My Case Manager

My Case Manager joined the 2009 Hearing Loss Association of America Convention at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center. This company provides a take-along case to protect your hearing aids.

Hearing aids are expensive investments and require protective storage. Soulear Take-Along Hearing Aid Cases will be an inexpensive product in comparison to the devices they will carry. When purchasing hearing aids, consumers will pay for a take-along case in order to ensure their ability to have accessories like batteries and cleaning tools with them, while safe guarding their investment with temporary dehumidification. In addition, Soulear Take-Along Cases provide a designer flair to diminish the stigma of hearing loss and need for hearing aids.

Service Animals

I want to show some of the four legged furballs that attended the 2009 Hearing Loss Association of America Convention. Service animals are animals that are individually trained to perform tasks for people with disabilities such as guiding people who are blind, alerting people who are deaf, pulling wheelchairs, alerting and protecting a person who is having a seizure, or performing other special tasks. Service animals are working animals, not pets.

Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), businesses and organizations that serve the public must allow people with disabilities to bring their service animals into all areas of the facility where customers are normally allowed to go. This federal law applies to all businesses open to the public, including restaurants, hotels, taxis and shuttles, grocery and department stores, hospitals and medical offices, theaters, health clubs, parks, and zoos.

Check out this perky little papillon who is a hearing dog- so cute!

Meet Janet, Rosemary Tuite hearing dog of HLA Fountain Hills of Arizona.
She is resting her paws...

You can see that the poochies were just as exhausted as we were walking all over
the 47.1 acres of the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center!

Dry & Store

Dry & Store was at the 2009 Hearing Loss Association of America Convention at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center. I have one of these and I can attest to how well it works. Dry & Store is a conditioning system for all types of hearing instruments - traditional hearing aids as well as cochlear implant equipment, noise maskers, ear monitors, and more. Best results are achieved with in-home use every night. While you sleep, it removes moisture, dries earwax, kills germs, and deodorizes your hearing instruments.

I was forever killing my hearing aids from my sweaty extracurricular activities. I would corrode my batteries, it would cause distortion and volume fluctuations. I took the plunge and purchased the Dry & Store and I haven't had a single problem since. Since I am a bilateral cochlear implant recipient, the box is big enough to hold both processors! This product gets two thumbs up from me!

Communication Service for the Deaf, Inc (CSD)

Communication Service for the Deaf, Inc was amongst the booths at the 2009 Hearing Loss Association of America Convention at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center.

CSD has been awarded a contract from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to implement an awareness campaign targeted at the nation’s deaf,hard of hearing, and deaf-blind consumers in regards to the digital TV (DTV) transition. So CSD wants to hear from YOU through the Digital Television (DTV) Transition Survey that is attempting to identify caption problems with the transition. HLAA is a partner in this survey as well.

CSD (also known as Communication Service for the Deaf, Inc.) is a private, nonprofit organization dedicated to providing broad–based services, ensuring public accessibility and increasing public awareness of issues affecting deaf and hard of hearing individuals. Through global leadership and a continuum of quality communication services and human service programs, CSD provides the tools conducive to a positive and fully integrated life

T-Mobile

T-Mobile was present at the 2009 Hearing Loss Association of America Convention at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center. T-Mobile is a cellular provider who has a variety of wireless handsets that are Hearing Aid Compatible and TTY compatible. They provide a data-plan only for the deaf and hard of hearing as well!

T-Mobile line up of Hearing Aid-Compatible Handsets

T-Mobile currently offers the following hearing aid-compatible handsets. All of these handsets are rated at M3 or better.

Good

• Motorola RAZR V306 - M3 and T3
• Motorola W490 – M3 and T3
• Samsung T239 - M3 and T3
• Nokia 2760 – M3 and T3
• Samsung T229 – M3 and T3

Best

• Motorola Active - MOTOACTV – M3
• Nokia 3555 – M3 and T3
• Samsung T339(*) – M3 and T3
• Samsung T459 – M3
• Nokia 7510 – M3 and T3

Premium

• RIM 8320 Curve(*) – M3 and T3
• RIM 8220(*) – M3 and T3
• Sidekick LX – M3
• Sidekick 2008 – M3
• Samsung Behold – M3
• Sidekick LX 2009 - M3
• Shadow with Hotspot Enabled – M3 and T3

Widex

Widex, who just so happens to be the manufacturer of my first hearing aid at a tender age of three, was at the 2009 Hearing Loss Association of America Convention at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center.

Wayne Roorda of HLAA-NJ checking the Widex line out.

Widex is one of the world's leading companies within digital hearing aid technology. Today, our hearing aids are sold in more than 90 markets around the world, with 97% of our output exported from Denmark. With a world market share of approximately 10%, we are the world's sixth largest manufacturer of hearing aids.

Academy of Doctors of Audiology

Academy of Doctors of Audiology was at the 2009 Hearing Loss Association of America Convention at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center!

ADA was founded by nine practitioners in 1977 as the Academy of Dispensing Audiologists to foster and support the professional dispensing of hearing aids by qualified audiologists in rehabilitative practices. Later, in 1988, the ADA developed the concept of the Doctor of Audiology (Au.D.) degree and provided much of the energy behind the movement for the transition of audiology to a doctoring healthcare profession. This goal, as well, has been largely met, as the Au.D. is now the minimum degree for audiology practice offered by educational institutions in the United States. In recognition of these important accomplishments, ADA Fellow members voted for an organizational name change to the Academy of Doctors of Audiology in 2006.

Today, ADA offers programming and support to those audiologists and students who are or who desire to be independent practitioners in whatever setting they choose to practice. In particular, ADAís mission emphasizes practice ownership. Towards that goal, ADA offers a Fall conference and smaller regional meetings and seminars providing information and resources regarding all aspects of audiologic practice, with particular emphasis on the business of audiology. Audiology Practices, ADA's quarterly magazine, details the many current issues confronting audiologists in autonomous practice. And, true to its mission, ADA continues to advocate for audiologists owning their profession through practice ownership by offering assistance to its members, potential members and audiology students.

Gallaudet University

Gallaudet University, who is the sponsor of the 2009 Hearing Loss Association of America Convention Blog was amongst the booths in the Exhibit Hall at Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center. .

Michael and Ingrid from Gallaudet University manning the booth!

Gallaudet University is the world leader in liberal education and career development for deaf and hard-of-hearing undergraduate students. The University enjoys an international reputation for the outstanding graduate programs it provides deaf, hard-of-hearing, and hearing students, as well as for the quality of the research it conducts on the history, language, culture, and other topics related to deaf people. In addition, the University's Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center serves deaf and hard-of-hearing children at its two demonstration schools and throughout the nation by developing, implementing, and disseminating innovative educational strategies.