity to attend one of Sam's workshops or to read his books. These resources have literally changed lives."
Mark Ross, Ph.D. Dr. Ross, an audiologist, is Professor Emeritus, University of Connecticut
"Sam Trychin is one of a kind. Nobody who has ever heard him present his Coping with a Hearing Loss program is apt to forget him. He brings to the program competencies and skills that no audiologist (including me) can possibly equal. Next to hearing him talk in person is seeing the videos he has prepared and reading the books he has written. He is able to help people with hearing loss increase their insights into their own behavior, while at the same time sensitizing family members to the problems of their loved ones."
Barbara Kelley. Ms. Kelley is the Editor, Hearing Loss: The Journal of SHHH
"Sam Trychin has been writing for the SHHH Journal for nearly 20 years. In his straightforward and practical way he helps us realize we can live, get along, survive, and thrive with hearing loss. He gets people thinking (even laughing) and coming away more confident with new things to try. Dr. Trychin remains one of SHHH's most requested authors."
Barbara N. Thomas. Ms. Thomas is the Meeting Planner, Self Help for Hard of Hearing People, Bethesda, Md.
"I cannot imagine having a convention without Sam Trychin. Sam has the knowledge, the charisma, and a very sincere desire to help people with hearing loss. His workshops are always "sold out" and I can't seem to find a room large enough for Sam. Sam's evaluations are always the best. I feel honored to be able to work with him."
George Kosovich, M.S. Mr. Kosovich is a Vocational rehabilitation Program Specialist with the Rehabilitation Services Administration, United States Department of Education, Washington, DC
"My first exposure to Dr. Sam was at the 1986 SHHH Convention at Stanford University where he was doing his highly acclaimed "Living with Hearing Loss" workshops. I had not yet heard of him at that time but was immediately drawn into the excitement and anticipation that those who had been exposed to him were generating. It didn't take long for me to see that Dr. Sam "got it", that he knew where we were coming from, he knew our pain, our frustration and our shame! With him leading the way, we laughed, we cried and we talked about our hearing loss! Great teacher that he is, he helped us to find our way out of the withdrawal, anger and depression that often comes from ignorance as to how one can effectively manage their hearing loss. Attending Dr. Sam's workshops is still a "Feel good" experience for me because I've witnessed so many people "get it" about effectively managing their hearing loss. His publications on living with hearing loss are also excellent reminders of what he covers in his workshops and more. I should know, I helped edit some of them!
Dr. Sam Trychin and his lovely wife Janet are the "Dynamic Duo" if anyone ever was!! Traveling around the country doing workshops, writing books left and right, they are great models for people with hearing loss (Sam), and the audiologists (Janet). They are two of the most talented and dedicated people when it comes to teaching people who are hard of hearing how to effectively manage hearing loss as well as family members and others who also need to know. Best of all, they are so down to earth, friendly, fun-loving people who care about others and really enjoy helping people to help themselves live happy lives! I'm thrilled to see them reaching out via this website to the millions of people who need what they have to offer, learning to live with and effectively manage hearing loss - yours or someone else's!"
Marjorie Boone. Ms Boone has been an active member of SHHH for a number of years, and is herself, hard of hearing.
"I am so glad to learn that Sam Trychin's books will again be available for people with hearing loss.
Sam became involved with SHHH in the early 1980's after years of working with deaf people. My sister Betty Bonvillian and I were volunteers at SHHH, and had the great good fortune to be among his first guinea pigs as he sought to identify, then codify, things which can help hard of hearing people. Some are simple, such as moving so the light is behind you and not in your face; others are much more subtle, e.g., how to persuade a person to change poor speech habits. Few of us with hearing loss ever realized how much difference such tactics can make. He also raised concerns over the impact of hearing loss on families, friends, and colleagues. Sam was, I feel, making the point that technology (i.e., hearing aids) is an enormously important part of the piece, but there are also many ways we can ourselves improve our hearing situations. I've a personal example. When Betty and I decided to merge households after we both retired, she was still a hearing person, while I had profound hearing loss. We were stunned to realize we could not communicate - neither of us knew how to speak to the other so as to be understood. The resultant confusion, the stress, and yes, the anger, were dreadful. It was through Sam's work that we could achieve compatibility.
