HLAA Annual Convention

Workshop Schedule Posted

2012-01-21T14:05:00.006-05:00

I have to admit, the line-up of workshops for Convention 2012 is stellar! Top-notch speakers from across the country will be on-hand to present workshops which are divided into the following tracks:

Advocacy
Assistive & Other Technology
Hearing Aids & Cochlear Implants
Relationships and Communication

In addition, the Research Symposium, How the Brain Makes Sense of the World of Sound, will be moderated and presented by researchers/medical professionals from Johns Hopkins University.

Check out an overview of the schedule, a summary of each workshop, and brief bios of presenters on the Convention page (click the Schedule tab on the left menu).

Coming soon! Mobile Convention 2012 app! Stay tuned for details!

Providence, RI to Host Convention 2012

2011-08-24T09:11:00.021-04:00

You're invited to attend the largest educational convention and tradeshow for people with hearing loss, their families and the professionals that educate and work with people with hearing loss.

I already have many things to share with you! First of all, you'll notice our new Convention logo that will be used from year to year by just changing the year. We believe this logo more closely ties the Convention to HLAA (unlike a separate logo created just for a specific host city).

OK, now on to the fun stuff!
In the photo above, the tall building on the left is The Westin Providence, our Convention hotel. It is connected by sky bridge to the Rhode Island Convention Center where all the events will take place. Those things you see in the river are called braziers - there's 100 of them that are lit using an aromatic wood during WaterFire events.
The keynote speaker for Convention 2012 will be Howard Weinstein who has an amazing and inspiring life story. You can read more about how he has dedicated his life to distributing solar-powered hearing aids to low-income people in developing countries in the upcoming September/October issue of Hearing Loss Magazine. You won't want to miss this engaging speaker who is traveling from Brazil to be with us.

Researchers and medical professionals from Johns Hopkins University will present the Research Symposium, How the Brain Makes Sense of the World of Sound. More information about the presenters and as well as their abstracts will be posted soon on http://www.hearingloss.org/.

Abracadabra! Back by popular demand, master magician George Saterial will perform at the banquet on Friday, June 22. George performed at Convention 1998 in Boston so many of you may already know how truly amazing he is. George is the first and only magician in the world that has received magic's highest and most coveted honors, "The Gold Medal of Excellence."

Stay tuned for more information about Saturday night's off-site event - it will definitely be an evening to remember! Look for more information on our new website that is launching in a few days!

2011 HLAA Convention Photos Submitted By Netagene

2011-06-29T18:27:00.003-04:00

Netagene Kirkpatrick, a first time HLAA Convention attendee from Birmingham Alabama, wanted to share her photographs and experiences. Below are some of her photographs and a description of each.

Thank you Netagene!

The first place I headed when I got to the hotel and had registered, was to find the Scott family, of Hayleigh's Cherished Charms. So I am REALLY bedraggled in this picture, having gotten off Amtrak (17 hours turned into 19 because of storms in Georgia), and managed to navigate DC's Metro, a bit scary for me because I am also high partial legally blind! In this picture, taken in front of Hayleigh's exhibit, left to right: Hayleigh, her twin Vienna (they are now 12 years old), me (Netagene Kirkpatrick), and Sarah (I think she's 9 this week).

Hayleigh's Cherished Charms: Rachel Scott, on the left, then Hayleigh and Vienna

What an amazing and colorful lobby! I made this from the floor above the lobby.

Me (Netagene) with Ivey Jackson. Ivey and I both live here in Birmingham, AL. We met in person only a couple of months ago. It was his idea that we have this picture made.

2011 HLAA Convention Banquet

Netagene and her roomate Barbara at the Banquet

Rocky Stone recipient Anne Pope with Barbara Gurtov. (Anne is the Manhattan chapter chairperson, and that's the chapter which Barbara attends.)

Again, thank you Netagene for sharing!

HLAA Convention Workshops

2011-06-27T12:01:00.002-04:00

I am always amazed by the amount and variety of workshops available at the convention. I wish I could have attended them all!

On Friday, June 17, I attended The Looping of America Begins with YOU! I was very late due to talking with some exhibitors from the convention about certain services and products I was interested in, so I only attended the last part of it. I learned that unfortunately, a lot of people are not told by their audiologist or hearing aid dispenser about the t-coil option and loop system. From personal experience, I was never told about this option by my audiologists and the first time I learned about it was at my first HLAA convention. I was only told about how the t-coil can be used with the telephone, which I never used it for because it did not seem to help. This workshop made me more interested in becoming more involved and helping others become aware of the loop system. I should become involved with my local HLAA chapter back home and help them advocate for the loop system to be installed in various places where it would be most helpful. After having such a wonderful experience with it at the musical, Wicked, I am more interested than ever. I don't want it to be that the only times I can use the loop system is when I attend HLAA conventions and events.

On Saturday, June 18th, I attended two workshops: What Children with CIs Need at School and Common Pitfalls of Parenting Your Child with Hearing Loss. Being an educator, I was interested in attending these workshops specifically for parents & educators. I wish I could have attended more workshops that day, but I learned that it is best to pick two and not get overwhelmed with trying to attend as many workshops as possible. I really enjoyed both workshops. They got me thinking about how I can better serve my students and their teachers and families.

What Children with CIs Need at School focused a great deal on FM systems and what constitutes a good acoustical environment for students. The presenter, Donna L. Sorkin, provided a lot of good tips about how to provide these things and how to make a case for them. I enjoyed hearing from others their persoanl experiences working with children with CIs and from those who are implanted themselves, including Sorkin.

Common Pitfalls of Parenting Your Child with Hearing Loss was excellent. I agreed with everything the presenter, Alison Freeman, said. This workshop went over seven common pitfalls unique to parents of deaf and hard of hearing children when communicating and disciplining them. She began the presentation with a quote, "Deafness is not a disability, the inability to communicate is." I really like this quote and think it is important for people to understand this. Freeman talked about how we should pay attention to language acquisition and how the child will best acquire it. She said that it should not matter how they acquire language as long as they are able to do so without much effort. I liked the Confucius quote Freeman used when discussing education: "Tell me and I will forget. Show me and I will remember. Involve me and I will understand." How cool is that? It was especially helpful that the presenter was hard of hearing herself. She talked about her personal experiences with growing up hard of hearing. I appreciated hearing from the parents who attended the workshop. I learned a lot from them.

I thoroughly enjoyed the workshops I attended at the HLAA Convention. I learned a lot and I look forward to using what I learned in my work as an itinerant teacher of deaf and hard of hearing students within a public school district.

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Thanks Harris Communications!

2011-06-25T15:02:00.003-04:00

I had a lot of fun walking around in the exhibit hall at the convention looking at the different devices, services, and information useful for people who are deaf and hard of hearing. For the first time I bought a neck loop system from Harris Communications. I bought the ClearSounds Quattro Bluetooth Powered Neckloop after trying it out. I called my mother using the device with my cell phone. All I had to do was synchronize the blue tooth device with my cellphone and then choose the t-coil mode of my hearing aid. I was pleasantly surprised by how clear my mother's voice was as it went directly into my hearing aid while blocking out background noises. I could understand her better than before. Plus, it was nice that I did not have to hold my cell phone up to the microphone part of my hearing aid, which can be awkward and uncomfortable. I am really glad that I could try the product and learn how it works. I was so impressed with it, I ordered it. I can't wait to start using it when I get home!

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More Pictures From HLAA Convention

2011-06-23T12:03:00.004-04:00

Sharon G. and Danielle Nicosia

Ronnie Adler and Danielle Nicosia

Roberta Alterman and Joan Haber

Cochlear America Group

Photographs contributed by Danielle Nicosia. Thank you Danielle!

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Big Thanks to 2011 HLAA Sponsors!

2011-06-22T12:23:00.003-04:00

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the wonderful sponsors of the 2011 HLAA Convention.

Gold Level, $25,000

Audiotoniq: A Wicked Evening at the Kennedy Center

CTIA, The Wireless Association: A Wicked Evening at the Kennedy Center

CapTel: Awards Breakfast and Ceremony

Silver Level, $15,000

Cochlear: Cochlear Americas

Oticon: Registration Bags

Starkey: Young Adult Scholarships & Young Adult Scavenger Hunt

T-Mobile: President and Executive Director's Reception

Bronze Level, $10,000

AT&T: Friday Afternoon Exhibit Hall Social

CaptionCall: Get Acquainted Party

Hamilton CapTel: Saturday Afternoon Exhibit Hall Social

MED-EL: Badge holders and Lanyards

Friend Level, $5,000

Deafness Research Foundation: Research Symposium

BlackBerry: Communication Access for the Research Symposium

RIT/NTID: Three Morning Breaks

Tracfone Wireless, Inc.: Convention Blog

Verizon: Convention Passport

Photos From HLAA Convention, Contributed by Laurie Pullins

2011-06-22T11:15:00.003-04:00

Here are a couple photos from the convention. The first one is me (Laurie Pullins) with Lynn Rousseau in the Cochlear booth. Lynn was on the front cover of the recent HLAA magazine. We are both dancers and were striking a pose in the Cochlear booth where I was working. We had fun connecting through our dance stories.

The second is me with Casey, the Cochlear bear. :)

- Laurie Pullins

Laurie Pullins and Lynn Rousseau

Casey the Cochlear Bear and Laurie Pullins

Thank you Laurie for your photographs. Looks like you had fun!

Recap: Sunday Awards Breakfast and Ceremony

2011-06-21T22:14:00.001-04:00

I attended Sunday's HLAA Awards Breakfast and Ceremony sponsored by CapTel. The ceremony celebrated various HLAA members from around the country who have gone above and beyond their advocacy and outreach efforts. They honored scholarship recipients and gave out several awards for different achievements such as best state newsletter, best state website, organizing Walk4Hearing, community service, for being an outstanding young adult, and many more. Page 32 and 33 of the program includes a full list of the recipients. I sat with the young adults, where quite a few were recipients of scholarships and awards.

On a side note, I thought the bacon served at the ceremony was delicious, I would award it the best bacon I've had while in DC.

The only problem I had with the ceremony was that the loop system did not work properly. It was looping a conference that was happening next door. Unfortunately, we could not take advantage of the loop system during the ceremony. At least we had captions to help.

I was very inspired by everyone in the room. It makes me want to get involved more with my state HLAA chapter and to advocate more for the deaf and hard of hearing. There is so much more to be accomplished! I am especially interested in advocating for more hearing loop systems to be installed, after having such wonderful experiences with it at the HLAA Convention.

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Wicked, the Musical, Fully Accessible For the Deaf and Hard of Hearing

2011-06-21T21:03:00.008-04:00

I was lucky to attend the musical, Wicked, at the John F. Kennedy Center, thanks to a wonderful friend, Susie, who gave me her ticket when she decided not to go!

It was AWESOME! I really, really enjoyed it. Usually, I am not a big fan of musicals, especially if I can't follow the story, dialogue, and singing. But this performance was captioned, included infrared hearing loop systems, (provided by Ampetronic), and sign language interpretation. I was told that there were seven caption boards installed in the theater for this performance!

This was the first time I used a hearing loop system at a live performance. It was so easy, all I had to do was select the t-coil switch on my hearing aid. I heard the singing and talking clearly. If I missed something, I looked at the captions. For the first time ever, at a live performance, I was able to follow everything that was happening. I did not miss a thing. It made me want to cry as I thought about how I often miss out on so much at other uncaptioned movies and performances. I honestly believe that if this performance was not captioned and looped, I would have missed out on a lot and probably would not have enjoyed it as much. Why can't it be like this everywhere else?

The sign language interpreters did an excellent job, might I add. They conveyed the emotions of the actors extremely well. Their signing was clear and understandable. They did an outstanding job! But, I preferred the captions, as they were on stage. If I were to rely on sign language interpretation, I would have had to look back and forth at the musical and the interpreters, which would have made it difficult for me to watch the performance. Perhaps if I was sitting in front of them within sight of the performance, it would have worked out better. But, I enjoyed watching them sign, as I glance at them every now and then.

Overall, it was truly a magical experience. I am so happy I got to go!

Below, I included some pictures from the Kennedy Center, where a live band played lively swing music. I attempted to try out some swing dance moves with an HLAA Convention attendee (an experienced dancer). I think I did okay; I only stepped on his toes a couple of times. Nevertheless, we had fun dancing to the music! I was really impressed with the Kennedy Center, which I took a few pictures of. If anyone has any pictures to share, please email them to ehwhathuh@yahoo.com.

Many, many, many thanks to Audiotoniq and CTIA-The Wireless Association for sponsoring this event!!!

John F. Kennedy Center

Live swing music performance

John F. Kennedy Center

Costumes from Wicked musical

John F. Kennedy Center

Audiotoniq Will Offer Free Membership to HLAA!

2011-06-21T14:04:00.000-04:00

Just to let you know,

Audiotoniq tweeted:

After our hearing aid system is available this fall, each customer will recieve a free membership to #! What a great organization too!HLAA

Awesome. :)

Recap: Young Adult Scavenger Hunt

2011-06-21T13:40:00.008-04:00

First of all, I want to apologize for not keeping up with this blog, as much as I should have been. I just got back from spending time in Hershey, PA with my two adorable nieces and my sister. After the breakfast and award ceremony on Sunday, I left immediately for Hershey, PA. It was about a two hour trip. I was able to get a nap in, luckily. I was exhausted, still trying to recover from all the excitement and fun I had at the convention. When we got there, I went to "Chocolate World" ate a lot of candy and then afterwards I crashed into a deep sleep at the hotel we stayed at near by. We went to the Hershey Park amusement park the next day. My niece was happy that I was willing to ride all of the roller coasters with her, even though I thought I was going to have a panic attack and lose it on some of the rides. We had so much fun. We were there all day until after 5:00 and did not actually leave to go home until after we ate dinner, which was around 8:00. We did not get home in Virgina, until late at night. Man, we were wiped out!

Now I am feeling well rested, after sleeping for ten hours. It's funny, I kept dreaming about hearing aids, meeting deaf and hard of hearing people, and trying out FM systems, as if I never left the convention (which is not a bad thing).

Anyway, here is what happened at the Young Adults Scavenger Hunt, which took place Thursday, at 5 p.m. Before I went, I became a little worried, because it looked as if it was going to rain. I was told that a good portion of it will be spent walking around outside in the National Mall area. But, one of the volunteers, Zac La Fratta, assured me that it should not be a problem and that we should not let some rain spoil the fun.

Luckily, it did not rain while we were out and about, and everything went well as planned.

The point of the Scavenger Hunt, which was managed and brought to us by City Hunt, was to find as many of the list of objects and scenarios as we can and to take pictures of them with the cameras they provided us. Some of the scenarios included acting like monkeys on the Metro, looking as if one of us walked on the moon, and taunting a large prehistoric animal with giant tusks.

We broke up into teams and took off to the Mall area in D.C. taking the Metro. We had to find and take as many pictures as we could before we had to stop and meet everyone at a certain location and time.

My team was super enthusiastic and competitive. We decided to name it "The Winners." I thought my team did a great job. I loved their enthusiasm. Throughout the scavenger hunt, we were able to talk for a bit about our lives and what brought us to the convention, which was nice. It was great to see so many people my age and younger with hearing loss, which I do not experience much back at home.

It was fun as we rushed around the Mall area taking pictures of random objects and recreating bizarre and silly scenarios within the museums and outside in various places. We took so many pictures and laughed as we tried to recreate well known scenes within the museum such as a scene from the movie, Jurassic Park, where I pretended to be a driver of a Jeep, frantically driving away from T-Rex (well, the skeletal remains), with everyone sitting in the "car" with me, looking terrified, pretending to scream.

