Tagged: I'm It!

Supposedly, once you are tagged, you have to obey the rules below. Usually I would just ignore these things, but since (I think) there would be at least 3 people who would read this (tagger, Atiqah; Irfan who suggested Atiqah to tag me; and of course, my no. 1 fan, Faiz Mokhtar), well, I just want to make them happy :)

A. Letakkan lencana yang telah disediakan di blog

(I have no idea what this means, I couldn't even translate anything that would do justice to the request. Badge? Logo? Symbol?)

B. Ceritakan tentang pemberi anugerah dan buat pautan
(Write about the 'tagger' and link that person)

I got to know of Atiqah back when we were in the same high school, MRSM Mersing. I actually anticipated her arrival to the school as I had befriended her twin first. Atiqah became my classmate. I have to admit, I am not that close to her; nevertheless she is a friend that I wouldn't mind be in company with :)
One of things about Atiqah that I would always remember is, she's actually a good singer! I still remember when she participated in Nadwah 2002 where she was the lead singer together with Zatil. Cayalah Atiqah ;) Though I would always associate you singing, with the song I translated for the nasyid team to sing, haha. Missing those days...
I admire her as a person who would always stand by her opinions and is not afraid to let people know about it. May our friendship last forever!

C. Nyatakan 10 hobi/fakta tentang diri sendiri
(Write 10 hobbies/facts abour yourself)

1. On my 20th birthday, I actually wrote a letter to my-30-year-old-self about things I would have accomplished by that time. I'm not exactly anticipating turning 30, but I really can't wait to laugh myself silly on how childish I am at 20 years old, would seem to myself at 30 years old.

2. I love to travel. Seriously. My two little-size 3/4-feet are just itching to go all over the world. Too bad money is always the repressive factor :(

3. When I actually do travel, I love to find postcards of the places I have been and post it back to myself. In the postcard I would write of the wonderful experience I had and the places I went. If I had friends with me, I would ask them to write in a little bit, to signify their presence of sharing the wonderful journey. Currently I would write two postcards; one to myself and one to my beloved. If I have extra money, I would send some to my closest friends, e.g.: Mas, Fit, Izzati :)

4. According to the therapist that massaged my feet, I listen easily to other people and also easily "makan hati", quote unquote. Faiz agreed, so enough said.

5. I love planning. I think I am a born organizer. I am sure all my friends would vouch for that. And I seriously could not live without my organizer. Right now it has evolved into a gorgeous lime green Luxe organizer. Sangat suka!

6. I literally love doing Audiology! I am so blessed to be in this course, and cannot wait to charge into the Audiology world and make my presence known. Hehe, ambitious much? Another one of my characteristics :) I actually chose to be in Audiology because of my twin brothers. They're autistic. I really hope I am making a difference in their lives by being in this field.


My younger brother, Ibi :)

7. I have a mini-me. She's my sister, Najat. We have so many things in common; we look alike, we have the same initials, we're August babies... even our traits are similar. Sometimes I'm scared though, especially when she takes after my bad habits, like being a shopaholic! ;p

8. I love reading fiction. I love buying fiction. I would really take care of my books; I would not stretch the books, I would read with care, that someone would think I haven't even touched the book! I would even wrap my books, if I really love it. If I feel like the book is nonsense, I would care less. Hihi, discrimination towards fiction.

9. I like to write poems and stories. I think my writing is nice, just cute and simple nothing flowerish. Nevertheless self-satisfactory. My parents are supportive of my writing. I actually thought of becoming a journalist once upon a time, but then the need to help people empowered that. Maybe I can be a researcher known for her excellent writing? Who knows? :)

10. I used to write in diaries. In fact, I had two, but then I stopped. I started to blog, but then an acquaintance told me I'm sharing too much personal details, so I stopped that too. Hence, tukang telinga. An outlet for me to write something I am passionate about.

Wow, I could just go on and on. Proof that I am getting self-absorbed day by day. But 10 is 10, so there they are.

D. Seperti biasa, tag orang lain pula
(As usual, tag other friends)

1. Mas
2. Nor
3. Saleh

De-stressing Hearing with Foot Massage

Is that even possible? To de-stress your hearing with just a foot massage?

Not really.

But I did learn something new from the complimentary foot massage I had with Faiz in True Spa, Jaya 33.