Sam took this vital message to SHHH through countless workshops, seminars, and especially his many and varied books. In them, he offers a wealth of practical, workable material - from basic communication "rules" to role-playing techniques in solving "communication hassles" (so Sam calls it); from how-to-do-it guidance on running meetings for hard of hearing people to improving your public speaking techniques when you are hard of hearing and can't understand audience remarks.
I have most of his books, and use them still. To me, they are as fresh, as inventive, and as valuable, as on the day Sam Trychin penned them.
Thank you, Sam Trychin, for revitalizing my life through your wisdom. May you books reach and help others as they have me."
Patricia B Kricos. Ms Kricos is the Director of the Center for Gerontological Studies at the University of Florida, Gainesville, FL.
"Sam Trychin's Living With Hearing Loss materials have been indispensable to me in the various audiologic rehabilitation support programs I have run over the years. His practical books and videos are an immense help to me in running successful programs that meet the needs of folks who are hearing impaired as well as their families and friends. "
Michael Harvey, Ph.D. Dr. Harvey has been conducting lectures and workshops regarding hearing loss for over 20 years. The themes of his several books are drawn from a wealth of clinical experience.
"The greatest difficulty with Dr. Sam Trychin's workshops is finding a seat. He has a magical way of blending compassionate, support, information and coping tools that captures audiences throughout the world. He is a valuable mentor and shouldn't be missed."
Rose Aird Minette. Ms. Minette is a member of the Texas Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
"Dr. Sam is one of the most dynamic speakers on hearing loss I have ever met! His years of experience working with couples have given him tremendous insight. His seminars and materials offer invaluable practical information for family members and those with hearing loss. I highly recommend his materials and his training sessions. Bring your spouse to his workshop, he might just save your marriage!"
Mary Beth Jennings. Ms. Jennings conducts programs for the hard of hearing at the National Centre for Audiology, The University of Western Ontario London, ON, Canada
"Dr. Trychin’s “Living with Hearing loss” program can be used on its own, or can be used as a resource to support and expand existing programs. The program materials provide a range of activities and a fresh approach to building coping strategies and include the unique components of assertiveness and relaxation training.
I have used these materials to support my own programs since 1989 and consider them to be an invaluable resource in providing services to my clients. These materials inspire the clinician to expand his/her services to better meet the needs of hard of hearing persons."
S. Randall Collins, M.Ed. Mr. Collins is the Outreach/Training Coordinator; Arizona Technology Access Program
Sherri Lambert Collins, M.Ed. Mrs. Collins is the Executive Director of the Arizona Commission for the Deaf and the Hard of Hearing
"We always tell people that “no one gets a manual with their hearing loss” but we know that everyone wishes they did. Often as it happens you begin to lose your hearing and you have no idea how to function as a hard of hearing person, in fact you’d rather not have to. Suddenly people expect you to know how to handle your hearing loss. Why should you know? It is not something you asked for and you likely did not plan on it. In most cases there is no expert there to tell you how a hard of hearing person functions or how a hard of hearing person is supposed to act. That is when the problems begin. In fact hearing loss often changes everything. Even the smallest changes can cause big problems. Not being able to hear well is a small part of living with a hearing loss. Hearing aids are wonderful but even they may present problems for a person who is hard of hearing. Hearing loss can be devastating but it doesn’t have to be. It’s all in how you learn to handle it. Sam Trychin is as close as you will ever come to having a manual that will instruct you how to take ownership and control of your hearing loss and your life.