Once it came close to the time we were supposed to meet with everyone, we speed walked back to our meeting place, Crystal City Sports Pub. We were supposed to be on time and not allowed to run, as part of the rules. Some of us cheated, including myself (I just wanted to catch up with my team, I got caught in the turnpikes at the Metro as they sped off!).

There at the pub, we looked at the pictures on large television screens. There were plenty of embarrassing pictures of me, of course. I loved looking at what the other teams did. It was hilarious!! Unfortunately, my team did not win. Team "Rain Haters" did. Congratulations "Rain Haters"! I thought it was unfortunate that we named our team, "The Winners." Oh, well, we had fun and that is all that matters. It was a great way to meet and get to know everyone too. :)

City Hunt's Facebook page has pictures from the scavenger hunt, check them out, they are pretty funny! I have a few pictures I took with my camera, shown below. If anyone would like to contribute photos from the scavenger hunt, please email them to me at ehwhathuh@yahoo.com.

Thank you Starkey, for your generosity in sponsoring this event! And thanks to City Hunt adventure guides for doing such a great job putting this together!

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*If there are any pictures that you are in, and you want me to take them down (privacy reasons) please let me know and I will take them down as soon as possible. I apologize in advance.

Been Busy, Stay Tuned For More

2011-06-19T08:49:00.002-04:00

Sorry, I have not been blogging much since yesterday. Been very busy having fun!

I am on my way to the Awards Breakfast and Ceremony, sponsored by Ultratec, CapTel. The Banquet last night was great. I enjoyed the Capitol Steps' performance. Afterwards, I hung out with various people, including the young adult group until the wee hours of the morning. We had some very deep and interesting conversations about growing up with a hearing loss. I learned a lot.

I will be writing a lot about what happened and will include lots of pictures, please come back and check often!

I'll see some of you at the breakfast. : )

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Young Adults of HLAA Convention

2011-06-18T14:10:00.001-04:00

It is great to see so many young adults at this convention! I think they are a fantastic and inspiring group. I had fun with them at the Scavenger Hunt, generously sponsored by Starkey. I will be writing about this event soon in my recaps, once I get a chance to.

Send Me Photos and Stories From HLAA Convention!

2011-06-18T13:50:00.000-04:00

If you would like to contribute to this blog, please send me your photos and stories to ehwhathuh@yahoo.com. I will post them here, when time allows it and if they are relevant to the convention.

I would appreciate it!

I would like to thank Tracfone, again, for sponsoring the HLAA Convention blog. We really appreciate it! Tracfone is America's largest "No-Contract" cell phone service provider. If you are interested in getting a cellular phone services without the contract, visit their website: http://www.tracfone.com/

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Favorite Quotes From the Convention

2011-06-18T13:33:00.004-04:00

Whew! For a minute there, I thought I lost my notes! I was hyperventilating, as if I lost my hearing aid.

Anyways. . .

These are my favorite quotes from the convention so far:

Aargh, I'm so hungry! Why did I skip breakfast? I may start chewing on my hearing aid!

What? Did you say you have a robot at home?

Never underestimate strength in numbers.

Set aside your political views, focus on the issue at hand and work together to solve the problem.

My cochlear implants are my diamonds.

This is the blogger lady (someone introducing me).

Sincerely,

The Blogger Lady, (e

Don't Forget to Stamp Your Passport

2011-06-18T13:04:00.000-04:00

The neat little HLAA 2011 Convention passport opens up revealing the workshop schedule, and Exhibit Hall floor plan. As you attend the exhibit hall and visit each vendor be sure to have each of them stamp your passport. When you have visited all of the exhibitors and had them stamp your passport, go to the HLAA booth (#1) and enter a drawing, submitting your passport, to win FREE registration for HLAA Convention 2012 in Providence, Rhode Island!

Thank you, Verizon, for sponsoring the Convention 2011 passport.

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Special Events For Today, Saturday, June 18th

2011-06-18T12:48:00.003-04:00

While many of you will be busy attending workshops and socializing, don't forget that these two Special Events will take place today.

3:30 p.m. - 5p.m. Exhibit Hall Social: A Dog's Day Afternoon

Sponsored by Hamilton Cap Tel

7 p.m. - 10 p.m. A Capital Celebration (Regency Ballroom)

Many people refer to this event as "The Banquet." At this event, we will be bidding farewell to the HLAA Convention attendees while welcoming attendees of the 2nd International Hearing Loop Conference. Another highlight is the presentation of the Rocky Stone Humanitarian Award, which will be presented to former HLAA Board of Trustees member, Anne Pope. After dinner and dessert we will be treated with a performance from award-winning comedy troupe, The Capitol Steps. I have spoken with some attendees who gave them rave reviews. They highly recommend seeing them.

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Keep Checking Back!

2011-06-18T08:29:00.001-04:00

Please keep checking back for any updates and information about this convention. I will be doing a lot of recaps of recent events, especially of Wicked (which was AWESOME!!!).

I have been busy having too much fun and socializing! Now I am on my way to the workshops. I will be attending mostly the Parents & Educators workshops, since I am teacher myself, they seem the most interesting and useful to me at the moment.

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Exhibit Hall Photos

2011-06-18T08:25:00.000-04:00

Friday, June 17 Special Events to Look Out For

2011-06-17T12:27:00.003-04:00

If you look at the "Special Events" page of your program, page 29, you w

ill see that there will be some interesting and fun events today.

At 3 p.m. - 5 p.m. in the Independence Center be sure to check out "PhotoFun Booth" where you will get your photo taken with a colorful background which will be printed and given to you as a neat Convention souvenir!
At 3:30 -5 p.m. the Exhibit Hall Social "Retro" will take place. Don't forget to bring your passport! Thank you AT&T for sponsoring this event!
Then there is Wicked at the Kennedy Center. It will be fully accessible with captioning, infrared hearing loop system, (provided by Ampetronic), and sign language interpretation. How cool is that?! Please note that any assistive listening device you use at the convention will not be compatible with the Kennedy Center's system. The Center will have plenty of listening devices available. This off site event is sponsored by Audiotoniq and CTIA-The Wireless Association. Thank you Audiotoniq and CTIA!

Just Arrived!

2011-06-16T12:26:00.002-04:00

I arrived at the convention around 10:00. The plane trip could not have been better. I had an entire row to myself, where I could stretch out and relax, instead of rubbing elbows with some stranger sitting next to me. Before I knew it, I was on a shuttle to the hotel from the airport. I could not believe that I could check into my room immediately, which was really nice. Staying at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City, will be super convenient. I am really liking my room so far. Not bad. Then I registered for the convention. Everyone has been very helpful and nice, making this trip easy for me.

As I write this blog post, I am still taking it all in, trying not to get overwhelmed. There is so much to do and see! But I am excited and happy to be here. I can't wait to see some friends I made last year at the Milwaukee convention.

I am planning on attending Exhibit Grand Hall Opening at noon. Then I will go to the Newcomers' Session. I don't think I went to the Newcomers' Session last year, which would have been helpful, since I was a first timer. Later at five, I will go to the Young Adults Scavenger Hunt, which will take place at the National Mall. I am hoping the weather will be okay. It looks as if it is going to rain, unfortunately. But, I was assured that there is a backup plan in case this happens. Whether it rains or not, I will enjoy meeting everyone and hopefully I will see familiar faces. After I am finished with the scavenger hunt, I will be sure to go to the Get Acquainted Party at 8:30 p.m.

This is going to be an action packed afternoon and evening! Glad I am wearing comfortable shoes.

Right now, I am trying to figure where I should grab a bite to eat, my stomach is screaming at me to stop blogging. I think I am going to stay in the hotel or try to stay close. I don't want to do too much walking around, tiring myself. I am drinking my third coffee for today, which should help. :)

Thanks to our sponsors:

Before I end this post, I would like to give many thanks to Starky for sponsoring the Young Adults Scavenger Hunt, CaptionCall for sponsoring the Get Acquainted Party, Oticon for the registration badges, Med-El for the badges and lanyards, Verizon for the Passport, and for Tracfone, Wireless Inc. for sponsoring this blog!

*Please do not be surprised to see several grammatical errors amd mispellngs. Most likely, if time allows it, I will go back and make these corrections later.

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"Like" Us on Facebook and Audiotoniq Will Donate $1

2011-06-15T20:27:00.005-04:00

A new hearing aid company, Audiotoniq, is giving us $1 for every person that “like us" on Facebook during the convention. So please feel free to "like" away!

Thank you Audiotoniq, along with CTIA – The Wireless Association, for sponsoring Wicked at the Kennedy Center.

Presenting Hamilton CapTel!

2011-06-15T20:01:00.000-04:00

HLAA attendee, Hamilton CapTel, among the first to contribute to “growing ecosystem” of smartphone technology for the deaf and hard of hearing was mentioned in one of Wall Street Journal Blogs:

The Wall Street Journal’s technology blog, Digits, recently covered Hamilton CapTel’s new App for Android, calling it “representative of an important trend–a growing ecosystem of smartphone technology aimed at easing traditional barriers of communication for the deaf and hearing impaired.”

Hamilton CapTel offers smartphone apps for Android, BlackBerry and iPhone mobile devices and will be showcasing all three at booth #16 at HLAA. The company, which has been providing captioned telephone technology for over a decade, is dedicated to finding ways to use technology to facilitate clearer communication between individuals who experience hearing loss and their friends, family and co-workers. Such solutions, Hamilton CapTel believes, can improve the lives of all those directly and indirectly affected by hearing loss.

Read the full article from the Wall Street Journal Digits blog below.

App Watch: Captioning Your Phone Calls

By Tom Loftus

Losing your hearing doesn’t mean you have to stop using your cellphone.

A free smartphone app that provides captioning for phone conversations debuted in the Android Market late last month.

Called Hamilton Mobile CapTel, the app also is available on iPhones and BlackBerry devices and comes from Nebraska’s Hamilton Relay, a provider of traditional relay services for the deaf and hard of hearing since 1991.

The app works like this: The user dials a number via the app’s touchscreen display. A captioning service is looped in—a process that takes several seconds—and the app then calls the original user’s device. Upon answering the call, the user is connected to the other party, and the app then captures the text of the conversation. To work, the device must be on a network that offers simultaneous voice and data access.

The idea itself is not revolutionary; caption calls have long been available. In fact, Hamilton Relay’s signature product, the CapTel 800i, is a traditional desktop phone, with a built-in caption screen. Yet the app is representative of an important trend–a growing ecosystem of smartphone technology aimed at easing traditional barriers of communication for the deaf and hearing impaired.

Given Hamilton Relay’s customer base, the eventual development of a smartphone app was a no-brainer, said Hamilton Relay vice president Dixie Ziegler. Thirty six million Americans experience some degree of hearing loss. Of that number, the majority first encounter problems with old age, Ziegler said. “So many have been able to use a telephone or mobile phone their whole life” but then face the prospect of having to give that up, she said.

The company’s bulky 800i was not going to cut it for those used to mobile phones. Hamilton Relay was encountering more customers who were familiar with mobile technology, so the company looked for an answer that married its established closed captioning service with a smartphone’s ease of use.

App development was done in house. While the team consulted developer forums—finding developer community support very helpful—it “didn’t need a tremendous amount of help,” said Ziegler. The app took 90 days to build.

The main challenge, said Ziegler, was making sure that Hamilton Relay’s technology integrated with the device’s contact list application—meaning that the experience of finding a number and then making a call through the app had to be as seamless as possible.

Ziegler says the company does not have a complete sense of how many new customers it has picked up from its app store listings. The largest set of app customers are those who were already using, or will soon start to use, Hamilton Relay’s telephones.

But it’s not a stretch to predict that the demand for similar apps will increase.

Last October, President Obama signed into law a video and telecommunications act encouraging the development of improved hearing aid compatibility for Internet phones and captioning of television programs.

Some businesses are taking initiative on their own. Already some movie theaters are installing digital closed-captioning systems that use handheld devices. On the app front, the deaf use the iPhone 4’s video functionality to sign to each other. People with hearing problems, and particularly those having issues later in life, are getting vocal.

“With Grandmom—the older generation—if something didn’t work, no one thought about going to technology. You were just deaf.” said Lise Hamlin, director of policy for the Hearing Loss Association of America. “But this generation is really demanding answers and looking at technology.”

Post written and provided by Hamilton CapTel.

Hearing Aid Decorated For 2011 HLAA Convention

2011-06-15T17:40:00.000-04:00

What do you think?

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How Should I Decorate My Hearing Aid For 2011 HLAA Convention?

2011-06-12T23:11:00.000-04:00

I like to decorate my hearing aid, usually with stickers, just for fun. You can check out most of them on my blog, Decked Out Hearing Aids and CIs.

I am wondering how I should decorate my hearing aid for this convention.

Any ideas? What colors should I use? Does anyone know of a company that makes tiny stickers of famous D.C. landmarks?

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2011 HLAA Convention Less Than a Week Away!

2011-06-11T17:05:00.000-04:00

Wow, time is going by like nothing! I cannot believe that I will be leaving for the HLAA convention in less than a week. I downloaded the convention Program and Exhibit Guide and have looked at all of the interesting workshops, demonstrations, and events. There is so much to see and do.

The Research Symposium's The Impact of Noise on Hearing seems interesting (Friday, June 17th, 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Sponsored by Deafness Research Foundation).

The demonstrations (page 9 and 10 of program book) I am most interested in are:

ReadMyQuips: An Innovative Way to Improve Speech Understanding in Noise (presented by Sense Synergy, Inc., Saturday, June 18th, 10:00 a.m. - 10:45 a.m.)
EARtrak: Building a Chorus of Consumer Opinion to Sing to the World (Saturday, June 18th, 3:00 - 3:45 p.m.)
Oticon: Maintaining Connections with Family and Friends (Saturday, June 18th, 4:00 - 4:45 p.m.)

There are so many workshops to choose from! I wish I can attend them all. The workshops (schedule on page 14 and 15 of program book) I am most interested in are:

The Looping of America Begins With YOU!
Communication Therapy: An Integrated Approach
Biological Restoration of Hearing: Are We Getting Any Closer?
Surviving the Stress of Hearing Loss: What You Can Do
Dare to Be Different
What Children with Cochlear Implants Need at School
Coaching Parents Through the Early Years
Movie Access, The Battle Continues
Minimal Hearing Loss-Not a Big Deal, Right?
Recognition of Self-Advocacy Skills for the Young Adult or Teen with Hearing Loss
Common Pitfalls of Parenting Your Child with Hearing Loss
Dementia: Misdiagnosis and Hearing Loss

It is a shame that some of these workshops share the same day and time. I would really like to attend the "Dare to be Different" workshop, but I would also like to go to the "What Children with Cochlear Implants Need at School" workshop, which starts at the same time. I am going to have a tough time choosing.

To those who are attending, I would recommend looking at the program book. With so much to do and see, it can be overwhelming. Looking at the schedules and trying to decide where to go and what to do, before going to the convention, should make it less stressful.

(e

Important Information For 2011 HLAA Convention Attendees

2011-06-06T18:53:00.001-04:00

Nancy Macklin emailed attendees important information about the convention. In case you did not get it, here is the information she provided in the email:

Young Adult Scavenger Hunt – RSVP needed

Young adults (18 – 35) interested in participating in the Scavenger Hunt on Thursday, June 16^th must complete and return the attached RSVP form no later than this Thursday, June 9^th. This is necessary so we can divide the group into teams and plan for food after the Hunt is over. This event is sponsored by Starkey.