For all who have yet to know, our feet reflects the organs of our body. So as the therapist massages our feet, she/he can know whether you are sick/in pain/stressful/full of gas/etc.

She mentioned that the big toe is the head, the next two are the eyes and the other two are the ears. What intrigued me was that she could know whether someone is deaf by just massaging the feet.

Unbelievable?

Yes, because it's not even remotely possible. As I probe further, clarifying from her, she admitted that it wasn't exactly like she could screen a person's hearing with the massage. She said that the ears are something like the medium, because hearing is temporary, but the internal reaction towards what we hear that causes stress inside us, resulting in our feelings, emotions and speech production. For example, I heard something that provokes me; the provoking unnecessarily causes stress to the whole body, so it was advisable to not cause stress by saying something nice or behaving nicely in return, and then reflectively our body will be calm and de-stressed. According to the therapist-lah.

Therefore, not exactly a new discovery of a physical hearing assessment, hehe.



Nevertheless, it was an enjoyment for me as a first-timer. Definitely recommending my parents to go there. The awesome view from the top was a definite plus too!

Stakeholders' Workshop: Programme Standards for Medical & Health Sciences

Recently I was invited as a student representative for Audiology in the above-named workshop, organized by Malaysian Qualifications Agency. It was held in PJ Hilton on the 5th of March, 2009. I was informed of it by my Head of Department, 3 days before the actual day of workshop, so I was not very happy being selected. But as soon as she told me that it will be in PJ Hilton, I was more than happy to go, as I know good food awaits me in PJ Hilton ;p

My coursemate told me the department actually put up a letter of the invite for me. When I read the letter, I had no clue whatsoever on what the workshop is about. I mean, the title of the letter was:
JEMPUTAN SEBAGAI WAKIL PELAJAR BIDANG AUDIOLOGI BAGI BENGKEL PIHAK BERKEPENTINGAN MAKLUM BALAS DRAF STANDARD PROGRAM SAINS PERUBATAN DAN KESIHATAN

Err, mind-boggling isn't it?

I asked Faiz, and even my father. Both had no clue. I texted my lecturer cum Deputy Dean on whether I needed to prepare anything, and she said no. So I went thinking it would be a boring workshop of lectures and already imagining the food I would be savouring.

Come March 5th, 8.30am, it was nothing like I had expected. Instead of rows and rows of chairs and tables, there were round tables arranged, like in a dinner arrangement. I was seated with my lecturer, heads of department of Audiology in USM and UIA, the Chief Audiologist in KKM, one facilitator from MQA and Directors from the Health Promotions Field. Since it is a round table, obviously I couldnt curi-curi study for my mock viva, which I brought notes for. And so I went through the ordeal of listening to older people talk and making myself unsleepy.

The workshop's main objective was to discuss on the standards to be set for the courses in medical and health sciences. My table was designated for Audiology and Health Promotions. Hence, the participants. We discussed on programme aims, learning objectives, student selection, student assessment among others, at the various levels of diploma, bachelors degree, masters degree and doctoral degree.

It was actually a very interesting workshop, as I got to observe how decisions were made between these established people in their own fields. I thought it was pretty much like what we are doing when organizing an event or something, but for this one, brains were actually fully utilized. There are some of course, who prefer eating rather than discussing, and some who just wants to show authority rather than accepting people's opinions. I learned that it's very hard to start a programme from scratch in a university especially if you just graduated with a masters degree. I am sure all kinds of help is much needed.

Nevertheless, I thought it was a fruitful discussion in the best interest for Audiology in the future. Who knows, maybe next time I would be invited as the HOD, or Chief Audiologist maybe? Just wishful thinking. :)

Oh and yes, the food met my expectations ;P

Define AUDIOLOGY

I honestly think, even some of the audiologists (safe to say, in Malaysia) themselves could not define their line of work meaningfully. An audiology student, just beginning to start his/her first year would definitely has several ideas on his/her own on what is audiology. Example, me myself. Initially, I thought I was on a launchpad to become the ear specialist. But as I developed myself for almost four years now, I discovered what I am set to be.

However.

Let me first enrich you with some of the mind-blowing (exaggerate much) understandings of Audiology of the laymen people.

