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w at er lo oc hr on ic le .c a W at er lo o C hr on ic le | T hu rs da y, Ju ne 7, 20 18 | 12 1373 Victoria St. N., Kitchener | 519-742-8501 www.internationalhomeinteriors.ca THE INNOVATORS OF COMFORT™ RECEIVE $600 OFF* your purchase of StresslessWing in select colors. R 00 14 69 80 09 Ekornes Manhattan Ekornes Oslo Complete your roomwith Special Savings on select sofas. Save up to 25% on EkornesManhattan and Oslo sofas in select Leather Colors. 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. 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 * Pichora-Fuller, M. K. (2016). How social psychological factors may modulate auditory and cognitive functioning during listening. Ear and Hearing, 37, 92S-100S. † Study participants must be over 50 years of 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.,Wiley, T. L., Tweed, T. S., Klein, B. E. K., Klein, R, Mares-Perlman, J. A., & Nondahl, D. M. (1998). Prevalence of 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). 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. need to better understand how hearing loss affects your everyday life*. In this newhearing 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. LGBTQ+ organization, said she's not surprised at all by the vandalism. "I'm so unsurprised as to be almost anti-surprised. This is the very reason we need these kinds of mark- ers: both for the Pride it brings to our community, and to show our neighbours just the kind of thing we have to deal with on a reg- ular basis," said Glasson in an email statement. "We all expected the bigots to show themselves, and they have. "As far as we've come, this shows how far we have yet to go. "Waterloo resident Peter Houston was upset by a post on Facebook Thursday showing the damage to the rainbow crosswalk and contacted the city. "Unfortunately, there is no budget to repair the side- walk if damaged. It is hoped that it will fade over time," was the response Houston received. "My reply was, the mark may fade but the statement won't." Mayor Dave Jaworsky said the city will look at the maintenance and repair of the crosswalk, but added they also need community buy-in to keep an eye on it and he encouraged mall merchants and local busi- nesses with security cam- eras to see if they have any footage of the culprit. He said that unfortu- nately, he too wasn't sur- prised that somebody de- faced such a public symbol of inclusiveness. "The rainbow crosswalk is a symbol of how we need to be more inclusive and to take in account the LGBTQ+ community," said Jaworsky. " This act is also symbolic of what they face each and every day in their lives." This is the third significant homophobic act that has occurred in Waterloo over the past year, with graffiti also appearing at Parkmin- ster United Church last summer and fall in advance of LGBTQ+ events it was hosting, and the vandalism at Emmanuel United Church, which flies a rain- bow flag, which was sprayed with graffiti last fall. "When you see cowardly acts happening under cover of darkness to property, that is also happening to people in their day-to-day lives," said Jaworsky of some of the acceptance that still needs to be shown in the community. "This is a symbol of what our commu- nity is about, and that van- dalism is a symbol of what we have to root out." The crosswalk is outside the Shoppers at Waterloo Town Square on Willis Way and connected to the park- ing lot across the street and Shopify's new Waterloo of- fice. Mayor Jaworsky, up- town Coun. Melissa Durrell and UpTown Waterloo BIA executive director Tracy Van Kalsbeek were on hand to mark the occasion with members of the LGBTQ+ community Wednesday to dedicate the first rainbow crossing in the city. - with files from Adam Jackson NEWS l Continued from page 1 Mayor asks community to keep an eye out l MORE ONLINE Check out our range of social media channelsserving up content from waterloochronicle.ca