Get Acquainted Party

This is always a really fun event whether you are young or young at heart. Sponsored by CaptionCall, this event will feature Mark Robinson, a magician, an illusionist, and comedian all rolled into one! Light snacks and cash bar available. See you at 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 16^th in the Regency Ballroom.

Wicked at the Kennedy Center – 2 announcements

Wheel chair users, please reply to this email so we can put you in the appropriate seat at the Kennedy Center. We have plenty of wheelchair accessible seating.

The performance will be made communication accessible with the use of captioning, infrared, hearing loop system (provided by Ampetronic) and sign language interpretation. Please note that the assistive listening device (ALD) you will use at the Convention is NOT compatible with the Kennedy Center’s system – please do not bring your HLAA device with you to the Kennedy Center; the Center will have plenty of ALDs available.

This off-site event for Convention 2011 attendees is being sponsored by Audiotoniq and CTIA-The Wireless Association.

Last Call for Banquet Seating

Prior to the Banquet on Saturday, June 18^th, you will need to have your table selected. Do yourself a favor and check this off your to-do list before you leave home. Simply view the ballroom floor plan on www.hearingloss.org/convention and read the guidelines. Email volunteer Hollace Goodman with three possible tables, and she’ll take care of the rest.

Program and Exhibit Guide

The Program and Exhibit Guide has been posted on the Convention page on www.hearingloss.org. While there are two files, one for the Convention and one for the Hearing Loop Conference, they will be together in one book (with a little twist!) that you will receive onsite.

Used Hearing Aid Collection

Does your junk drawer contain an old pair of hearing aids? Bring them to Convention – a collection box will be at HLAA’s Exhibit Booth #1. Hearing aids collected will be sent to HearingHealth4U, a new non-profit who refurbishes the hearing aids for people who cannot afford them. HearingHealth4U will provide you with acknowledgment of your donation.

Scootaround

Scootaround, Inc. is proud to be the exclusive scooter and wheelchair rental service for Convention 2011 and the 2nd International Hearing Loop Conference. Quantities are limited so make your reservation right away at http://www.scootaround.com/rentals/h/hlaa/.

Parking

If you are driving to the Convention, please note that the valet fee at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City is $25/day. Please check our website for the map showing nearby lots.

Airport Shuttle

The Hyatt Regency’s courtesy shuttle service is available to and from airport from 5 a.m. to midnight. Pickup runs every 20 minutes at the top of the hour and 20 minutes and 40 minutes past the hour.

Please email Nancy Macklin at nmacklin@hearingloss.org if you have any questions.

Sounds like it is going to be fun! Can't wait. :)

(e

Fun HLAA Activity For Young Adults!

2011-06-03T20:50:00.001-04:00

I am really looking forward to participating in a scavenger hunt with the Young Adult group (ages 18-35). This will happen on Thursday evening, June 16th at the National Mall. I have not been on a scavenger hunt in ages, probably not since grade school. I love scavenger hunts! I think the best part about this scavenger hunt is that the winner will actually be crowned. It should be fun!

If you fall within the ages of 18-35 and would like to participate please RSVP by June 8th (look at information below for more details).

See you there!

More information from HLAA convention website:

Young Adult Scavenger Hunt
Young adults (ages 18 – 35 ONLY), you are going to have a blast on Thursday, June 16th! Start at 5 p.m. in the Potomac 1 & 2 room (Ballroom Level) for an orientation, then hop on the Metro to the National Mall where the Hunt will begin. Following the Hunt you will return to Crystal City for dinner and presentation of photos; a winner will be crowned! Young adults, please complete the RSVP and email it as an attachment to nmacklin@hearingloss.org.

Big thanks to Starkey for sponsoring this event.

Thank You Tracfone For Sponsoring HLAA 2011 Convention Blog

2011-06-01T08:49:00.000-04:00

http://www.tracfone.com/

I am pleased to announce that Tracfone Wireless, Inc. will be sponsoring this HLAA Convention 2011 blog!

Tracfone Wireless, Inc. is America's largest “No-Contract” cellular service provider. Customers can enjoy the freedom and flexibility that comes with "no-contract" cell phone service. This company believes that no one has to pay extra fees or pay more than they would like to. I think one of the best things about this company, other than not worrying about contracts, is that there is no charge for activating, reactivating, or canceling service.

To read more about Tracfone, visit their website and read their About page.

Thank you Tracfone for sponsoring this blog!

(e

My First Time Attending an HLAA Convention

2011-05-01T19:31:00.003-04:00

I attended my first HLAA convention last year in Milwaukee. I had so much fun and learned a lot. One of the things that struck me the most about the convention was meeting other people who could understand what I was going through and experienced as a person with a hearing loss. There were a lot of, "Me too!" "I know!" "I understand, totally." "Yup, been there." When I told others about my first time at the convention, I explained that it was as if I was walking into a room full of mirrors. Even though everyone had different types of hearing losses, were of different ages, had different ways of communicating, different hearing devices, different backgrounds, and different ways they acquired their deafness, there was still an understanding; an understanding that we are not alone. It was a feeling I have never felt before. I can't describe it. It was a bit overwhelming at times.

I came to my first convention on my own. I did not know anyone who was going to be there, other than a friend I made through blogging, blogger Speak Up Librarian, whom I did not yet meet in person. She talked about going to the convention and when I looked into it, I became very interested in attending and decided to go.

I wondered what it was going to be like. I had never been to Milwaukee and did not really have any plans of what to do other than show up at the convention. There were times that I thought of backing out and not going. But, I decided that I had to go, especially since I could not get a refund on my plane fare. I am glad I went and that I did not let the idea of going by myself frighten me away. When I arrived, I soon learned that I should not have had any reason to fear being alone, because of the warm welcome I received from various strangers at the convention. I made a lot of friends immediately. I remember when I first arrived, attendees I met at the airport and on the shuttle, warmly welcomed me and invited me to eat with them.

How I finally met Speak Up Librarian is a funny story. I was sitting by myself at a presentation in a large auditorium filled with hundreds of people. As I looked around, I thought I heard someone say, "Are you e?" "e? Is that you?" I thought I was hearing things. Then I turned and saw a young woman looking my way smiling at me. "I am Sarah, from Speak Up Librarian!" How did she recognize me, since I do not put any photographs of myself on my blog? She was sitting in front of me and saw my hearing aid and thought it looked familiar. She recognized its blue and white ear mold, which I posted pictures of on my blog. I thought that was really cool how she was able to recognize me this way. We became instant friends.

So, if you will be a first time attendee, I am sure that you will have a great time and will make many friends. Plus, first time attendees get a discount when registering for the convention.

There will be awesome events such as a captioned and looped performance of Wicked, sponsored by CTIA, the International Association for the Wireless Telecommunications Industry.

I am really looking forward to attending this summer!

(e

Hello Everyone!

2011-04-15T18:06:00.004-04:00

Hello! My name is Elizabeth. I also go by (e. As Nancy Macklin previously explained in her introduction, the ( represents my hearing aid and the e represents the ear and my name.

I am currently an itinerant teacher of deaf and hard of hearing students for a public school district where I work with mainstreamed and self-contained students.

I also manage a blog about education and various deaf and hard of hearing issues.

It is called Eh? What? Huh? (http://www.ehwhathuh.com/).

I have a bilateral sensorinueral hearing loss (profound in the left ear, moderate-severe in the higher frequencies in the right ear). For more information about my hearing loss please read How Do I Hear?

I did not get my hearing tested until I was around two years old. I believe I started wearing hearing aids right before I turned three years old. I was mainstreamed in a public school during my elementary years. The school had a deaf and hard of hearing program where I interacted with other children who wore hearing aids and FM systems while receiving services from a teacher of the deaf and hard of hearing. I worked hard on my speech until it became understandable with an interesting accent. Often, others will say I sound as if I am from Boston while others ask if I am from New York, even though I am from the southeast region of the United States. One time a stranger suddenly yelled at me, after he heard me talking, "Ah! Bastan! Clam Chowdah!" Some people can't figure out my accent and will wonder if I am from another country. The only offensive comment I received about my speech was from someone who asked if my tongue was pierced. I did not learn sign language until I was 23 years old, which was roughly seven years ago. The sign language classes I took got me deeply interested in deaf education and deaf and hard of hearing issues.

Anyway, I am super excited to be blogging about the 2011 HLAA Convention in Washington D.C.! It is going to be so much fun. I really enjoyed last year as a first time attendee at the convention in Milwaukee.

If you have been reading my blog, you will learn that I have a blogger addiction. I LOVE blogging. Writing has always been something I enjoyed. I feel more comfortable writing than speaking. I can get all of my thoughts out in a more coherent manner (well, most of the time). It has been very helpful for me to write down my thoughts and to reflect on them while freely sharing them with whoever reads my blog. The best part of blogging is interacting with other individuals who can relate to what I experience. It helps to know that I am not alone. I also enjoy hearing from those who do not agree with me, challenging me and making me stop and think about the issue some more. Blogging has truly been one of the best things that happened to me.

Attending the 2010 HLAA Convention in Milwaukee has also been one of the best things that happened to me. Thanks to my blog, I became friends with another blogger, Speak Up Librarian, who told me about the convention. After looking into it, I decided to go. I am glad I did.

So, here I am. I will do my best to inform everyone who reads this about the daily events that will occur at the convention. There will bound to be a lot of exciting things to happen and I am sure I will write about them in great detail and include several pictures and videos.

I have a feeling that I will not sleep much with all of the excitement, events to attend, and blogging. Bring on the coffee and energy drinks!

(e

Introducing (e, Our Convention Blogger

2011-04-13T22:51:00.002-04:00

I am very happy to introduce you to Elizabeth, or (e. She is an itinerant teacher of deaf and hard of hearing students, providing educational support to deaf and hard of hearing students who are typically mainstreamed. She provides both direct services to students and consulting services to teachers and other adults who work with them. (e has a bilateral sensorineural hearing loss and has worn hearing aids since she was two years old. Why (e? It's her logo created by her friend, Jose Gross. The e is her ear, and the ( is her hearing aid. Elizabeth will provide up-to-date news prior to the Convention and will give daily updates while on site at the Convention. Welcome aboard, (e!

Convention Scholarship DEADLINE: March 1st

2011-02-25T14:37:00.002-05:00

If you are an HLAA member and have never attended a convention before (and need a little help getting there) why not apply for a Rocky Stone Scholarship? If you are not awarded a scholarship from the Rocky Stone Endowment, your application will be considered for other scholarships available. Starkey will once again sponsor six HLAA young adults - thank you, Starkey!

Hurry! Get the application in no later than March 1, 2011. Hope to see you in D.C.

Follow me on Twitter

2011-02-25T14:33:00.002-05:00

I was hoping that Twitter was a passing fad, but it seems Twitter is only getting more and more popular. I've bitten the bullet - I'm finally on Twitter: @nmacklin. Come follow me!

Convention Plans Heating Up for June 2011

2011-01-04T10:25:00.003-05:00

The holidays have come and gone, and the Convention, even though it is still over five months away, seems to be coming faster than a freight train! So many great plans are being made - this convention for people with hearing loss is a "must-attend event." Mark your calendar and start making your plans to be at Convention 2011 in the Washington, D.C. suburb, Arlington, Virginia (in a section called Crystal City), June 16 - 19. The convention hotel is the newly renovated Hyatt Regency Crystal Ciy (2799 Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, VA 22202).

Many of you may also be interested in attending the 2nd International Hearing Loop Conference - HLAA is co-hosting this event with the American Academy of Audiology (the "Academy") at the same location, June 18 - 20. I'll write again soon about the Loop Conference.

Here's a snapshot of Convention 2011 events:
Convention 2011:
Thursday, June 16th will be an action-packed day with the Exhibit Hall Grand Opening scheduled from Noon - 2 p.m. followed by an FCC panel lead by Karen Peltz Strauss, Deputy Bureau Chief of the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau. We are very pleased to have Christopher Artinian, president and CEO of Morton's Restaurant Group as our keynote speaker. Don't miss the Get Acquainted Party Thursday evening, a chance to meet up with old friends and meet new ones. Note that the Exhibit Hall will remain open until 5 p.m.

Friday, June 17th will bring the research symposium, The Impact of Noise on Hearing Loss, sponsored by the Deafness Research Foundation (see the Convention page on our website for more details about the presenters). The afternoon will offer educational workshops on the topics of Advocacy and Government Affairs, Hearing Technology, Medical Issues, Relationships (with your Family, Friends and Employer), and Young Adults. Following the afternoon social in the Exhibit Hall, Wicked ticketholders will board a Chariots for Hire (our official transportation provider) bus for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. If you are not attending Wicked, this is a great night to go sight-seeing.

Saturday, June 18th is Parents and Educators Day! In addition to the educational tracks above there will also be four workshops especially for parents and teachers of children with hearing loss. Details about all of the workshops will be posted soon on the Convention page. After the Exhibit Hall social in the afternoon, relax for a bit before the Saturday evening banquet, A Capital Celebration. This will be a special evening as we bid farewell to Convention attendees and welcome the attendees of the 2nd International Hearing Loop Conference (HLAA is co-hosting with the American Academy of Audiology).

Sunday, June 19th winds up the Convention with the Awards Breakfast where chapter members from across the country are honored for their hard work in their chapters and communities to help make a difference for people with hearing loss.

CEUs will be available from the American Academy of Audiology and the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.

WOW! What a convention it promises to be! If you don't receive the biweekly e-News, sign up today at www.hearingloss.org.

See you in June!

Carrie and the KC Gang (More Blogs)

2010-07-18T20:41:00.008-04:00

The young adults at Rock Bottom Brewery Friday night.
We hopped off the bus after Comedy Sportz and went to an Irish pub Saturday night. I normally don't do such things and felt like collapsing after two nights of about 4.5 hours of sleep each, but hey, when in Milwaukee... (and hanging out with such great people, too)

For the next few young adult stories I have links to other blogs. Young adults are very active in the Kansas City Chapter. I link to their blog here so that you can read the experiences of Sarah Mosher, Victor Prechtel, Kelly Rogel and Dennis Selznik, who have all posted (or will be posting shortly) their unique perspectives on the convention.

Another awesome person I met at the convention was twenty year old Carrie Martin of Tennessee. She is interested in audiology and was definitely inspired at the convention. You should check out Carrie’s blog, which she started specifically so she could share her experiences at the convention. Her introductory blog explains who she is much better than I can.

It was so great to meet so many cool people who understand what other hard of hearing people are going through. It was awesome to be able to hang out at a bar with a group of people (something I might avoid altogether under normal conditions) and not feel totally out of the loop. What’s really great is that even though we all come from different parts of the country, we can still keep in touch online via facebook, hearing loss nation and our own personal blogs.

HLAA really encourages young adults to get involved at the local, state and national levels. The association tries its hardest each year to get sponsors for young adult scholarships, so if you are a young adult and have never been to a convention, remember to apply for a scholarship in 2011! Many of us have received scholarships over the past couple of years, and you can too! Just visit the convention page in early 2011 and apply by the end of March. Come to the convention in D.C. I promise you will make so many new friends and have such a great time, even if you don't get a scholarship, it's worth the money. Please join us!

Viral's Story

2010-07-18T13:06:00.003-04:00

The first young adult I’d like to introduce to you is Viral Tejani. Viral is a leader in the HLAA D.C. chapter. This was his first convention and he was very much inspired, as the theme for the convention suggests. Like many of the young adults who attended, Viral was honored with a scholarship to the convention. He needs little other introduction as he has done such a wonderful job telling the world who he is through his blog. He originally posted his blog on the social networking site Hearing Loss Nation. I realize not everyone has an HLN account, so I have gotten permission to reproduce it here. Enjoy!