When I mentioned I am doing Audiology to the female population who are not familiar with the field, they would just commonly admit they don't know and politely ask me what do I do and do I have the title 'Doctor' upon graduation.

For the male population on the other hand. Well, there are various responses to the word Audiology. E.g.:

(the first two are typical responses)
Whoa, Audio?! You mean you work in the studio? Be a DJ or something? That's so cool!

or another equivalent response,

You're in the sound engineering industry? Maybe when my band wants to record songs, we can come to you!

or (I never saw this coming)

Ohh. You must be in the same field as Radiology. I nodded in agreement as I thought he meant as in health science, which field both courses are in, when he added you know, RADIO - AUDIO? (sigh, hopeless)

One response hit home and I was especially proud to have a friend like him. He was the reason I wrote this blog in the first place. He was my school-mate, Ajis is his name. I recently contacted him as I was in JB for another clinical placement. When I said I am doing Audiology and hinted that it's related to hearing, he replied,

Ohh, that's why it's audio. So it must be related to the ears and mouth, as both ears and mouth are somehow connected right?

I was delirious with his response, even if he missed the nose. I mean, usually people usually stopped at the ears. And he's from the engineering field, okay?! I told him not many people get it like he did, and he retorted, "kalau budak tak pegi skolah mmg la tak tahu" (only those who didn't go to school wouldn't know) err, he should know that our school mates are some of those who mentioned the above responses.

Anyway. I guess I wanted to write this because I had misled people in thinking I am the ear specialist. When actually, I check people's ears and diagnose people's hearing status using machines. But that does not mean I am a technician. I don't prescribe medicine. I don't do surgeries. I find out what is the problem and manage through referrals, counseling and most importantly, amplification, hence the hearing aids, cochlear implants and fm systems. I work with many professionals: speech-language pathologists, paediatricians, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, ENT doctors, teachers of the hearing-impaired and more. Some of the places that require my services include the hospitals, clinics, hearing aid companies, universities and schools.


Right now in Malaysia, only 3 universities produce Audiologists: UKM, UIA and USM.

I don't have the title 'Doctor'. I am an audiologist. And my level is equivalent to a medical officer.

Doctors, audiologists are not your subordinates. We work together at the same level. We are every bit as important as you are in the health field.

That was just a brief explanation. Want further details? Just leave me a message! :)

Clarity is Power - RUC '09

I totally agree with Dr Faiz Khaleed, who was one of the speakers for Real Undergraduate Conference 2009. Clarity is a definite power that some people still do not grasp upon. I thought he was a better speaker than Dr Sheikh Muszaphar, although his speech did tend to be long-winded. Nevertheless, meaningful. I really noted down what he said, some of them being,

'Failure is not a person, it is a SITUATION. Never say someone fails, it's always the situation';

'malu biar bertempat';

'we can tell how a person is by listening to that person';

'when talking to a person, don't give words, give pictures';

'learn to think under pressure/stress';

'bersyukur with what you have but don't get too comfortable, always strive to be better';

and 'the first step is always the hardest, have initiative to take it'.

The Real Leader founding director, Amirul Iskandar also delivered an amazing take on attitude. His session was fresh, energetic and entertaining. I mean, he used Spongebob Squarepants and a clip of Joker and Batman as some of his props. How cool was that? Some of the good quotes were:

'Your attitude determines your altitude';

'Exposure leads to expansion';

and by Charlie Tremendous Jones, '2 things that can change your life in 5 years: 1. People you meet; 2. Books that you read'.

A very good speaker, he is; a shame he had to cut his session short due to time constraint (I mostly blame it to Dr Faiz's long-winded session ;p).

I missed the special message from PEMADAM and Petronas session, and only sat halfway through the Bank Negara session. RUC '09 had the CEO of AKPK to present and one sentence stuck through my mind when he went through 'How you should spend your first salary?' PAY YOURSELF FIRST. I made a mental note to myself to read the book Money Sense. Go to www.akpk.org.my to know more. Save money for: 1. emergency fund; 2. big ticket items; 3. retirement.

The goodies were great! I got an SSF calendar, Gamat honey, sweets, notepad, Bank Negara finance-management book, pen, Datuk Maznah Hamid's bookmark, folder and bag. The participants were spoiled better this year. The inspirational videos were also, of course, inspiring with one of quotes from www.beyondthequote.com.

