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Barbara Kelley has been named the new executive director of HLAA, succeeding Anna Gilmore Hall. In a recent press release Margaret Wallhagen, Ph.D., chairperson of the the Board of Trustees, commented, "Barbara's commitment to HLAA is unquestionable. Her 28 years of dedicated service to the organization in various roles is exemplary. She has not only shown great leadership and fortitude in stepping into the acting executive director role this past January, but also expresses a vision for the future that exemplifies an understanding of the needs of persons with hearing loss. We have every confidence she will transition smoothly into the official executive director role."
Barbara said, "It has been my life's work to contribute to the mission of the organization through a range of activities. I look forward to using my history and knowledge of the organization to ensure that HLAA remains the valued consumer voice for people with hearing loss in both shaping public policy and helping people live well with hearing loss. I'm energized by our members and supporters whose dedication to HLAA is unwavering. I look forward to working with our members, board, supporters, and staff in my role as executive director."
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TO REVEAL or CONCEAL:
MANAGING YOUR HEARING LOSS in the WORKPLACE |
Tuesday, April 19th
6-8 PM
CUNY Graduate Center,
Rooms 9204/9205
365 Fifth Avenue (between 34th and 35th Streets)
How do you handle your hearing loss in the workplace? Do you inform others about your hearing challenges or keep your hearing loss to yourself? Whether you are a paid employee or a volunteer, this decision has a direct impact on your comfort level, productivity, and relationships with colleagues. Holly Cohen will lead a discussion of issues and present strategies for consideration. Combining her experience as Past President of the HLAA-NYC Chapter and as a career coach/workshop facilitator, Holly's focus is to empower people of all ages and stages of life to achieve career satisfaction. At this meeting, you will have an opportunity to share your stories.
CART (real-time captioning) provided by Lauren Schechter of TotalCaption. An ASL interpreter will be provided with advance notice of 72 hours or three business days. Please send requests to info@hearinglossnyc.org.
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CHAPTER ADVOCACY BEARS FRUIT
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Standing left to right: Ted Finkelstein, Director of the NYC Commission on Human Rights; Katherine Bouton; Ruth Bernstein; Council Member Helen Rosenthal. The Mayor is seated behind the desk. Seated to his left are Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities Commissioner Victor Calise and City Council legislative intern Edward Friedman. Jerry Bergman is directly behind the Mayor.
Photo by William Alatriste for the New York City Council
Mayor Mayor Bill de Blasio recently signed into law two bills sponsored by City Council members Helen Rosenthal and Richie Torres and prompted by HLAA-NYC Chapter advocacy. HLAA Chapter President and National Board member Katherine Bouton and Chapter members Ruth Bernstein and Jerry Bergman participated in the ceremony. For Improved Access to Services By June of this year, each city agency will be required to designate an employee as its disability services facilitator. The facilitator will be responsible for coordinating services for people with disabilities, including responsibilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and other federal, state, and local laws. Agencies are also required to post the names of the facilitators on their websites. For Accessibility to Meetings and Events Posters, invitations, and other publicity materials for city-sponsored events open to the public are now required to contain information on the types of accessibility at such events and deadlines for when requests for accommodations must be received. Agencies also must encourage their contractors to comply with this requirement, and community boards and community district councils are encouraged to comply, if practicable. Where possible, publicity materials are to include information regarding wheelchair access, CART, sign language interpretation, assistive listening systems, and other accommodations.
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WELCOME to the CHAPTER'S NEW PROFESSIONAL ADVISORS
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HLAA-NYC is pleased to introduce our two new professional advisors. Each will serve a two-year term, which may be renewed.
Barbara Weinstein, Ph.D., is a professor and the founding executive officer of the doctoral programs in the Health Sciences and Audiology at the City University of New York Graduate Center. Her book Geriatric Audiology was published in 2000 and rewritten and reissued in 2013. At that time, in an interview with Douglas Beck, she described the book as "all about interdisciplinary approaches to maximally manage and work with the geriatric audiology patient. That is, in order to serve the elderly patients as well as we can, we have to understand their sociology, their psychology, their needs and desires and all aspects of aging and geriatric medicine." She is a strong proponent of auditory rehabilitation, and of the importance of helping people with hearing loss self-manage the challenges posed by hearing loss. She encourages awareness in audiologists of the link between hearing loss and cognitive changes and of the importance of the preferences and values of persons with hearing loss as a driver of their management. Dr. Weinstein provides HLAA-NYC with a strong link to the audiology community both in New York and around the country.