I never knew what I was missing....a perspective from a HLAA 2010 convention attendee...

I’ve never really been much for blogging, and never really exposed my private life on the internet, because it wouldn’t be so private. But, this is an exception, as this is an experience I want to share with everyone.

This really started out as a reflection of my first time at the HLAA convention, but eventually turned into a stream of consciousness prose where I discussed random hearing loss related issues that have affected me.

Growing up in a hearing world, it never really bothered me much that I had a hearing loss. Part of the reason is that I was mainstreamed pretty quickly in elementary school, and thus never really interacted with the other HOH students. I felt “normal” in a sense, and the hearing loss never crossed my mind. The only difference I could see between me and all of the other classmates was just purely ethnic; I was Indian in a white-dominated school - and that seemed to be the difference people noticed more (but that’s a whole another story though). Being hearing impaired in an all-hearing school didn’t strike me too odd. Putting on the HA’s seemed so routine and second-hand.

The only times where the hearing loss annoyed me was when I attended family / social gatherings where a lot of Indians were involved. Many of them would speak in our native language, and it was annoying that I couldn’t really follow conversations except for a few words here and there. I once asked my dad why he and my mom didn’t speak to me in both our native language and in English so that I would be bilingual. His reply: when I was identified (at age 2), the audiologist recommended that my parents speak English only, since I would be living in the U.S. It was so frustrating to hear that explanation, but who knows what would’ve happened if they tried to raise a hearing impaired child bilingual. Would it have worked, or would it have failed? Who knows?

Other than the family gatherings, I never got frustrated with having a hearing loss until college. I guess the stress of being an engineering major, as well as all the other extracurricular activities, sometimes got to me. Sometimes, I would wake up in the morning so damned tired that I didn’t want to wear the HAs, but really didn’t have a choice in the matter if I wanted to participate/fall asleep in class or chill with my friends or whatever. Looking back, the other issue was that I was starting to learn how to be on my own, and
I had to pay attention to caring for my health, including caring for the HAs.

Regardless, even though college was a great experience, the stress sometimes got to me, like it does to everyone. One goes though periods where little things start being very annoying. Sometimes, the hearing loss would be a topic I would ruminate over, and I would mainly think to myself, “This really isn’t fair. I did nothing to deserve this.” Even though I knew there was no point in complaining about it – it’s not like I’ll magically get cured (until hair cell regeneration actually works) – I still decided to complain. After some time, I would totally forget about it. After all, you really can’t spend your days complaining about circumstances you don’t have control over. I was still happy that I had some solid friends at Lehigh and at home. I was still happy that I was actually doing decent with the engineering major, even though sometimes my social life got disrupted. I was still happy being involved with extracurricular activities. In short, I was still happy.

Even though I graduated with an engineering degree, I had always wanted to do clinical work. However, I also knew medicine wouldn’t be a good fit for me. Long story short, I decided to get into Audiology. It seemed to make sense – it was the only profession that I could truly empathize with patients, given my own personal experiences. Everything was going fine with the Audiology classes, but I did run into a few roadblocks when I started seeing patients – but that’s also another topic for another day. I’ve already shared some of those stories with some of you. The biggest surprise: when I initially started seeing patients, I would occasionally resent people with normal hearing or patients with decent residual hearing. I was surprised at this new feeling of bitterness, but at the same time, some of these patents seemed hesitant in owning up to their hearing loss. This lack of ownership is likely why I experienced some bitterness / resentment, and I shouldn’t be so surprised that I’m taking it personally. After all, I knew first hand how helpful HA’s can be, and I really wanted patients to realize that.

The other source of my resentment was the concept of newborn hearing screening using OAE measures. This wasn’t around when I was born. I started wondering, what would’ve happened if I got identified at birth instead of at age 2. How would have my future changed with earlier identification? Again, I was ruminating over things I had no control over. It’s not worth stressing over.

There was a point where the bitterness / resentment faded, and my supervisors and I just simply tried our best to help the patients. I’ve already had a few memorable patients who loved probing me about my hearing loss, and I loved sharing my experiences with them. On the flip side, I’ve also had a few patients who still were worried about the stigma, who still took it as another one of those signs of aging, and who had many other little excuses that really mean nothing in the grand scheme of things. The only excuse that I can completely understand is the financial commitment required, which unfortunately bars some patients from getting the services they need. Regardless, my supervisors and I just tried our best to help all the patients we could.

During my first semester of clinic, I heard about HLAA through the Walk4Hearing. University of Maryland’s Student Academy of Audiology had a team organized for the Fall 2009 walk. I thought, why not, it’s for a good cause. Shortly after that, I met Zac LaFratta, who was starting a HLAA chapter for Washington D.C. So, again, I thought, why not? I started getting involved, and am now VP. Zac was persuading me to go to the HLAA convention, and to be honest, I was a little hesitant. I didn’t know what to expect, and didn’t know how beneficial it would be. I had looked at it as a networking experience, and I thought it would be a good way to meet people. I’m grateful that Zac nominated me for a scholarship, as the experience was just amazing.

The first day of the convention was quite overwhelming. I had never been in the presence of so many hard of hearing people. Literally, an army of us was dominating the Frontier Airline Center. I glanced around….hearing aid on that guy, cochlear implant on that girl, oh that person has both an HA and a CI, oh there’s an FM system,….ahhh, holy crap, there’s so many of us!!

That first night at the convention, I met some of the young HOH adults, and we all went down to the hotel bar and chilled. And it was simply...cool. Here’s a bunch of us chilling together, talking about our experiences with hearing loss, but also about other random stuff like Game 5 of the NBA finals happening that night. And clearly, since there are 5-6 breweries in a 10 mile radius, we all had to head to the bars every night, chill, and try the local beers. But more importantly, we all were SO comfortable with one another. I noticed simple things like, if Person A missed a joke while everyone was laughing, Person B would explain to Person A what just happened, so no one would be left out. Wait a minute… no one left out?? Really?? HOW COOL IS THAT? Seriously, there was no such thing as bluffing here. (And I remember totally calling one of you out when I noticed you were bluffing….but I won’t mention your name :-P). I don’t understand ASL well, so I did bug some of you to translate for me. But I didn’t feel embarrassed. Why? Again, because, there’s no such thing as bluffing here. We all had serious conversations about hearing loss, but we were all also pretty chill and goofing around. I also would not have had any of these serious conversations with my normal hearing friends, and I never knew what I was missing out on by not having other HOH friends to talk to.

During the actual conference, I met a lot of good people, including presenters and officers from other HLAA chapters. It was interesting to see how other chapters, the HLAA administration, and general HLAA members really look to us young people as future leaders. As future leaders, we can promote advocacy and spread awareness about hearing loss. At the same time, I also met a few HLAA members who were very scared about hearing loss and being alone. That really inspired me as well; there’s no reason one should feel alone! We all should be good-natured members of society and look out for one another.

I came back from Milwaukee feeling inspired and focused. Meeting the HOH young adults, other fellow chapter officers, presenters, and other random attendees, was a great experience. The experience inspired ideas of what I needed to do as a HLA-DC officer and future audiologist. I need to do more than just diagnostics and treatment. I need to advocate for people. I need to help people advocate for themselves. Not just I. WE ALL need to promote awareness about the effects of hearing loss, and we all need to be stick together and be strong!

I really had a great time meeting and being inspired by all of you. I am grateful to Zac for the scholarship nomination. Since the convention is in D.C. next year, I really have no excuse to not to come. Hopefully, I will see some of you again.

We Were Inspired in Milwaukee!

2010-07-18T13:02:00.002-04:00

It’s been about a month since the convention, but the connections made there are still going strong online and around the country. I’d like to take this opportunity to introduce you to some of the wonderful people I met at the convention. HLAA has been pushing an initiative to get young adults more involved at the local, state and national levels. The following few posts are proof that it’s working. We young adults are getting more involved. We are attending conventions, making personal connections, and assuring all HLAA members that we are ready to step up as emerging leaders in this organization. Many of the young adults who attended have been truly inspired. We all want to save up and go again next year to the convention in Washington D.C. I asked some of the friends I made at the convention if they had any thoughts about their experiences that they’d like to share with everyone. I now have a compilation of blog posts from about half a dozen young adults. I hope you enjoy everyone’s take on the convention as much as I did.

Sunday Wrap Up

2010-06-21T23:15:00.011-04:00

The young adults, many of whom received scholarships, after the awards banquet

Sunday morning was the HLAA awards breakfast, sponsored by CapTel. The ceremony celebrated HLAA members from around the country who have gone above and beyond in their advocacy and outreach efforts. There were awards for best website and newsletter, special service awards and other awards for outstanding HLAA members. Scholarship recipients and Walk 4 Hearing (which had its own room and booth in the exhibit hall) leaders were also recognized.

Peg Adamucci (who was available to sign her book Grandmom and Me and the System) and her husband at the HLAA booth

After the awards ceremony my friends and I walked around to experience a bit of Milwaukee before we headed home. We searched around the city for a specific place that my friend heard had really good grilled cheese. Unfortunately, it was closed. So was the next restaurant we were sent to. At least we enjoyed the walk and we found a pretty good Italian place to stop and eat lunch at.

I’m so grateful for the opportunity to share the convention experience with you all. I’d like to thank Nancy Macklin for giving me this opportunity as well as planning this entire weekend-long shindig. She is simply amazing. I learned so much about new technologies available to help deaf and hard of hearing people experience life and communicate with the world. I also learned important ways in which I can be a powerful self-advocate and get the accommodations I need.

Thanks again to all of our sponsors. My personal thanks go out to CTIA: The Wireless Association and Starkey Labs for providing young adult scholarships, Hamilton Captel for sponsoring the blog and AT&T for sponsoring Comedy Sportz and the exhibit hall socials, at which I met amazing people. Our sincere gratitude also goes out to:

Cochlear Americas: Rumble at the Harley Davidson Museum

Advanced Bionics: Convention Workbook

Med-El: Badges and lanyards

Oticon: Registration bags

Sorenson Communications: Get acquainted party

T-Mobile: President & executive director’s reception

Verizon: Convention program and exhibit guide

R.I.T./NTID: Communication access for the research symposium

Blackberry RIM: Three morning coffee breaks

Hearing Industries Association: Hearing screening booth

Williams Sound: Signage

Saturday Shows and Shenanigans

2010-06-21T18:53:00.008-04:00

Comedy Sportz show (picture courtesy Sarah Mosher)

Sarah is just one of the young adults I met who have written up a great description of their convention experiences on the Kansas City chapter blog .

Due to the young adult shenanigans the night prior I missed out on some morning activities. I went to lunch at the local mall with my friend Rhi and Sveta and while we were there we met another convention attendee, Joanne. She has a twenty-year-old daughter who has a hearing loss. Joanne told me how much she'd learned and experienced at the convention and that she wants to bring get her daughter to go next year. After eating lunch and talking to Joanne for a while, I attended a workshop.

The workshop which I did attend was on movie and theater accommodations. A lot of it I’d heard before. There are open captions, closed captions and rear window captions, though I’m not very familiar with the rear window type. Infrared and fm systems are sometimes used. Interpreting is also an option for live theater. There’s actually some cool captioning glasses some students at UCLA supposedly developed recently, which I think would be great, but I haven’t heard much about them or tried them out for myself. What was more interesting to me was the different accommodations mentioned by people from different areas of the country. I had recently seen some shows at the Orange County Performing Arts Center and was not impressed with the systems used. I guess that’s why HLAA pushes so much for individual self-advocacy so that everyone from any area can obtain the accommodations they need.

Soon after the workshop was an ice-cream social in the exhibit hall, No Ordinary Sundae, sponsored by AT&T. It was a great time to meet up with friends and enjoy delicious ice-cream. Unfortunately, I heard they ran out of ice-cream, but I was lucky enough to snag some and sit down to eat with my new friends.

After that was the Oktoberfest in June banquet. Milwaukee is known for its beer, cheese, motorcycles and German cultural food, all of which we got to experience over the course of the weekend, so the Oktoberfest theme fit well. Many of the young adults decided to skip this event in favor of Comedy Sportz, the off-site event for young adults. However, some of us popped into the Oktoberfest event first. There was some great food there including potatoes au gratin and a mushroom-stuffed, pastry-covered chicken dish. I personally saved a little room for the Comedy Sportz excursion, also sponsored by AT&T.

For those not familiar with Comedy Sportz, it’s an improv comedy show, similar to the television show Whose Line is it Anyway. The night was particularly entertaining for us as it was specially captioned for HLAA. Not only that, but the presence o the captionists added to the comedic effect as the host (or referee) made comments about the CART service as well as the ladies providing it. They did an excellent job. There were two ladies captioning, and apparently both of their names were Lisa, so the referee made a joke about that as well as how cool it was to see his words on the screen. It was an interesting night to say the least. I was surprised at the number of people who attended whom I’m certain were over the 18-35 age range. I was expecting a more intimate gathering. However, I think I remember reading somewhere that this event was “also open to the young at heart.”

When the buses headed for home, however, the true young adults decided to hop off the bus at Mo’s Irish Pub rather than return to the hotel. It was a long night. I got about 4 and a half hours of sleep before the awards banquet. It’s always interesting to try to communicate in a diverse group. This younger group was not as diverse in age as the Oktoberfest or Comedy Sportz crowds, but it was more intimate. Some spoke, some signed, and others read lips or used multiple means of communication. It was certainly a long and interesting night.

In the Works

2010-06-19T12:19:00.003-04:00

I'm working on a post about everything that occurred yesterday (it was a long and exhausting day) but I really want to go see all the amazing things today has to offer me. Don't worry, you will hear all about the convention, but I've got to go experience it! Also working on getting some pictures. Thanks for your patience.

A Word From Our Sponsor: Exciting News for Hard of Hearing iPhone Users from Hamilton CapTel!

2010-06-19T11:28:00.008-04:00

Our blog sponsor has some exciting news for hard of hearing iPhone users! Hamilton CapTel® announced Thursday that it is releasing the first iPhone® app to provide captions for every call!

June 16, 2010, Aurora, Nebraska –Today, Hamilton CapTel announced the immediate availability of the Hamilton Mobile CapTel application for the iPhone. The application provides captions of telephone calls for individuals with hearing loss while they are on the go. Available nationwide, Hamilton Mobile CapTel allows users to listen while reading captions of everything that is said during phone calls – all from the convenience of their iPhone.

“This is a major addition to the Hamilton CapTel family of solutions, delivering unprecedented access and freedom for iPhone users that are hard of hearing,” said Dixie Ziegler, vice president of Hamilton Relay, provider of Hamilton Mobile CapTel service. “At Hamilton, we are dedicated to delivering personalized service and providing the most technologically advanced solutions. Every call is important, and due to the widespread use of the iPhone, we have created a free iPhone App that is easy-to-use with an intuitive interface to meet the needs of iPhone users in the U.S.”

Similar to captions on television, Hamilton Mobile CapTel delivers captions for telephone conversations. The popularity of the iPhone in particular has spurred creation of an iPhone App that is free, easy and highly functional. The Hamilton Mobile CapTel iPhone App delivers several useful features that meet the demands of people who are hard-of-hearing:

• Listen to what is said while simultaneously reading captions of what’s said on the screen of the iPhone

• Integration of Contacts; phone numbers are available when it’s time to place a call

• Free captions in both English and Spanish

• Available on any 3G/3GS iPhone

• Works with an iPhone compatible headset---wired or Bluetooth

• Registered Web CapTel users can download the app immediately and have access to their profile and contacts stored on the iPhone, captioning can begin within seconds
What an awesome communication tool for people with hearing loss! It’s simple, easy to use, gives you access from anywhere, and it’s free! What more could you ask for?
Download the free Hamilton Mobile CapTel iPhone App at the iTunes® App StoreSM. Search “Hamilton Mobile CapTel” or download directly at: http://iphone.appmobilize.com/track/185118

iPhone users who are new to CapTel can visit www.HamiltonCapTel.com for more details or may begin the one-time registration process at www.HamiltonWebCapTel.com.
And don’t forget to follow Hamilton CapTel on twitter for all the latest news and technology available for hard of hearing people at @HamiltonApTel.