I thought it's a real shame for those who missed it. I really learned a lot eventhough I didn't sit through the entire conference. I was involved with the registration, and had to be on duty at times. My mother was there and she enjoyed it as well. She laughed her head off during Datuk Maznah Hamid's session (which was definitely fun and an eye-opener as she shared her rise-to-success story) and especially liked Dr Faiz as she thought he was a really sincere young man. Due to that, she's sceptic how Dr Sheikh became the Angkasawan Negara instead of Dr Faiz, haha. A proof on listening to a person talks is actually a description of how that person is.

The Registration Team :)



Can't wait for RUC '10!

RUC '09 - the Advert

Dear All,

RUC'09 is on the 31st of January 2009 at PICC and we would like to invite you to join us in the biggest undergraduate conference of the year!

Did you come for RUC'08? Then you must come to RUC'09! It is bigger & better! If you miss RUC'08 then this is your chance to experience it for yourself! Go to our website and check out the pictures from RUC'08.

You can register now to confirm your place by logging on to www.RealUndergradConference.com . Registeration will close on the 23rd of January 2009.

For inquiries, please email to info@realundergradconference.com or contact 0162626740 / 743.

Come and experience the teachings & sharings. There will be;

* Great door gifts
* Fantastic conference materials
* Fun and games &
* Most importantly the skills & knowledge that you will be able to pickup at the conference that will CHANGE YOUR LIFE!

You will discover 5 things;
- How to have great Relationships
- Create a powerful team through Equipping
- The secret of managing your money
- How to attract success with the right Attitude &
- To become somebody from nobody through Leadership

You can register now to confirm your place by logging on to www.RealUndergradConference.com . Registeration will close on the 23rd of January 2009.

We have people from all over the country coming to RUC'09. We have people from Sabah & Langkawi! You don't want to miss it.

This is your chance to Network & make new friends! Tell everybody that you know. Let's meet up at RUC'09.

Please feel free to forward this message to all your family & friends.

Best regards & hope to see you at RUC'09!

RUC'09 secretariat

PS ~
You can register now to confirm your place by logging on to www.RealUndergradConference.com . Registeration will close on the 23rd of January 2009.

Real Undergrad Conference 2009

Ok, this conference is organized by REAL Leaders Sdn Bhd and fully supported by Kementerian Pengajian Tinggi Malaysia (KPTM) and Persatuan Mencegah Dadah Malaysia (PEMADAM).

I went to this conference last year, and I thought it was a very fruitful conference, I've picked up a lot of new things, met a lot of personalities that I couldn't possibly dreamt of meeting if I hadn't went to the conference (e.g.: Tun Mahathir, Datuk Sheikh Muszaphar, Datuk Siti Nurhaliza, Norman KRU), and had fun, besides eating good food. My bestie, Mas, my brother, Saleh and both my cousins Ayong and Nor can vouch for it. In fact, I think Mas and Nor enjoyed it the most, as they won gifts!

Try checking out the website: www.RealUndergradConference.com

Some of the universities/colleges proposed this to their HEP, so that they're sponsored to go there. You should too!

Invite your friends, coursemates, colleagues. Everyone!

Want a great future? You should be there!

Of Subjects and Cupcakes

I created this flyer and put it in Masjid Kampung Baru, in high hopes that the qariah masjid would turn up at the clinic.


NOBODY RESPONDED. Absolutely no one. Sad isn't it?

To think that I stayed up til 1.30 in the morning with my sister-in-law (I heart Kak Farini! xD) making cupcakes for the 'subjects'.









*For my sweetheart ;P*


Alas, only one came. Uncle Colonel Sanders. He was pretty interested with Audiology and the whole Health Sciences actually. But then, he did not qualify in being a subject!!! I was heartbroken. Okay, not that dramatic. But very frustrated.

I don't know what to do next. Will try to go to old folks' homes. Sigh.

Does anyone has an idea to help me get subjects? :(

Seriously I'm tired of this.

Volunteerism, Anyone?

I have finally calculated on how many subjects I need for my thesis. I need 24 of them. I have tested 17 people, but as of this day, 4th January 2008, I have only gotten 12 subjects. I need 12 more!

