The First International Conference on Deafness in Bermuda will be held in November with an aim to improving the quality of services for the deaf and hard of hearing on the Island.

The conference, which will be held at the Marriott's Castle Harbour resort from November 17 to 22, is attracting participants from around the world, including the US and Canada.

The theme is "Education and Technology: Tools for the 21st Century''.

Conference organisers are looking for volunteers to help out with guest registration, transportation and organising exhibits.

"We have invited professionals and experts in the field of deafness from around the world to participate,'' committee chairperson Jennifer Jeffers-Grant said.

"This is the first conference of its kind in Bermuda and is therefore an historical event.

"We will have 48 workshops on various aspects of deafness, including everything from the care of young children, mental health, HIV/AIDS and deafness, new technology in deaf education, 911 emergency services, teacher preparations in deaf education and deaf senior citizens. There will also be exhibits and demonstrations,'' she said.

The conference aims to make the public more aware of the needs of the deaf and hard of hearing within the community.

"We are hopeful the deaf population will have more access to vital services like the other members of the disabled community.'' She added that it will also help if volunteers have a basic knowledge of sign language but "we are willing to teach a crash course in sign language for their survival skills. This will be a wonderful cultural experience for all involved.'' There will be several workshops during the three-day conference. Some of the topics scheduled to be discussed are multi-media and deaf literacy, building bridges between ASL and English, the Disabilities Act Law of the US and what changes it has brought about.

The conference will also discuss the importance and appropriate utilisation of mental health services for the deaf and hard of hearing, including the concept of the virtual school in sign language and how it will be put in place.

For your information Hundreds of thousands of people around the world -- many from the day they were born -- have experience a total or partial loss of hearing.

Deafness can also be categorised in terms of the location of the dysfunction: Conductive deafness: This type of hearing impairment affects the loudness or intensity with which a person hears speech. Impairment is caused by interference with the transmission of sound from the outer to the inner ear.

The interference may be caused by some type of blockage, such as a foreign object, malformation by infection (eg. otitis media. or pathology of the eardrum or ossicles -- bones of the ear.) Sensoneural deafness: Pproblem is with the inner ear itself or with the auditory nerve which leads from the inner ear to the brain. The impairment affects frequency intelligibility, and clarity of sounds received.

Cortical deafness: Normal hearing is impaired due to damage to the auditory cortex or the connections leading to the brain.