See the full press release at the Hamilton CapTel site.

Day 1

2010-06-18T01:55:00.002-04:00

Well, I made it to Milwaukee. My flight was the very last to come in, so I started out pretty tuckered out. Boy did I have a day ahead of me. When I first walked up to the convention registration desk I was cheerfully greeted by a convention volunteer and given a registration bag (sponsored by Oticon), a program book (sponsored by Verizon) and a chance to pick up an assisted listening device generously donated by Williams Sound.

First up, newcomer orientation:
The orientation was given by none other than Sue Miller, who is anything but a newcomer to the convention (see earlier post). There was a major emphasis on total accessibility. From hearing loops and real time captioning to infrared assisted listening devices this convention has it all to ensure that every hard of hearing attendee may fully participate. I was told that there are about 800 attendees at this year’s convention. It certainly is refreshing to know that for once, even though I was among a large group of people, I could be certain that everyone around me understood in some way what it meant to be hard of hearing. I believe it was Michael Stone who said during the orientation that “convention going is a contact sport. You get information. You make contacts. You make new friends. On an average day as a hard of hearing person you might feel completely isolated from the rest of the world. At an HLAA convention you meet so many people who understand. You share stories about dealing with hearing loss. It’s life changing.” Then we were left to go off in our separate directions and experience these things for ourselves.

Workshops:
There are 5 education tracks this year which include advocacy and access, hearing technology, medical issues, relationships and communication, and young adults. A workshop in the advocacy and access track which I found particularly interesting was “Advocating for Hearing Loops.” I had recently been talking to friends about my frustration that there aren’t very many places that have hearing loops, so this was very interesting and informative for me. Loops are so simple and accessible to anyone with a t-coil in their hearing aid. I often find fm systems, (and the infrared system I tried out today) to come in fuzzy and distorted, but hearing loops always come in clear for me. I’m glad to hear there are more initiatives around the country to get hearing loops more widely available.

Keynote Speaker Bill Barkeley:
Bill Barkeley is quite an inspirational person. He has Ushers syndrome and is deaf/blind. He also climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro. He acknowledges that he had a lot of help. There is a lot of technology available to us now and we should embrace it. He believes it’s important that he takes the emphasis off of himself and puts it on the issues of hearing and vision impaired people. He is also convinced that hardships “can make us bitter or make us better” and that we must let them make us better by using them to help others. We, as hard of hearing people, also need to be comfortable helping others help us reach our goals. Mr. Barkeley was a very inspiring speaker.

After the opening session and keynote speech there was a casino-themed “get acquainted party.” It was an exciting start to a promising weekend.

Sprint CapTel Demo

2010-06-17T23:46:00.002-04:00

This just in from Todd Bader at Sprint Relay/ CapTel:

A demo program has been added for Saturday from 3-3:45

What can you do with Sprint 4G?

Curious about America’s first Sprint 4G Phone, hearing aid compatibility and 3G/4G mobile broadband solutions? Join us and learn more about Sprint’s 3G and 4G mobile solutions. You will also learn how Sprint CapTel and Mobile Relay Conference Captioning will work wirelessly using 3G/4G mobile broadband solutions in different ways. See what you can do with Sprint 4G!

25 Conventions!

2010-06-15T21:14:00.008-04:00

While I'd like you all to get acquainted with us newbies at the convention, I'd also like you to congratulate two members who have been here since the beginning. Say hello to Bob Branigin and Sue Miller. They have been attending HLAA's national conventions since 1984.

Sue Miller of Rochester, NY, is a former Board of Trustees member and a past president of HLAA. She provides an overview of the convention program, what you can learn, see and do at the Newcomer’s Orientation. Sue has been to every single convention since 1984, making Milwaukee her 25^th consecutive attendance!

Excerpt from Collection of Memories of Rocky Stone

My life is so rich because of my experiences with SHHH/HLAA. I’ve traveled to cities all across the country to attend the conventions...places I never would have seen. I’ve met wonderful people from all over the USA, again, because of SHHH/HLAA.

I can now hear when I go to places of worship, the theater, a court room, because of Rocky and his vision. My life has such meaning and purpose...all because of Rocky.

Bob Branigin of Seattle, WA is another long time HLAA member who also has been to every single convention from the first one in Chicago, Illinois in 1984!

Excerpt from Collection of Memories of Rocky Stone

My most cherished memory of Rocky is that he would make the time to have breakfast or lunch with me at every convention from his retirement up until his passing. He would tell me serious things and share his concern for SHHH/HLAA. He had a great sense of humor and would tell me jokes. He would joke with me about who will be the last person to break the record of attending every convention since the first one in Chicago. At the present time [February 2009] Sue Miller of Rochester, NY, and I are the only two people who have been to all of the conventions.

Program Changes

2010-06-15T10:41:00.003-04:00

The convention is coming up fast! Leaving tomorrow!

FYI: There are a couple of things that need to be changed in the program book.

1)WORKSHOP CANCELED:

"Advocacy Through Social Networking"

Presenter: Teresa Burke

Scheduled for: Saturday from 12:45-2

The presenter broke her foot and cannot make it.

2) On the sponsor page of the program guide (p 35) Blackberry CTIA should be Blackberry RIM (Research In Motion)

That's it for now. More soon!

Have Fun! Make New Friends! Go to Milwaukee!

2010-06-10T00:11:00.017-04:00

Hey, everybody. I hope you’re getting excited about the convention, because I sure am. I’ll be arriving in Milwaukee one week from now!

Convention 2010 promises to be an exciting event. There will be a ton of cool exhibits and speakers, but what I’m really looking forward to are the social activities. Meeting cool new people is a great reason to attend. You’re bound to make new friends with people from all over the country at fun-filled events like Oktoberfest in June and Rumble at the Harley Davidson Museum. Heck, you might even win free registration to next year’s convention at the Harley.

Thanks to a generous sponsorship from AT&T there will even be a special off-site event for young adults at Comedy Sportz Milwaukee! This is an improv comedy club, but there will be CART (realtime captioning). I’m interested to see how it goes. I recently attended a “comedy sportz high school league” show my brother performed in. I didn’t understand a thing, but my parents said I wasn’t the only one. I’m sure it will be a challenge for a brave captionist.

See the convention page for all the fun stuff to do at and around the convention!

If for some unfortunate reason you can’t join us this year, you should definitely go to convention 2011. If you're a first-timer, like me, you can even apply for a scholarship for next year. Half a dozen young adults - myself included - are going on scholarships this year generously sponsored by CTIA- The Wireless Association. Applications for scholarships to convention 2011 should be available at the beginning of the year and have a deadline at the end of March.

Have a great week and I hope to meet you - yes YOU - in Milwaukee!

Introduction

2010-06-03T01:26:00.007-04:00

Hello, everyone. I’d just like to take a moment to introduce myself. My name is Rachel, and I’m so excited to be attending and blogging for this year’s HLAA national convention in Milwaukee! I’d like to thank my good friend Rhi Gutierrez (HLA-CA board member and cover girl for the current issue of The Hearing Loss Californian) for nominating me for a scholarship to the convention as well as mentioning my name when Nancy was looking for a blogger. I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for her! Also, thanks to Hamilton Cap Tel for sponsoring our official blog.

A little bit about me

Age: 23

Born and raised: Orange County, CA

Hearing loss: progressive, bilateral, sensorineural loss, severe to profound in left, profound in right ear

Education: BA in English literature, Chapman University, 2009

Current favorite hearing devices: Phonak Versata P and iCom with Bluetooth/audio input capabilities

Interests: writing, swing dancing, music, captioned movies, travel, volunteering, reading, technology, advocacy for young adults with hearing loss

Personal blog: http://youngandhoh.blogspot.com

That’s it for now. You’ll hear more from me later as I keep you up to date on all the exciting events going on at the convention! See you in Milwaukee!

Hamilton CapTel Sponsors Convention Blog!

2010-05-16T11:37:00.005-04:00

I am very pleased to announce that the HLAA Annual Convention Blog is being sponsored by Hamilton CapTel. Check in here during the convention for all the latest news and updates on events, and more. HLAA member Rachel McCallum has generously agreed to be our official convention blogger. Rachel recently graduated from Chapman University and would like to pursue a career in writing and editing - I'd say she is perfect for the job! Be sure to introduce yourself to Rachel McCallum - this is her first convention!

Top 10 Reasons to Attend Convention 2010 in Milwaukee

2010-04-23T14:35:00.000-04:00

If you missed my Webinar yesterday, don't fret! It is available for replay. Click here for replay It's filled with information about the events, exhibitors, sponsors and more. So check it out!

Milwaukee Art Museum

AT&T to Sponsor Young Adult Off-site Event!

2010-02-24T14:04:00.012-05:00

For years young adults attending the convention have begged and pleaded for an off-site event to call their own. Thanks to the generosity of AT&T, this year we are planning a really fun excursion!

All young adults (ages 18-35) are welcome to go to ComedySportz Milwaukee, a comedy improv club just a short bus ride from the Hilton Milwaukee City Center. You'll enjoy some of the wackiest (yet clean) humor at the communication accessible 10 p.m. show on Saturday, June 19th. More details to follow about where to catch the bus, etc. Bring your funny bones along!

AT&T is also sponsoring the Exhibit Hall Socials: Friday, June 18th is themed Say Cheese (we will be in the dairy state, afterall!), and Saturday's social is No Ordinary Sundae.

Thank you, AT&T!

Convention Attendee Speaks About Her First Time

2010-02-10T10:45:00.004-05:00

If you've never been to an HLAA convention, read Christie Nudelman's article about Convention 2009 in Nashville. First-timers get a special registration discount - see the Convention page on http://www.hearingloss.org for all the details.

My First Time at an HLAA Convention

By Christie Nudelman

Last year I attended the HLAA convention in Nashville for the first time. I was the proud recipient of a grant from the Rocky Stone Scholarship program. This was a GREAT to help me offset the cost to get my feet wet with HLAA.

You see, I joined HLAA, Boulder chapter, in March 2009 for my first meeting ever! I got information about the conference and I wanted to connect with others LIKE MYSELF. I heard there was an effort to get younger people to attend, in addition to workshops and fun activities; so I said why not? The conference venue was amazing in itself. It was HUGE, too!

The schedule of events allowed you freedom to attend what you wanted, when you wanted and then some (i.e. after hours get-togethers). The keynote speakers were great, the workshops were well thought out and the parties were always fun! In addition, the people were all so amazing and accepting. At the conference, you are amongst a “like kind” – they don’t ask you about “your accent”, or look strangely at you when you ask them to repeat 3 times! I was amazed to be around so many people who “got me” – they understood me and I could just be myself! I remember one profound moment when I was in the exhibit hall trying out the CapTel phone and I called my mom. I told her, “I feel like I found a home here at this conference!”

Key takeaways I got:

· I made at least 30 new friendships that have continued through Facebook over this past year

· I became proud of my loss knowing I wasn’t alone and it’s OK!

· I became an advocate for myself. I educate my co-workers at the start of a project about my loss and how they can help and I inform instructors in classes and make sure I can always see them. It’s no longer MY problem, but my opportunity to help others understand and make sure I have what I need to be successful!

· Learned about different levels of loss and how people adapt (sign, oral, captioning, hearing dogs – no aids, cochlear implants, deaf).

Did I mention all the friends??

I highly recommend all to attend a conference! Maybe you are curious to make new friends, maybe you have always needed an excuse to visit Milwaukee, maybe you want to know the latest about hearing loss research and technology... whatever the reason, get yourself there and enjoy the long weekend. There is definitely something for everyone! If you have any questions, you can contact me directly at christiejoy@comcast.net

Convention 2010 Scholarships - Spread the Word!

2010-02-09T16:11:00.008-05:00

Young adults enjoyed karaoke at the Get Acquainted Party in Nashville - over 20 scholarahips were awarded, the majority going to young adults.

If you know an HLAA member who has never been to a convention and who may need a little help getting there, let them know the deadline for submitting an application is March 1! A member can self-nominate or may use the form to submit someone else. Scholarships will be available for all ages! See guidelines at: http://www.hearingloss.org/convention/2010Convention/docs/RSEFGrantCriteriaNWM.pdf

and the nomination form at:

http://www.hearingloss.org/convention/2010Convention/docs/RSEFGrantApplication.doc

Schedules Available on www.hearingloss.org

2010-02-03T13:26:00.003-05:00

Check out the convention page on the HLAA website. The schedule-at-a-glance as well as the complete workshop schedule have been posted.

Paradise Landing at the Hilton Milwaukee City Center

2010-02-01T11:13:00.000-05:00

There's fun awaiting the entire family in Milwaukee! The Hilton Milwaukee City Center has a 20,000 square foot indoor waterpark called Paradise Landing. Don't forget to pack your bathing suit! See pictures and more at http://www.paradiselanding.com/.

Highlights include:
*A 3-story Jamaican Village with four fantastic water slides
*An Idyllic Lagoon
*Hydro-therapy Spa that accommodates up to 31 people
*Kiddy Pool with Beached Boat Slide, Turtle Squirt and Mushroom Rain Drop Fountain
*Seashell Slide and Frog Slide
*Lily Pad Walk
*Water Cannons

So Much To Do! So Much To See!

2010-01-29T13:50:00.000-05:00

Add a day or two to see some of the sights in Milwaukee. Upon arrival at Convention Registration you will receive a registration bag (sponsored this year again by Oticon) filled with lots of goodies including a map of Milwaukee and the 2010 Experience Milwaukee discount card (compliments of VISIT Milwaukee and its members) .

Use the card to receive 1/2 off the price of admission at the following attractions, museums and performing arts venues:

Attractions

Boerner Botanical Gardens

Milwaukee County Zoo

Mitchell Park Domes

Old World Wisconsin

Museums

Betty Brinn Children's Museum

Captain Frederick Pabst Mansion

Charles Allis Art Museum

Discovery World

Harley-Davidson Museum

Millwaukee Art Museum

Milwaukee Public Museum

Villa Terrace Decorative Arts Museum

Performing Arts

Milwaukee Chamber Theater

Milwaukee Reperatory Theater

Skylight Opera Theatre

Come to Milwaukee - You'll Be Glad You Did!

2010-01-18T20:18:00.001-05:00

Welcome to the HLAA Convention Blog!

This is the place to check for convention news. Along with the Convention page on http://www.hearingloss.org/, it has all the latest developments as we plan for Convention 2010 in Milwaukee, June 17-20.

I've said it before, I would move to Milwaukee if I could! I absolutely love it there and I know you will too. Lake Michigan is breathtaking and there's so much to do and see.

Milwaukee Art Museum

This convention has it all - first-rate workshops and presenters, an exhibit hall full of the latest technology and services for people with hearing loss, a world-class research symposium on the latest hearing aid research and development, two special workshops for parents and educators of children with hearing loss, an off-site event at the Harley-Davidson Museum, and the Saturday night banquet with a German flair with entertainment provided by Blakapelle-Milwaukee. It all offically kicks off with the Opening Session keynote speaker, Bill Barkeley, who despite having both hearing and vision loss due to Usher Syndrome, will be an inspiration to us all. He has climed Mount Kilimanjaro, and next summer will lead an expedition of students (some with hearing, some with hearing loss) to the Peruvian Amazon.