Out of the 17 people I tested, 2 were my parents, 8 relatives (uncles and aunts), 2 of my friends' mothers (thanks Mas, Nora :)), my auntie's friend and hubby, my mom's employees, and a clerk at a school.

I don't think anyone had an inkling of an idea of how I searched for my subjects.

If I am paying my subjects, I am sure I would finish collecting data by now. The thing is, according to my supervisor, my thesis is just a small research, and there's no funding for it. No funding means the person will not get anything for that matter, in being a subject.

Initially, as I was testing my relatives, I didn't need the money. But then as time went by, it was apparent that even my relatives could not cover the total of the subjects I needed. I depended on their word of mouth regarding my thesis and also from my friends' parents. It was then that I started to get desperate.

Why? Well, people don't exactly go around by themselves to KL being research's subjects for free now, do they? They DON'T. Unless they have nothing better to do, or they're related to the researcher or they are plain voluntary. And where can we find those kind of people? The voluntary ones, I mean?

Not at school. You'd think teachers would actually be supportive to students, even if they're not their actual students. Wouldn't they understand better of what we're going through? I went to 8 schools around my college area: Titiwangsa, Kampung Baru and Danau Kota. Out of the visits, I only managed to get one subject. ONLY ONE.

One school totally rejected me, the principle denied me of any explanation as I had not gone through the ministry for approval to go rounds asking for volunteers. Come on lah. Its voluntary work, it's not like forced labor to be my subject. One headmaster condemned me for not using the UKM's letterhead when others don't even notice. That aside, he said he would participate, but when the day came, he didn't show up because he thought I was suppose to come to him, when he had so clearly read my letter the tests will be done in my clinic. Sigh.

This morning, I went to the Titiwangsa Lake Park with much determination to get 12 people. I asked my brother to accompany me. I waited around the area where there were people doing dances and nearby to the food stalls. I targeted couples, because I thought I could identify the 50 - 60 -year-olds better by looking at the husband's hair. If he has grey hair, the couple should aged around my age range.

For the first couple I approached, the wife was really friendly, but the husband quickly left her upon seeing his friend. As I talked to the wife, I made progress and gotten her phone number, and waited for the husband so that we could set an appointment. We waited and waited until finally the aunty said she'll give me a call instead. When I left them, the husband quickly ended his conversation with his friend and left with his wife. Huh! So obvious he's avoiding me! At least I got his wife's number.

There was one couple that I approached, where I did notice that the husband has completely black hair. Nevertheless, I decided to risk it, because there are 50-year-olds who look young. So I asked the wife, Salam, Puan dah umur 50 tahun ke? (Excuse me Maam, are you 50 yet?). The lady was surprised and shook her head while her husband quickly retorted, dia muda lagi la... (She's still young). I apologized repeatedly, embarrassed and went away. So sorry aunty! :(

I approached several more but was unsuccessful. One couple even has a child studying in UKM KL, and yet they do not want to be subjects! There were some where the wives were interested, but then the husbands were not, so they didn't want to be the subjects. One aunty was quite nice, she couldn't be my subject as she's not a frequent visitor, but she did reject me nicely and even said I'm cute. xD

There was one uncle who looked very pleasant and approachable; he looked like Colonel Sanders of KFC! He was smiling to himself watching the people dance, so I approached him quickly. Jackpot! He was very willing to be my subject! But his wife wasn't, but then again she's a lefty so I didn't need her. Ha! And the uncle was nice enough to even give his friend's number. Apparently this Colonel Sanders look-alike is a friend of my ex-college principle, so he was more than happy to be involved. Soooooo nice of him to volunteer sincerely.

All in all, I only managed to get 3 numbers :( I guess it is true.

Volunteerism is so dead.

The Phantom Sound

Have you ever experienced hearing sounds in your ears which you are so sure that nobody else is hearing it as well? It could be a ringing, buzzing, hissing, chirping, whispering, blowing of the wind sound, or to quote a patient, dengar orang mengaji dalam telinga (hearing someone recite the Quran). That last part was quite random, but for the other sounds, they are quite common complaints. In fact, my niece and partner are experiencing the ringing sounds.

This hearing symptom is called tinnitus. Tinnitus is sound heard in the ears which are not externally stimulated. It is a phantom auditory perception. Almost everyone has tinnitus; but it could either be normal tinnitus or pathological tinnitus.