We’ve learned from Sam, we’ve attended many of his presentations, we have read and continue to re-read his articles and books and we have had the pleasure of working with Sam on several occasions. Every new hard of hearing person we encounter we refer to Sam Trychin’s articles, book and videos. There simply isn’t anyone who understands what it is like to be hard of hearing better than Sam Trychin. As a hard of hearing person or a person living with a hard of hearing person it’s as if Sam has been viewing your life day in and day out! We love to watch Sam conduct workshops. Always, every time, more than a few people in the audience tell Sam – “I thought that only happened to me.” It can be a touchy subject but Sam always handles hearing loss with warmth, understanding and humor.
We’ve worn hearing aids for most of our lives. We worked in the field of hearing loss for decades. We still learn from Sam. Sam Trychin wrote the book on coping with hearing loss – literally. Sam should be required reading or viewing for every person with a hearing loss and every family member."
Linda Thibodeau, Ph.D. Dr. Thibodeau is the Associate Professor at the Callier Center for Communication Disorders, The University of Texas at Dallas
"The Living with Hearing Loss materials developed by Sam Trychin are the perfect addition to the traditional Auditory Rehabilitation program in which information is provided on ALD's, speechreading audiograms, care and use of amplification, and legal rights. Just going over the Rules for Communication for both the person with impaired hearing and the communication partner may solve nearly half of a person's communication difficulty. Then to help relate these rules to their own lives, the Wrong Way/Right Way scenarios give the participants the scenes to analyze that may be similar to their own life situations. When difficult situations can be analyzed like this to determine possible sources of difficulty, a problem-solving approach is modeled and encouraged. This is what makes Dr. Trychin's material so unique. In addition to providing the framework to identify the problems, he also provides materials for the next two very important steps which are determining how one reacts to the communication difficulty and then how to change behavior so that hopefully the things that contribute to the communication breakdown don't occur again.
After attending Dr. Trychin's weeklong workshop and using his excellent materials, it was imperative to include him in the Summer Intensive Aural Rehabilitation Conference held each year at the Advanced Hearing Research Center at the University of Texas at Dallas. Each year a renown professional in the rehabiliation field is included in the daily program. Dr. Trychin interacted with the participants on a level that helped them not only realize the source of their difficulties but also realize their own confidence in finding and employing the solutions. The scope of materials provided by Dr. Trychin should be made available to all persons who use amplification as essential information to facilitate communication success."
Dennis Solomon. Mr. Solomon has studied the book "Living with Hearing Loss: Workbook" and offers this personal review:
"After reading the book [which was written by a fellow hearing disadvantaged person] I realize I must do my part in attaining good, clear communication. I must "set up" myself, the environment and the speaker for good communication to accommodate for my hearing loss. After reading this book, I have come away with a better understanding of what I must do in the future. The following is by no means all that I have gained from reading this book, but contains some basic personal guidelines I can keep handy as a reference [when old habits crop up]!
Some specific examples:
On a personal note, guilt and fear of criticism have been big issues with me related to my hearing loss. I ask myself after a [nonproductive] conversation, did I do my best? Maybe I could have done something more or did I try hard enough to listen, did I inconvenience them by asking for repeats? All of the above causes fatigue, depression and anxiety. What I have to do to overcome my guilt feeling is to recognize my problem and DO MY PART as best as I can. Such as: wear my hearing aids, "set up" for better communication, be honest, relax and assured [that should help the other person to feel at ease and to cooperate]. Let people know about my disability and thank them occasionally for their efforts to help me understand better. Doing my part will diminish the feeling of guilt and fear of criticism.
Some of my goals for the future are: to wear my hearing aids when around others, plan for difficult communication situations, do not "bluff", keep track daily of how many times I ask people to repeat what they said to me for 1 month and evaluate for improvement."
Contact Dr. Trychin at samtrychin@roadrunner.com or by phoning (814)897-1194. Mailing address is Sam Trychin, Ph.D., 212 Cambridge Road, Erie, PA., 16511.
©2010 Samuel Trychin,
PhD
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