Harley-Davidson Museum

Blaskapelle-Milwaukee

Do not miss this convention! Scholarships are available - please see the Convention page for guidelines and the application/nomination form.

See you there!

Hearing Loss Association of America 30th Birthday Celebration Banquet

2009-07-08T18:33:00.002-04:00

By Cheryl Heppner

The HLAA convention program book had a two-page spread on the 30th birthday celebration with a photo and quote from Howard E. "Rocky" Stone, the organization's founder and a short bio of Rocky as well as brief highlights of the past 6 years.

As people arrived and mingled for the 30th Birthday Celebration on June 19, 2009, photos of highlights from HLAA history were shown on the big screen. This touching, inspiring, and sometimes surprising "Thirty Years in Pictures" program was produced by Richard McCollough of American Abilities Television Network. The project was coordinated by Hollace Goodman with help from Joan Kleinrock and Ann Liming.

The host for the evening was Ray Wathen of Houston, who had some great one-liners as well as two-liners, three-liners and beyond. In addition to the finery worn by some attendees, we had some added flash provided by the many people wearing hat or guitar magnets with colored lights on their clothing. These magnets were a reward given to people who had made donations of a certain amount to support HLAA during the conference. A couple at the table next to me went beyond just dressing up their clothing and attached the magnets to what appeared to be their cochlear implant magnets. One of them had a flashing magnet on each side of the head.

Toni Acton of AT&T, the corporate sponsor of the birthday celebration, gave a brief presentation. She recognized HLAA for its major role in both national and local level advocacy and said that the organization’s issues are important to AT&T. A gift from AT&T for each attendee had been placed at our seats. I opened the box with mine, and inside I found something sleek and cylindrical. Immediately I fantasized that we were receiving miniature light sabers. They turned out to be flashlights that could be attached to a lanyard. Given the weather we'd had earlier in the week, tit was an inspired choice, though Toni said she was not worried about tornadoes after having lived previously in Texas for four years.

Our host introduced of Ahme Stone, Rocky's widow, their son Michael, daughters Jolie and Melanie and others in the family. Tables 4, 10 and 19 on the left and 3, 11 and 18 on the right were the lucky tables that given the go-ahead to hit the buffet first to fill their plates. The buffet had some more unconventional choices such as fried green tomatoes and corn fritters, both of which I can assure you were delicious. A good-looking dessert is always a pleasure but the special celebration mousse which had the HLAA name and logo imprinted was definitely a highlight.

Rocky Stone Humanitarian Award

Following dinner, Ahme Stone was escorted to the stage by Colin Cantlie of Canada, both wearing country hats similar to the one Rocky always liked to wear. They presented the 2009 Rocky Stone Humanitarian Award to Ann Liming. In accepting the award, Ann said it had special meaning to her because she knew Rocky as a mentor, role model and best friend. The foundation he laid is still there, she believes, because Rocky didn't just talk; the values he brought to HLAA were how he lived.

"Whether you knew him or not, he impacts you personally,” Ann told us. She said that the people in HLAA helped mold and make her into the person she is today and all had earned the award with her.

Past winners of this prestigious award include some greats from our Metro area: Marjorie Boone, Joan Kleinrock, George Kosovich, Paul Hopler, and George DeVilbiss.

Tributes to Rocky

Ann Liming, with the Rocky Stone Remembrance Committee, had organized a tribute to for Rocky by people who had seen him through their eyes.

Colin Cantlie, whose ancestors are Scottish, said Rocky was a very magnanimous person who also loved to tease him. When asked by Colin to sign a copy of his book "The Invisible Condition" for Colin, Rocky wrote "To Colin, what can I say? You are a wonderful example of all that is Irish." On another occasion, Rocky remarked "That's great; Irish young adults are the future of our organization."

Marcia Finisdore reminisced about how she discovered HLAA and Rocky, and one week later a huge carton from him arrived on her doorstep. Among the qualities she valued in Rocky were his love of a good argument, his love of raising a glass often, and that though he was very, very smart she was a better gin player.

Richard Twitchell, who was "not originally from Chattanooga, but got there as fast as he could" started a chapter after his wife lost her hearing and recalled how his wife came back full of ideas after attending a convention in 1978. She also came back very impressed with Rocky. Years later Richard attended a conference and was equally impressed. Rocky, he said, made friends of everyone he met.

Claude Stout recalled Rocky’s challenge to the rest of us to understand that one size doesn’t fit all people with hearing loss. He lauded Executive Director Brenda Battat’s effective leadership “a shining example” where Rocky has excelled for HLAA's survival today. He also viewed the Stone family as an example in continuing to preserve the ideals and values that Rocky Stone envisioned, and he commended Mike Stone for stepping up to serve as HLAA President.

Barbara Hunter's attempts to set up a chapter with Rocky's encouragement brought just one person to the first meeting -- her husband. After more ideas and encouragement from Rocky, she held a second meeting. Two more people showed up and the rest is history. The chapter now has been in existence for 24 years.

Patrick Holkins arrived at HLAA in the fall of 2004, at a time he hadn't yet come to terms with his hearing loss. At HLAA he found the power of community and now 35 young adults are attending an HLAA convention for the first time. "Together we'll help grow the organization but never forget the man who made it all possible," he said.

Last Words

Julie Olson, representing the Milwaukee organizers who will be hosting the HLAA convention in 2010, promised us beer, brats and cheese, possibly with a polka band thrown in. She talked about the highlights we could look forward to in near proximity to the convention site in downtown Milwaukee.

Ray Wathen closed the program, joking that it had been fun to emcee with 15 sub-wives telling him what to do.

Following the program, Bruce and Kristi Cline and the Music City Wranglers provided music and the tables emptied as people hit the floor to do some line dancing.

See more of Cheryl Heppner reports of the 2009 Hearing Loss Association of America Convention at NVRC.

Cheryl Heppner - This and That

2009-07-02T11:07:00.004-04:00

By Cheryl Heppner

For those readers who don’t know the entire alphabet soup of acronyms particular to deaf and hard of hearing persons, HLAA stands for Hearing Loss Association of America. It was formerly known as Self Help for Hard of Hearing People. And please know that you’re not alone; new words and acronyms keep getting added all the time!

“Tall Guy” found me and sent me an email! The man who gave me printed copies of slides for the Research Symposium is Richard Neely of Dallas, Texas. I sure hope he comes to Milwaukee next year.

Gallaudet University was conducting two studies during the conference. One was on texting in live conversation and the second was to study video cell phones for lipreading. Don’t those sound exciting? I talked with Dr. Judy Harkins as she was recruiting people at a table in the registration area, and later spent some precious minutes with Paula Tucker during her lunch break. It’s awesome to reflect on the last 20 years and realize how instrumental Gallaudet’s research has been to advances in our telecommunications and media access.

Elvis was in the building and lots of people spotted him. They’ll be able to prove it too, with the free picture they taken with him at the Sprint Relay Exhibit. I saw him again at the Cochlear exhibit, or were my eyes deceiving me?

Speaking of pictures, Abbie Cranmer (waving)wrote an HLAA convention blog starting on June 17. There are lots of photos, exhibits and events she covered. The final blog is at http://hlaaconvention.blogspot.com/, and if you go to the end you can click on Older Posts for links that will take you to her previous entries.

I discovered on this trip that airports are much more fun. Now that the new air travel access regulations are in effect, it was great to see captioning on most televisions as I walked through the terminals.

Thanks to everyone who has written to tell us how much they appreciate the conference reports. There’s more coming when we find time to do the writing.

See more of Cheryl Heppner reports of the 2009 Hearing Loss Association of America Convention at NVRC.

CSD-DTV Help Center

2009-07-02T11:04:00.004-04:00

By Cheryl Heppner

The CSD-TV Help Center for deaf, hard of hearing and deaf-blind individuals has been busy helping those who are encountering problems with the digital television transition. Their individual assistance has helped consumers seeking information, including assistance in obtaining coupons and converter boxes and installation. The switch to digital TV has caused consumers to have a lot of questions, and individuals who are able to see their programs but depend on captioning are still reporting widespread problems with the captions. These include captions that are garbled, are early or delayed, in the wrong place, flash on and off the screen, overlap each other, or fill up the entire screen.

CSD-DTV Help Center has been helping to document those problems. They appreciate consumers who have gone to their website to fill out a questionnaire so they have more information and data about the difficulties people are experiencing with captions. It’s at http://dtv.c-s-d.org/survey.

At the end of May the DTV Help Center got a 30-day contract renewal, and they’re hoping to get another extension so they can continue their work. They have done a truly remarkable job of making it easy to contact them with all these options:

Voice: 1-877-DTV-4YOU (1-877-388-4968)

TTY: 1-877-TTY-4CSD (1-877-889-4273)

Videophone IP Address: DTV03.CSD.TV; DTV05.CSD.TV

Videophone Number: 866-351-1950; 866-401-3519

AIM: DTVCSR07; DTVCSR008

Email: DTVHelp@c-s-d.org

Website: http://dtv.c-s-d.org

Their hours of operation are also lengthy: 7 am to 1 am CST, 18 hours a day and 7 days a week.

See more of Cheryl Heppner reports of the 2009 Hearing Loss Association of America Convention at NVRC.

Wireless Hearing Solutions

2009-07-02T11:03:00.002-04:00

By Cheryl Heppner

Brenda Felcoskie, the company’s Customer Service representative, shared information about the wireless products this new HLAA exhibitor carries. The company has a full-time audiologist and product engineer on staff. It offers inclusive trainings on induction loops.

Ten models of bedside clocks with or without a bed shaker were being advertised. I also picked up a brochure on their InLoop system for TV or home theater use. This system can be either wired or incorporated in a cushion that you sit on. The signal from the InLoop is picked up by a hearing aid or cochlear implant T-coil and the audio is sent directly to your hearing aid or cochlear implant. You do not need additional equipment or headphones.

InLoop information: www.inLoop.tv

Wireless Hearing Solutions: www.wirelesshs.com

Toll free: 888-224-4988

See more of Cheryl Heppner reports of the 2009 Hearing Loss Association of America Convention at NVRC.

Hearingimpaired.net and MrPAWS

2009-07-02T10:56:00.005-04:00

By Bonnie O’Leary

Hearingimpaired.net and MrPAWS by Snow make accessories and signage for people with hearing loss. I was very attracted to the variety of colorful, unique products imprinted with the hearingimpaired.net logo on display at this exhibit – bracelets, pins, desk and car decals, t-shirts, doorknob hangers, hospital packs, combo packs, and athlete’s safety vests. I was also drawn to the gorgeous, white German shepherd dog named Snow, sitting patiently behind the exhibit table, ears perked sharply upwards, wisely appearing as if he could answer questions about the display of service dog supplies such as coats, leashes, collars, and auto decals. He even looked smart enough to read the Law Card – a plastic coated copy of the Federal law permitting a service dog entrance to public places.

A Personal Story

Anne Wicklund, who co-owns this international company with her husband, Wayne, noticed how I was straining to understand her in the din of the exhibit area, so she suggested we move to a seat in the quieter hallway. I was very touched by her immediate and genuine concern for my struggle to listen. And it is this genuine concern for the frustrations of all people with hearing loss that inspired them to launch their company in 2001 when Wayne suddenly lost most of his hearing. The Wicklunds, who hail from Fountain Hills, Arizona, had previously owned other businesses, including a mobile check-cashing company, a real estate business, and a security dog company. In search of others who had hearing loss, they discovered the Sun Lakes chapter of what was then SHHH. They made “hearingimpaired” pins to take to the meeting to give away, and everyone wanted one! That was the first hearingimpaired.net product. It generated such a successful response that the Wicklunds created their website, and the idea took off from there.

Product Line Grows

When Wayne realized he hadn’t heard traffic honking at him from behind, he and Anne developed their second product, the hearingimpaired.net automobile window decal. Suggestions and requests for products poured in through their website. For instance, a marathon runner who is hard of hearing asked if Anne and Wayne could design a vest for her to wear in meets and trainings, and the bright orange hearingimpaired.net athletic vest was created and added to the product line. Anne told me they enjoy hearing from their website visitors, especially if they have an idea for a hearingimpaired.net product that should be created.

Snow

Not long after Wayne lost his hearing, Snow came into the Wicklund’s lives, and Wayne focused his training so Snow would alert him to sounds, dangers, people and situations. Having Snow with him all the time introduced Wayne to the challenges of access to public places with a dog, so the line of service dog products was created and added to the hearingimpaired.net catalogue.

To learn more about the range of products available, suggest new ones, or contact Anne and Wayne, visit www.hearingimpaired.net and www.MrPAWS.com.

See more of Bonnie O’Leary reports of the 2009 Hearing Loss Association of America Convention at NVRC.

SafeAwake

2009-07-02T10:55:00.002-04:00

By Cheryl Heppner

Timothy Shaffer, President and CEO of SafeAwake showed me the new pyramid-shaped SafeAwake and answered a barrage of my questions. SafeAwake was developed through a grant from the National Institutes of Health, through which Combustion Science & Engineering, Inc. found the technology to be effective at waking sleeping people in sleep tests. SafeAwake has a flashing white light, and a high decibel, low-frequency audible signal.

I held the round bed shaker in my hand as I listened to an explanation of how it vibrates intermittently, the most optimal way to alert from sleep. The bed shaker reminded me strongly of the quirky mouse that came with my first iMac computer.

Mr. Shaffer explained that the ShakeAwake was built like a medical device and that the final piece of UL approval is expected in October 2009. He wants to be able to sell the product commercially and believes it will also be a good choice for any heavy sleeper with or without hearing loss. Already the power supply for this low-voltage device has UL approval.

From the SafeAwake website: “Conventional home smoke alarms typically warn people to the danger of fire through sound. That leaves deaf and hard-of-hearing people at high risk – especially while sleeping, because ordinary smoke alarms may not be jarring enough to awaken them.”

The company has its headquarters in Columbia, Maryland.

See more of Cheryl Heppner reports of the 2009 Hearing Loss Association of America Convention at NVRC.

Alternative Communication Services (ACS)

2009-07-02T10:53:00.002-04:00

By Cheryl Heppner

Its website proclaims that Alternative Communications Services (ACS) exists to provide the highest quality voice-to-text services possible, delivering Onsite CART, Remote CART, Captioning, Closed Captioning and Text Interpreting services to consumers throughout the world, recognizing the unique strengths of each individual in the process.

I visited with Phil Hyssong to learn more about what ACS business is like these days. Phil said that 60% of their work is now done in education settings. What’s changed, though, is the source of those requests. At one time most of the demand came from higher education institutions which were providing accommodations for graduate students. Then there was a jump in the number of requests for undergraduate students. Now the company is seeing an increasing number of requests to accommodate high school students. Can grade school and the great potential to increase reading levels be next?

See more of Cheryl Heppner reports of the 2009 Hearing Loss Association of America Convention at NVRC.

Hamilton Relay

2009-07-02T10:50:00.002-04:00

By Cheryl Heppner

Hamilton Relay was featuring the new CapTel Model 800i, which is designed for people who have high speed Internet access, telephone service and standard electrical power. This phone has been eagerly awaited for some of its advances, particularly the ability to have a second phone line without paying the monthly charge for a land line. A major advantage of the second line is the ability for people to call you directly without having to first dial a toll-free number for the captioned telephone service.

Some of you may remember Hamilton’s Mitchell Levy from his days working for Virginia Relay. He was my guide in exploring this exciting new CapTel, walking me through feature after feature. Here are some things I found:

- The display screen is sharp with clear text, and you can choose from three sizes – small, medium or large.