Normal tinnitus is experienced by most people. It occurs less than 5 minutes, less than once a week and is not associated with hearing loss.

On the other hand, pathological tinnitus occurs more than 5 minutes, more than once a week and usually heard by people with hearing loss. The severity ranges from acceptable to unacceptable. By acceptable means that the sounds do not disturb you from doing tasks, while unacceptable means the sounds affect you to a point you have to stop doing whatever you are doing whenever it occurs. In this case, it is very frustrating for that person.

The duration of the tinnitus could be temporary, occurring only at a certain position and situation (e.g. when you're lying on your bed, preparing to sleep; when you're in a very noisy place). It could also be permanent, meaning it's there 24/7.

The causes of tinnitus varies: it could be due to noise exposure, Meniere's Disease, medication, food intake, lots of ear wax and idiopathic (unknown), even.

Usually, if the sounds heard are high pitched in nature, it is usually associated with high frequency hearing loss, while low pitch tinnitus relates to low frequency hearing loss. That's why if you are experiencing this symptom, it is advisable to immediately have your hearing assessed, as to ensure that your hearing is not affected and is not the cause of the tinnitus.

Referring to the pamphlet my coursemates did for our Audiology Seminar, there are several approaches for tinnitus management and treatment. They are:

1. Tinnitus Retraining Therapy (TRT) that includes directive/retraining counseling and sound therapy;

2. Masking of tinnitus using hearing aids (for those with hearing loss, of course), tinnitus maskers (apparently downloadable), tinnitus instruments;

3. Medication such as anti-depressant, anti-convulsant (tegretol, phenytoin, mysoline, depakene), anti-histamine (meclizine), vasodilators (gingko biloba, niacin);

4. Psychological treatment of cognitive therapy, cognitive restructuring, attention diversion techniques, imagery training, relaxation training, hypnosis;

5. Other treatments: TinniTool (developed in Switzerland, see picture below); Neuromonic; biofeedback; and electrical stimulation.



One particular treatment I would like to stress on would be the Sound Therapy as it is an easy, self-practised approach. The therapy facilitates tinnitus habituation by weakening the tinnitus signal. Patient is instructed to avoid silence and to enrich the background noise by listening to music, using table-top sound machines or wearable sound generators.

For the medication part, it is strongly advised to get them as medically consulted.

*Compliments to Chan Soon Chien, Suriya Mohamad, Tan Ping Meng and Ong Chun Suan @ the Purple Phantom :)

Kiss of Deaf

Someone sent me an e-mail, regarding a girl who got a kiss of deaf from her boyfriend. I guess that particular someone thought it might interest me as it is related to the field of hearing, and it did. Read on first before going through my thoughts :)

A young Chinese woman was left partially deaf following a passionate kiss from herboyfriend.


The 20-something from Zhuhai in Guangdong province arrived at hospital having completely lost the hearing in her left ear, said local reports.


The incident prompted a series of articles in the local media warning of the dangers of excessive kissing.


"While kissing is normally very safe, doctors advise people to proceed with caution," wrote the China Daily.


The doctor who treated the girl in hospital was quoted in the paper explaining what had happened.


"The kiss reduced the pressure in the mouth, pulled the eardrum out and caused the breakdown of the ear."


The chorus of warnings was echoed by the Shanghai Daily, which wrote: "A strong kiss may cause an imbalance in the air pressure between two inner ears and lead to a broken ear drum."


The young woman is expected to regain her full hearing within about two months.

Upon reading this, I just thought, there are so many holes in the story!

Did the girl realize she has hearing loss exactly after she kissed that guy? Was it her first time kissing her boyfriend? If it wasn't, was the kisses they had before were not as passionate as that 'kiss of deaf'? What was the girl's hearing history? Was the doctor even an ENT doctor?

It was reported that the girl is expected to regain her full hearing within about two months. What is the nature of the hearing loss? Conductive (temporary) hearing loss? Sensorineural hearing loss, meaning that it is sudden hearing loss?

These are just some of the questions that are flowing through my mind. It is just so bizarre! Especially since it is the first time I heard of this.

If it is really possible, then I advise all passionate kissers to take note. You won't want to be a deaf kisser now would you? ;P

xoxo!