David M. Landsberger, Ph.D., is the principal investigator in the Electrical Auditory Research Laboratory (EARLab) at the New York University School of Medicine. He came to NYU from the House Ear Institute in Los Angeles. His primary interest is modifying the patterns of electrical stimulation from a cochlear implant to improve sound quality, speech understanding in the presence of background noise, and music encoding. He works closely with the three cochlear implant manufacturers and has considerable technical experience with devices made by each of these manufacturers. Dr. Landsberger is interested in all aspects of hearing with cochlear implants and brings valued expertise in this area to HLAA-NYC.
Both of our professional advisers will lead chapter meetings in 2016-17; dates to be determined.
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RECAP of MARCH CHAPTER MEETING
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Richard Einhorn. Lauren Schechter's CART screen is in the background.
Photo by Rick Savadow
Composer, hearing loss advocate, and HLAA Board Member Richard Einhorn was the guest speaker at our March chapter meeting, titled "Hold Onto Your HAT."
The subject was hearing assistive technology. Richard was joined from time to time by Terrence Williams from the Center for Hearing and Communication and by HLAA-NYC chapter member Jerry Bergman, who also gave a demonstration of Phonak's Roger Pen.
Richard's freewheeling talk began with the news that Samsung is rumored to be coming out with a hearing aid or a personal sound amplification product, depending on how the Food and Drug Administration rules on Personal Sound Amplifier Products (PSAPs).
Among the products Richard demonstrated were the Sound World CS 50, a PSAP that goes into the ear and acts as a Bluetooth. In addition,it has a microphone and amplifies sound. Sound World also manufacturers the Sidekick and the Companion. All three are PSAPs, in different designs.
Richard also showed the SoundHawk, a popular PSAP.
Doppler makes the Doppler Here. Intended for people without hearing loss, it adds echo and reverberation to make a more natural sound quality. It does not amplify sound but could be configured to do that.
AVA, a phone app that is not yet on the market, allows 4 to 6 people to sign on by iPhone and have a conversation that will be fairly accurately transcribed into captions. It's a speech to text application and should be available later this year.
Jacoti has a brand called the Hearing Suite, which offers several different apps. One is a hearing test called the Hearing Center. Studies have found it comes within plus or minus three dB of an audiogram. It's registered with the FDA and could be used by primary care physicians to test a patient's hearing.
ListenAPP, also developed by Jacoti, is an amplification product for an iPhone.
Richard also mentioned ExSilent and Ear Machine, both of which work only for iPhone.
Many other products were briefly discussed both by the speakers and the audience.
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RECAP of FEBRUARY CHAPTER MEETING
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The February 16 meeting, "Learn from the Experts about the Latest Cochlear Implants," featured three panelists: Alison Mendez of Cochlear America, Rachel Pizarek of Advanced Bionics, and Jeanne Fredriksen of Med El. Their presentation focused on what you need to consider if you are thinking about getting a cochlear implant, what cochlear implant surgery involves, and what to expect when the implant is activated.
In reviewing how cochlear implants work, Ms. Mendez noted that unlike hearing aids, which magnify sounds, implants bypass damaged portions of the ear and directly stimulate the auditory nerve. Signals generated by the implant are then sent via the auditory nerve to the brain. The implantation procedure usually occurs in a hospital and requires general anesthesia. According to Ms. Pizarek, "Any sort of surgery is going to involve some sort of risk. But in cochlear implant surgery, complications are rare."
After the surgery, Ms. Fredrikson noted, "it's not about the ears anymore. It's about the brain, because the brain has to relearn how to interpret the sounds that you are now able to hear. So auditory rehabilitation is a big help." One technique is to get audio books - not just the tape, but the written book so you can read as you're listening, Ms. Fredrikson said. She continued, "While you're getting that information, you're training your brain to understand those sounds again. Another resource is YouTube. A lot of those videos and short clips are captioned. Listening to videos and looking at the captions help train your brain as well."
Regarding music appreciation with a cochlear implant, Ms. Mendez cited a study which indicates that people with cochlear implants can improve their music perception if they listen to the same piece of music for fifteen minutes, four times a week for twelve weeks." She added, "We're not here to say, 'Hey, you just get a cochlear implant; turn it on and you're going to be able to hear clearly right away.' It's work. You have to decide whether the benefits outweigh the amount of work that you have to put in."
"My message to cochlear implant recipients," Ms. Fredrikson said, "is don't stop. Keep working at it."
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REGISTRATION for 2016 HLAA CONVENTION in Washington, DC
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If you're planning to attend HLAA's 2016 convention, it's time to register. The convention will take place from June 23 to 26 at the Washington Hilton in Washington, DC. In addition to numerous hearing-loss-related workshops and exhibits, the convention features a get-acquainted party, a research symposium on "Novel Approaches Toward Addressing Hearing Loss," and a Saturday night banquet, plus access to Washington DC's many monuments, museums, and historical sites. For more information and to register, click here. |
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NEWS from the CENTER FOR HEARING AND COMMUNICATION
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Read The Buzz E-Newsletter, February 22, 2016 for the latest news from CHC.