- There are choices for color of both background and text, with the ability to preview what the choices will look like before you select them.

- Call History allows you to see a Caller ID for missed calls.

- You can save over 95 phone numbers and you can edit them whenever you want.

- You can choose to save a conversation, review it or delete it.

- There is an answering machine and voice mail capability.

- Ringer volume and pitch can be adjusted.

- You can select either tone or pulse dialing.

- When software upgrades are available, you can push a button to download them.

- A distinctive blue button can be pushed to connect with customer service at any time.

- You can mount the phone on the wall if you desire.

- There are speed dial keys for one-touch dialing of frequently called numbers

- Captions can be turned on or off at any time during a call.

- Volume can be adjusted up to 40 dB

And the best news: Hamilton Relay has a special offer right now. For $99 you can pre-order a CapTel 800i. Shipping is free and they even throw in a Starbucks gift certificate. To sign up: http://www.hamiltoncaptel.com/800i/index.html

See more of Cheryl Heppner reports of the 2009 Hearing Loss Association of America Convention at NVRC.

Panasonic

2009-07-02T09:57:00.006-04:00

By Cheryl Heppner

My first stop was with Panasonic, which has its booth located right inside the entrance to the Exhibit Hall. It was great to reconnect with Tony Jasionowski, Sr. Group Manager for the company’s Accessibility Technology Liaison and Alliance Group. Tony introduced me to some of the company’s newest line of digital cordless phones whose boxes all displayed the logo for meeting TIA standards for hearing aid compatibility.

The models on display included the KX-TG6441 with one handset at $69.95 retail and the 2-handset KX-TG6432 model at $79.95. Panasonic’s cordless line now has lots of options with features such as conference capability, Ringer ID, lighted handset keypad, speakerphone on handset, handset locator, handset intercom, and Call Waiting Caller ID. There are 27 different cordless phone choices. All have DECT 6.0 (Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunication), which operates on the 1.9GHz frequency and is designed to offer excellent sound quality, reduced interference, long range and extended battery life.

Panasonic is one of the companies I have pestered to make it easy to access captions on their line of televisions by having a caption button on the TV remote control, as well as one on the TV itself in case the remote is lost or the battery dies. Tony proudly showed me the remote for the sleek 42” Panasonic TV that the company has donated for a drawing here at HLAA, and even more proudly handed me the remote control. There in the top row of buttons was a clearly marked “cc”. Of course that merited a big hug! The cc button’s addition to the remote has now become a company standard. If you’re as delighted as I am, you can send your thanks to Tony at jasionowskit@us.panasonic.com.

See more of Cheryl Heppner reports of the 2009 Hearing Loss Association of America Convention at NVRC.

Silent Call Communications

2009-06-30T13:30:00.002-04:00

Silent Call Communications attended the 2009 Hearing Loss Association of America Convention at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center. The Silent Call wireless alerting system allows a deaf, deaf/blind, or any other user to be discreetly alerted to the activation of any one of a number of common household devices such as a doorbell, telephone ringer, smoke detector, sound monitor, door or window activity, etc. Use it whenever you cannot hear the doorbell. No need to miss a visitor because you were out gardening or could not hear the doorbell or phone.

A typical system consists of one or more transmitters and one or more receivers. There is no limit to the number of receivers and/or transmitters in a system. Transmitters are available that will interface to a doorbell, telephone ringer, smoke detector, fire and/or intrusion alarm panel, sound monitor, door or window activity, etc.

Basically, you would purchase a Sidekick II Signature Series that will detect a signal from doorbell, telephone ringer, smoke detector, CO detector, fire and/or intrusion alarm panel, sound monitor, door or window activity transmitters, it alerts you by flashing the strobe light and activating the bed vibrator (if used), the colored indicator light for that signal will illuminate and a symbol for that specific transmitter will display on the screen!

ZVRS LLC

2009-06-30T09:30:00.000-04:00

ZVRS formally known as CSDVRS, the 2009 Hearing Loss Association of America Convention at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center. ZVRS is a nationally recognized Video Relay Service provider. Head over there and create a free account and get on the waiting list for the new wireless video phone!

The Z™ Model 340 is, quite possibly, the perfect videophone! It is small, lightweight, supports H.323, and delivers high-quality video over broadband or WiFi connections. With a stunning seven-inch screen that can be closed for safe traveling, this sleek videophone can be placed on your desk, mounted on a wall or connected to your television for larger screen viewing. The rechargeable external battery provides up to two hours of video; if you need more time — simply attach another battery!

ZVRS Services include:

ZVRS - Video relay service (VRS) allows deaf and hard of hearing individuals to have telephone conversations with hearing people. Using a videophone with real-time video connection, an interpreter relays the conversation between the two parties. Available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, ZVRS calls may be placed anywhere within the U.S. and to over 45 countries around the world. (For Spanish-speaking individuals, we also offer HolaVRS.)

Z VCO - (I LOVE THIS!!!) Voice carry-over (VCO) users can place calls using single-line Z™ videophones without needing an additional landline or cellular telephone. Use your own voice to speak to the other party, and the video interpreter will translate what they are saying back to you using one of three communication options: American Sign Language, English-based sign language and English-based sign language with lip reading. Simply dial (888) 888-1116 to use Z VCO today!

Z Meeting - Introducing our brightest idea yet! Z Meeting is the solution for bringing multiple parties into the same telephone conversation — at no charge to anyone! Deaf, hard of hearing and hearing individuals can all participate equally in conference calls when using Z Meeting via video interpreters. The Z™ makes it easy to schedule telephone meetings through a simple sign-up form online, allowing you to meet with anyone, anywhere, any time — without travel! Conducting meetings from home or office has never been so simple! For more information, send an email to zmeetingATzvrs.com.

Lifetone

2009-06-29T22:14:00.001-04:00

Lifetone Technology was at the 2009 Hearing Loss Association of America Convention at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center.

Standard fire alarms and smoke detectors may not wake up people with hearing loss. The first of its kind; the Lifetone HL™ Bedside Fire Alarm and Clock uses a 520 Hz square-wave sound pattern proven by the Fire Protection Research Foundation to be more effective at alerting and awakening people with hearing loss, seniors, children, and heavy sleepers than standard fire alarms. The Lifetone HL is both a state of the art fire alarm and an attractive and easy to use alarm clock. The patented Lifetone HL™ sensor listens for your existing smoke detectors (smoke alarms) and then broadcasts its low frequency, 520Hz square wave sound pattern. Be protected. The Lifetone HL™ helps ensure a life-saving environment for you and the ones you love.

Steve and Debbie Bottles getting drawn at the Lifetone Technology booth.

This next part is extremely important to note. The upcoming 2010 edition of NFPA 72® National Fire Alarm Code has made significant changes to the code especially concerning people who have mild to severe hearing loss. It has been shown that a low-frequency (520 Hz) square wave fire alarm effectively awaken and alerts people who have mild to moderately-severe hearing loss and should be installed in sleeping and guest rooms. If you have a profound loss, this new code requires the use of tactile or vibration in addition to high-intensity strobes in sleeping and guest rooms.

Now, I am one of those in the profound category which means without my cochlear implants, I can put a standard 3100 Hz pure tone sound of current smoke detector to either one of my ears and I can't hear it. Then again, a F-16 fighter jet can take off in my driveway and I wouldn't hear that either. So this is a very real concern for people in my position. When I did the demo of the Lifetone Fire Alarm, I could not hear obviously the low-frequency (520 Hz) square wave but people with a milder/moderate loss were able to hear it without hearing aids or cochlear implants. Thus people in my profound position, must rely on the high-intensity strobes and bed shaker as the new National Fire Alarm Code suggests. Lifetone lacks the strobes for me and it would be perfect if they did.

National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)

2009-06-29T21:51:00.001-04:00

The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) conducts and supports biomedical and behavioral research and research training in the normal and disordered processes of hearing, balance, smell, taste, voice, speech and language. The Institute also conducts and supports research and research training related to disease prevention and health promotion; addresses special biomedical and behavioral problems associated with people who have communication impairments or disorders; and supports efforts to create devices which substitute for lost and impaired sensory and communication function.

Deafness Research Foundation

2009-06-29T21:51:00.000-04:00

Deafness Research Foundation attended the 2009 Hearing Loss Association of America Convention at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center and was the proud sponsor of the Research Symposium: An Update on the Latest Hair Cell Regeneration Research.

For more than 50 years, DRF has worked to make hearing health possible for everyone through quality research and education. As the leading national source of private funding for research, our grants have resulted in treatments for hearing and balance related conditions helping those living with hearing loss and protecting those at risk.

Over 37 million adults and over 1 million children in the United States suffer from some degree of hearing loss. Of adults who suffer from hearing loss approximately:

* 55% are male
* 45% are female
* 8.4 million are between the ages of 18 – 44 years
* 14.3 million are between the ages of 45 – 64 years
* 6 million are between the ages of 65 – 74 years
* 8.3 million are 75 years and over

These numbers are increasing every year due to aging baby boomers (ages 41-59) and Generation Xers (ages 29-40).

In addition to being the leading national source of private funding for research in hearing and balance science, DRF also publishes Hearing Health magazine. Our publication has a circulation of approximately 30,000 and recently won an APEX 2008 Award of Excellence for Magazine & Journal Writing. This valuable consumer resource provides information on technology, treatment, research and issues affecting people with hearing loss.

Teltex

2009-06-29T21:49:00.000-04:00

Teltex joined us at the 2009 Hearing Loss Association of America Convention at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center. Teltex is setting the mark when it comes to providing equipment for the deaf and hard of hearing. They specialize in amplified phones, TTY’s, unique notification and Smoke Detection Systems they provide extra support after the purchase answering any questions you may have.

National Technical Institute for the Deaf at the Rochester Institute of Technology

2009-06-29T21:47:00.000-04:00

National Technical Institute for the Deaf at the Rochester Institute of Technology joined us at the 2009 Hearing Loss Association of America Convention at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center. The National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID) is the world's first and largest technological college for students who are deaf or hard of hearing. It is one of eight colleges of Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), a privately endowed, coeducational university that is student centered and career focused. RIT was founded in 1829, and NTID was formally established by Congress in 1965. It became one of RIT's colleges in 1968. One of the unique features of RIT/NTID is that more than 1,100 deaf and hard of hearing students study, share residence halls and enjoy social life together with more than 14,000 hearing students.

NTID/RIT has a new initiative, Military Veterans with Hearing Loss Project, a program designed especially for veterans of OIF and OEF who have a hearing loss that HLAA is a partner of this project. HLAA is offering a free one-year membership for Veterans of OIF (Operation Iraqi Freedom) and OEF (Operation Enduring Freedom) that you can contact the Membership Department to find out more information. HLAA offered free HLAA Convention 2009 Registration to Nashville to OIF and OEF Veterans as well. Since RIT/NTID is a designated Yellow Ribbon and Servicemembers Opportunity Consortium college with oncampus audiological services, note taking, captioning and other classroom technologies that can cater to our returning troops with a hearing loss to learn their best. This pilot program will be expanded over the next five years to over 200 career programs and majors.

Purple

2009-06-29T21:20:00.000-04:00

Purple attended the 2009 Hearing Loss Association of America Convention at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center. Purple provides a variety of communication services tailored for people who are deaf or hard of hearing.

Video Relay: Hands On VRS® service is the nation's second largest video relay service, and has an unmatched track record for providing its users high-quality communication experiences. Available on videophone, and through customized software called VideoSign, Hands On VRS enables customers choose how and when they make a VRS call. Hands On VRS is also available in Spanish on a videophone through espanol.hovrs.tv.

Text Relay: Introduced in 2004, i711.com is relatively new to the relay industry. With its suite of enhanced calling tools such as a built-in phone book, one-click dialing and other conveniences, i711 quickly grew to be come the second largest text relay service. i711 blends its core communication services, with exclusive video and text content tailored to the interests of the deaf community. i711 provides a great call experience, and a great online gathering place for community content.

Community Interpreting: Purple Language Services combine industry-leading interpreting services, with video remote interpreting (VRI) and communication access real-time translation (CART) services. With convenient online scheduling and billing, and interpreting and translation services available nationwide, Purple Language Services is the ideal partner for your communication and accommodation needs.

Some happy Purple people!

Purple services!

Advanced Bionics

2009-06-29T07:30:00.001-04:00

Advanced Bionics attended the 2009 Hearing Loss Association of America Convention at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center.

Advanced Bionics is dedicated to improving the quality of life for hearing impaired individuals from around the world. As the only American manufacturer of cochlear implants, AB has over 15 years of experience designing and producing high technology devices that enable adults and children with severe to profound hearing loss to hear. Advanced Bionics developed the Harmony™ HiResolution Bionic Ear System to help cochlear implant recipients maximize their hearing potential beyond words and to experience as much of the full spectrum of natural sound—and life—as possible. Click to learn more about AB and its revolutionary cochlear implant technology.

Clarity

2009-06-28T22:08:00.001-04:00

Clarity®, a division of Plantronics, Inc., offers communications solutions to the world’s aging population. A leading innovator and provider of creative solutions, Clarity’s patented technologies, Clarity® Power™ and Digital Clarity Power™ provide customized solutions for customers who otherwise could not communicate easily and effectively with the outside world. As the world’s population grows older, Clarity will continue to provide effective technologies to allow seniors to age in place and maintain their dignity and independence.

Check out these phones from Clarity! There is something for everyone.

Quick Caption

2009-06-28T21:50:00.001-04:00

Quick Caption attended the at the 2009 Hearing Loss Association of America Convention at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center. QuickCaption offers reliable and high-quality real time captioning services nationwide, both onsite as well as remotely via the Internet, and is currently providing services to a number of HLAA chapters! Additionally, QuickCaption offers prompt and professional video/media captioning. If it can be captioned, we can caption it! Some of their services include Realtime Captioning, Video Captioning, Transcription, Stenography Related, and Proofreading.

Two happy little Quick Captioners :)

American Abilities Television Network

2009-06-28T21:49:00.000-04:00

American Abilities Television Network joined us at the 2009 Hearing Loss Association of America Convention at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center. American Abilities Television Network (TM) is a television network devoted to creating, producing and distributing quality programming for and about the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.

Special thanks to Richard McCollough of the American Abilities Television Network for producing “Thirty Years in Pictures.” We are forever grateful to Hollace Goodman who coordinated the project and to helpers, Joan Kleinrock and Ann Liming for their hard work. And,to the many others who submitted photographs - THANK YOU!

Mirusmedia.net produces television programming for Deaf & Hard of Hearing, this service is called (AATV) or American Abilities Television Network (on CW/13 WHAM Time Warner Cable Channel 16 in Rochester, New York) as well as on our website. Lastly we provide meteorological forecasting services for 103.9 WDKX-FM in Rochester, NY. This service is called Weatherfield and is located on the Weatherfied Farm page.

Phonak

2009-06-28T21:14:00.001-04:00

Phonak showed up at the 2009 Hearing Loss Association of America Convention at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center. Phonak is a global leader in the development and manufacture of digital hearing systems. Using state-of-the-art technology, we strive to produce solutions for both adults and children with a hearing loss in the most challenging of listening environments. The ultimate goal of the experts at Phonak is to make a key contribution to the quality of life of those with a hearing impairment, their families, and their friends.

Phonak has a new hearing model called Naída. It is the innovative offering in the Power segment, designed for moderately-severe to profound hearing losses. All Naída models offer exceptional levels of audibility and clarity, an esthetically appealing design and are water-resistant. The complete PowerHearing solution includes SuperPower (13) and UltraPower (675) models, now at three price points. For more details please visit: www.naida.phonak.com.

