are two groups providing support and information for hard of hearing people and their families.  For information about the meetings in Charlotte, contact the Charlotte Regional Resource Center for the Hard of Hearing (voice 704/568-8558 or TTY 704/568-8505 asking for Ivy at extension 275 either way). For the Charlotte group you can also click here to contact a member of the group.  For meetings in Cornelius, call a leader at 704/896-3488 Mon-Fri 8-8.  (Click for overview of Hearing Impairment resources)

There were two groups in Charlotte for people with Meniere's and other forms of dizziness.  They used to be very active, but no longer meet for lack of attendance.  The previous leaders are still available for individual questions or to help people re-start the group.  Call one of these leaders at the following numbers:  364-7073 or 552-8845 weekdays 9-5.  (Click for overview of Hearing Impairment resources)

This group of parents of school-aged children who are hearing impaired used to meet to help each other deal with day to day problems and advocate within school systems.  The ex-leader would be happy to talk with people who want to start up the group again.  Call her at 704/293-3263 any day 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (voice only); if you are hearing impaired, please use your TTY to call RELAY NC at 1-800/735-2962 and ask for 704/293-3263 any day 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Carolinas Cochlear Implant Club (met until 1996)  (1270)  (alternative HLA above)
Hitch-Up (2007) (1600)
Vestibular and Hearing Disorders Support Group (2006) (1673)

This service provides comprehensive data and referral assistance for nonprofit and government resources in the NC counties of Mecklenburg, Cabarrus, Union, and Anson counties and in or near the city of Mooresville, NC.  If you are calling on a landline or residential phone in one of those counties, dial 2-1-1.  If that fails, if you are calling on a cell phone, or if you are calling from anywhere else in NC, call 866/744-7778.  For calls from out of NC, use their local number of 704/377-1100. Although they are open 24 hours a day, you may wish to call weekdays from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. for non-emergency questions.

The friendly staff at this full service library can help you research any medical topic using their up-to-date computers, databases, journals and books.  No previous research experience or medical knowledge is required. Click here for details or call them at 704-384-6393.

MedLinePlus

This service of the National Library of Medicine of the National Institutes of Health is one of the better one-stop shops for beginning your search on the internet for medical information.  For those of you who live in Mecklenburg and Union counties in NC, we recommend that you contact the Health Library for more personal assistance from the experts there in searching for reliable medical information. Click here for their details.

Click to link to any of these lists of national groups: 

The Self-Help Sourcebook OnLine Index
The Genetic Alliance
NORD (National Organization for Rare Diseases) Database

Click here to branch to the American Self-Help Clearinghouse listing of toll-free phone numbers for a wide variety of topics.