The Center for Hearing and Communication (CHC) and the New York City chapter of the Hearing Loss Association of America are pleased to enhance their collaborative relationship in order to best serve both CHC clients and HLAA-NYC members.
CHC will provide a 5% discount on all purchases of hearing aids and FM systems (and a 15% discount on the purchase of two hearing aids), along with an extended trial period of 60 days following a purchase of hearing aids by HLAA members in their New York City and Broward County locations.
In order to obtain the discount on a hearing aid or FM purchase, individuals must show written documentation of their HLAA membership. For more information, call the CHC appointment secretary at 917-305-7766, or email the secretary at appointments@chchearing.org.
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| OUR FAVORITE HEARING LOSS BLOGS |
Katherine Bouton
Should You Insure Your Hearing Aids?
You undoubtedly have insurance for your important valuables. So should you get insurance for your precious hearing aid? The answer is yes, but not right away. Read more of this post.
Shari Eberts
Hearing Loss and Embarrassment
I have a hearing loss. No big deal, right? But sometimes it is. Why is hearing loss sometimes embarrassing in a way that other conditions like vision loss or mobility challenges are not? Read more of this post.
Gael Hannan
Wasting Time on Hearing Loss?
People with hearing loss - have you ever considered the time you've been wasting? If we no longer had hearing "issues" - if our hearing was suddenly and miraculously restored - what on earth would we do with all that extra time? Read more of this post.
Nancy Williams
Faking It with My Hearing Loss
Fakers. We all know they're out there when it comes to hearing loss. Of course, it takes a faker to know one. Read more of this post. Ruth Bernstein
Everybody Is Somebody
I suggest everyone with hearing loss who reads this blog speak up and ask for hearing access once a month. When providers hear from us regularly, we will become visible and they will understand there are many people in the USA who want and need hearing access. Read more of this post.
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SUPPORT HLAA - BECOME A MEMBER
As the nation's leading organization for people with hearing loss, we provide information, education, support, and advocacy for the millions of Americans
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NEW WEBSITE for THEATERGOERS WITH DISABILITIES
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Those who are hard of hearing or deaf, have low vision or are blind, who cannot climb stairs, who require aisle seating or wheelchair locations, who are on the autism spectrum or have other developmental or cognitive disabilities, now can find out everything they need to know to choose a show, buy tickets, and plan their trip to Broadway by visiting Theatre Access NYC.IS NEW WEBSITE FOR INFORMATION OF THEATRE
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DISCOUNT PRICES for
CAPTIONED THEATER PERFORMANCES through TDF |
The Theatre Development Fund's Accessibility Programs (TAP) offers a membership service for theatergoers who have hearing loss or are deaf. TDF/TAP obtains special seating and provides captioning. There is no annual fee, but you must provide proof of eligibility. To see what shows are available - and to join - visit TDF Accessibility Programs.
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| NYC THEATERS OFFERING HEARING LOOPS |
Hear these musicals through your hearing aids/cochlear implants
at the following theaters:
Gershwin Theatre: Wicked
Richard Rodgers Theatre: Hamilton
Lunt-Fontanne Theatre: Finding Neverland
Vivian Beaumont Theater: The King and I
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| FREE CONCERTS: BROADWAY'S FUTURE SONGBOOK SERIES |
Lincoln Center Library for the Performing Arts
Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center, Bruno Walter Auditorium
W. 65th Street and Amsterdam Avenue
MONDAYS:
March, April, May, June
6-7:30 PM
Performances feature new music by Broadway composers and lyricists sung by Broadway vocalists - each one a gem. The series is presented by Arts and Artists at St. Paul and directed by John Znidarsic. The lyrics to all songs are streamed to your smartphone.
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| SAVE THE DATE for MAY CHAPTER MEETING |
TRAVELING WITH HEARING LOSS
featuring
Ruth Bernstein, HLAA-NYC Board Member
and
Claire McGurn, Road Scholar Program
May 17th
6-8 PM
CUNY Graduate Center, Room 9204/9205
365 Fifth Avenue (between 34th and 35th Streets)
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| HONOR SOMEONE with a GIFT to the HLAA-NYC CHAPTER |
Searching for the perfect way to observe a loved one's birthday, anniversary, or special occasion, OR to honor the memory of someone special? Please consider making a gift to HLAA-NYC Chapter to support our efforts.
You can donate by mailing a check (payable to HLAA-NYC) to HLAA-NYC Chapter, P.O. Box 602, Radio City Station, New York, NY 10101. Include name and address. An acknowledgement will be mailed. Donations are tax deductible.
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Hearing Loss Association of America - New York City Chapter
The Hearing Loss Association of America exists to open the world of communication
to people with hearing loss through information, education, support and advocacy.
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