Phonak FM System Even with the best hearing instruments, most hearing-impaired people notice that they have difficulty hearing in certain situations such as using a telephone, watching television, during a business meeting, or in a restaurant. Using an wireless communication system (FM system) makes communication in all these difficult situations much easier.

Dialog - At home, in a busy street, at the shopping center, or in a restaurant.
Group conversations - Family get-togethers, noisy restaurant, at business meetings or conferences.
Making telephone calls - Phonak wireless systems provide access to all capabilities of modern telecommunication devices.
Watching TV and listening to music - Phonak wireless systems provide access to the entire spectrum of today's information and entertainment technologies.
Schools and further education - In classes at schools and universities, on outings and excursions, in lectures, or on museum tours.
Transportation - Cars, trains, trams and buses.
Sports - Cycling, playing golf, skiing, jogging or hiking.
Events - Theater, in concerts, at the movies, in church services, or at community meetings.

Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA)

2009-06-28T20:54:00.001-04:00

Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) was at the 2009 Hearing Loss Association of America Convention at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center. They are the leading trade association representing the global information and communications technology (ICT) industries through standards development, government affairs, business opportunities, market intelligence, certification and world-wide environmental regulatory compliance. With support from its 600 members, TIA enhances the business environment for companies involved in telecommunications, broadband, mobile wireless, information technology, networks, cable, satellite, unified communications, emergency communications and the greening of technology. TIA is accredited by ANSI.

This is TIA's logo that identifies for consumers telephones compliant with TIA's latest standard for reduced noise and interference when used with T-Coil-equipped hearing aids and cochlear implants!

So when shopping for a telephone and you use the telecoil feature on your hearing or cochlear implant, look for that logo and you will most likely experience less static and/or interference than a non-compliant TIA-1083 phone.

SoundAid Hearing Aid Warranty

2009-06-28T20:52:00.001-04:00

SoundAid Hearing Aid Warranty joined us at the 2009 Hearing Loss Association of America Convention at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center! SoundAid Hearing Aid Warranties knows how valuable hearing aids are to your quality of life and your ability to communicate. They also know from experience how fragile they can be. A hearing aid is just like any other highly specialized precision instrument that is operating in very difficult conditions. It will require repair! The fact is you can get a one year service warranty for less than you pay for a single repair. If you are a new user of hearing aids you know how expensive new hearing aids are. And if you are an experienced user you know how expensive repair can be. Why gamble? They feel very comfortable in saying "it is more expensive not to have a service warranty"

If your hearing aids have ever been damaged due to earwax, perspiration, climate or accident, and they were out of warranty, then you know how fragile these modern day wonders are. You also found out the hard way how expensive repair can be! Worse yet, what if you lost one and had to replace it? Did you know that it is more expensive not to have a service warranty? Our service warranties pick up right where the manufacturer left off, and cover Loss, Damage and/or Component Failure. So weather you need a warranty or repair, now or in the future, we have you covered. SoundAid would like to show you how necessary and affordable a service warranty is, so please visit their site to find out more.

Association of Late-Deafened Adults (ALDA)

2009-06-28T20:50:00.001-04:00

Association of Late-Deafened Adults (ALDA) was at the 2009 Hearing Loss Association of America Convention at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center! The mission of the Association of Late-Deafened Adults (ALDA) is to support the empowerment of late-deafened people. Late-Deafened Adults are people who have lost the ability to understand speech with or without hearing aids after acquiring spoken language. ALDA is committed to providing a support network and a sense of belonging by sharing our unique experiences, challenges and coping strategies, helping one another find practical solutions and emotional support, and working together with other organizations and service providers for our common good.

In ALDA, we find people who share the same experience and work together to find solutions to the everyday challenges of living with hearing loss. When ALDA members get together communication barriers disappear. ALDA's communication philosophy is "Whatever works, works!"

Geemarc Telecom

2009-06-28T20:17:00.000-04:00

Geemarc Telecom is a world wide distributor of specialist communications equipment for the deaf who attended the 2009 Hearing Loss Association of America Convention at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center.

The Geemarc representative flashing his assorted array of telephones!

Geemarc identified a special needs market in 2001. This market targets hearing impaired phone users, to whom finding the right phone or compatible device is extremely important to maximize clarity, minimize feedback and increase usefulness. You can purchase Sound Alert products from them as well!

Hamilton Captel

2009-06-27T10:45:00.000-04:00

Hamilton Captel came to visit us at the 2009 Hearing Loss Association of America Convention at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center. Hamilton Relay provides Traditional Relay and Captioned Telephone services in contracted states, as well as Web CapTel and Internet Relay services across the nation.

The CapTel 800i is the latest addition to the Hamilton CapTel family of solutions. Using your existing phone service and a high-speed Internet connection, the CapTel 800i delivers captions on all incoming and outgoing calls. For more information about the CapTel 800i you can download the CapTel 800i Brochure or simply complete the form here and we'll keep you up to date on all of the details.

Verizon

2009-06-27T10:30:00.000-04:00

Even though someone was noticeably absent from the Verizon booth, they were at the 2009 Hearing Loss Association of America Convention at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center. They were the sponsor of the 2009 HLAA Convention Program Guide (<--- click to download the green version).

Verizon is a global leader in delivering innovation in communications, information and entertainment. We offer consumers, businesses and government first-in-class voice, data and video services over superior wireline and wireless networks. We believe that, by delivering the innovation customers want, we will win in the marketplace, create value for shareowners and make a positive impact.

If you happen to live in the northeast section of the United States, you can take advantage of the Verizon Wireless Accessibility Plan. It gives users unlimited domestic text messaging (including instant messaging) with 100 monthly voice minutes for $39.99 monthly access with a one- or two-year customer agreement. Customers can also subscribe to an optional feature for their BlackBerry or PDA/Smartphone that provides unlimited data usage on the company’s NationalAccess data network for an additional $40 monthly access.

Verizon customers who are deaf or hard of hearing and live in Delaware, New Jersey or Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia and Washington, D.C., Massachusetts, New York and Rhode Island can now use American Sign Language and either a videophone or Web camera to communicate directly with the company about service-related issues.

ICantHearYou®

2009-06-27T09:49:00.001-04:00

ICantHearYou®’s came to the 2009 Hearing Loss Association of America Convention at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center. Their goal is to improve safety and communications between the diverse deaf and hearing populations. ICantHearYou® is the one-stop resource for people who have questions about deafness, safety, cultural, and other related topics.

You can purchase different accommodation devices such as: Alarm Clocks, Doorbell, Door Signs, Safety Alarms, Signalers, Telephone, Headset for the Television, Watches. You can take a look at the variety of books, clothes and jewelry for you and your dog they have to offer!

HearUSA Care Network

2009-06-27T09:45:00.000-04:00

HearUSA Care Network joined us at the 2009 Hearing Loss Association of America Convention at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center. HearUSA is a professional, independently accredited hearing services organization doing business as HEARx, the Hearing Care Network, and HearUSA. We promote consumer awareness, education and utilization of hearing care products and services. Our goal is to provide affordable access to quality hearing care across the country and to bring new standards of care and service in a professional setting.

HearUSA works with people like you — employers, managed care organizations, insurers, unions and other benefit sponsors — who understand the advantage of offering a hearing benefit to their members. If you are an employee, you might want to bring this information to the human resource department. They will help you select the hearing benefit program that best meets the needs of your organization and members. Your hearing care program can provide full or partial coverage for professional hearing services and hearing aid fittings.

HARC® Mercantile

2009-06-27T09:30:00.000-04:00

HARC® Mercantile attended the 2009 Hearing Loss Association of America Convention at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center. They provide a wide variety of assistive listening, communications and alerting devices for the hard of hearing and deaf, including induction loop system, infrared TV listeners, and personal and wide area FM systems. On display are new cell phone solutions, telephones, personal amplifiers, and TV listening devices. consumer awareness, education and utilization of hearing care products and services. Our goal is to provide affordable access to quality hearing care across the country and to bring new standards of care and service in a professional setting.

Happy little HARC'ers :)

National Board for Certification In Hearing Instrument Science

2009-06-26T21:21:00.001-04:00

The National Board for Certification In Hearing Instrument Science was at the 2009 Hearing Loss Association of America Convention at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center. They are an independent, non-profit, credentialing organization, established in 1981 to promote continuing competency assurance of hearing health professionals, and to provide a standard of excellence in hearing healthcare for the consumer. It is the only board certification program in the hearing healthcare industry accredited by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA).

Panasonic - ideas for life.

2009-06-26T20:47:00.001-04:00

Panasonic was at the 2009 Hearing Loss Association of America Convention at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center.

Based in Secaucus, N.J., Panasonic Consumer Electronics Company (PCEC), a market and technology leader in High Definition television, is a Division of Panasonic Corporation of North America, the principal North American subsidiary of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd. (NYSE: MC) and the hub of Panasonic's U.S. marketing, sales, service and R&D operations. Panasonic offers a complete suite of communication and networking solutions, including cordless phones, network cameras and photo and multi-function printers that provide convenience, style and ease-of-use.

Some lucky convention goer won that brand new spankin' TV - a Panasonic’s 42” Viera Plasma 1080p HDTV Model TC-P42S1 on Saturday, June 20 at 4 p.m. Lucky duck!

FYI: Panasonic manufactures hearing aid compatible cordless phones

Alternative Communications Services (ACS)

2009-06-26T20:20:00.000-04:00

Alternative Communications Services (ACS) attended the 2009 Hearing Loss Association of America Convention at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center. They provide the highest quality voice-to-text services possible, delivering these Onsite CART, Remote CART, Captioning, Closed Captioning and Text Interpreting services to consumers throughout the world, recognizing the unique strengths of each individual in the process. They even provide services in Spanish! Read on!

Alternative Communications Services (ACS) booth!

Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) – The instantaneous translation of the spoken language into text and displayed in various forms. English text is produced with less than a two-second delay. For example, a CART writer sits next to a student in a classroom and listens to the professor, transcribing all that is heard, and the English text is being displayed on the computer screen so the student can read along.

Onsite CART can be provided for meetings, classes, training sessions and special events. CART can also be provided REMOTELY.

Remote CART is exactly the same as onsite CART except the provider is in a remote location and listens to an event through the use of a telephone or Voice Over IP (VoIP) connect.

Captioning - The instantaneous translation of the spoken language translated into text and merged with a video signal for broadcast or projection with less than a two-second delay. For example, the captioner's software dials via a phone line into the television station's encoder. The captioner then dials via a second phone line into an audio source at the television station. The captioner listens to the audio and transcribes what is heard.

Closed captions are captions that can only be seen with a device called a "decoder," which is built in most televisions.
Open captions are captions that can be seen all the time. The caption text becomes part of the video signal.

Text Interpreting – The electronic note-taking system that is designed to provide meaning-for-meaning transcription of spoken English into English text. The text interpreter listens to the professor, condenses text (meaning for meaning) and keys in the text via a short-hand method. The student and the text interpreter usually have their own laptops when the service is provided on site. This service is specifically designed for the educational setting. ACS offers Text Interpreting both onsite and remotely.

Sign Language Services -ACS is pleased to offer Sign Language services to our educational and convention planning customers. As the company that listens to you, we have heard that planners and coordinators desire a one-stop shop. We have listened to you.

Sprint Relay

2009-06-26T18:17:00.002-04:00

There was over fifty vendors at the 2009 Hearing Loss Association of America Convention at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center in Nashville, TN! I was running around snapping pictures of the different vendors and learning about the different services and products for the deaf and Hard of Hearing.

The first one is Sprint Relay who just so happened to have sponsored this year Internet Cafe! The convention goers were able to stop by and check their email and update their status on Facebook or whatever. Since Elvis was in the building hanging out by the Sprint Relay booth, we were able to get a free picture printed a mousepad with Elvis.

Elvis and I.

These are some of the services that Sprint Relay provides:

Sprint Video Relay - A conversation is only as good as the technology it’s using. Which is why you won’t find better answering speed, video quality and ease-of-use than with Sprint Video Relay.

Sprint IP Relay - Sprint IP Relay makes communicating on-the-go easier than ever. So no matter where life takes you, with access to an internet connection and computer, you can stay in touch 24/7.

Sprint IP using AIM - Express yourself with Sprint Relay using AIM®. Place or receive calls on any wireless device or computer using AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) with internet access.

Dennis Selznik and a convention goer.

CapTel™ - Getting your point across is no more difficult than dialing a

phone number with Caption Telephone (CapTel™). You’re automatically connected to the captioning service the moment you dial.

WebCapTel® - This web-based service allows individuals who can speak, but have difficulty hearing, to read word-for-word captions on their computer screen.

Relay Conference Captioning - Be heard loud and clear on your next conference call. Sprint Relay Conference Captioning (RCC) combines real-time captioning and voice relay service through one internet connection.

Sprint Relay Service - Take traditional relay technology up a notch with Sprint Relay. Communicate comfortably and dependably using TTY to type your conversation to a Sprint Relay Operator.

Elvis in an intriguing discussion with a convention goer.

Ultratec

2009-06-26T15:00:00.005-04:00

Ultratec was at the 2009 Hearing Loss Association of America Convention at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center. Ultratec is the sponsor of the Exhibit Hall Grand Opening and Reception and Opening Session and Keynote Speaker, Dr. Vinton Cerf, Ph.D.

See word-for-word captions during your phone calls with the CapTel Captioned Telephone from Ultratec, the world’s leading developer of text telecommunication technology for people with hearing loss. Now you can even get phone captions over the Internet! Come make a CapTel call and try it for yourself.

CapTel 800i - Coming Soon! - is a new option designed for people who use VOIP telephone service or who have high-speed Internet access. Learn more

WebCapTel - lets you enjoy telephone conversations with the convenience of online captions. You make / receive phone calls using any phone you want, while reading captions of the call in the Internet browser window on your computer. Learn more

USB Option for Large Print Captions - Now CapTel users can read conversation captions on their computer screen, at any size or font style they choose. The CapTel USB option lets you connect the CapTel phone to a computer to view captions on the computer monitor. Learn more

For more information, visit the CapTel site:

HLAA Convention 2009 Survey

2009-06-26T14:31:00.001-04:00

Thank you so much for attending Convention 2009 in Nashville. Please take a moment to give us some feedback and let us know how we are doing. Note that questions with an asterisk (*) are mandatory (the survey won’t continue until you answer that question).

Click on this link to get started: HLAA Convention 2009 Survey

Thank you in advance for taking the time to complete the survey.

Connections Unlimited

2009-06-26T13:33:00.000-04:00

Connections Unlimited was at the 2009 Hearing Loss Association of America Convention at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center. They are distributors for AudioLink®, ChatterVox®, SchoolPhones™ and other fine listening and speech assisting products.

Cochlear Americas

2009-06-26T13:00:00.001-04:00

Cochlear™ joined us at the 2009 Hearing Loss Association of America Convention at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center. Cochlear™ offers both cochlear and bone-anchored products. Nucleus® Freedom™ features water resistance and is backward compatible with even our earliest products. Our bone-anchored Baha is the industry’s only bone conduction implant system.

Hearing Loss Association of America

2009-06-26T12:41:00.000-04:00

Hearing Loss Association of America was obviously present amongst the booths at Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center. You could have picked up a free copy of the Hearing Loss Magazine and found out more information about the Walk4 Hearing.

AT&T

2009-06-25T13:10:00.001-04:00

AT&T Inc. was the proud sponsor the HLAA 30th Birthday Party at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center. The food was wonderful, the people were fantastic, the music was marvelous.

They are a premier communications holding company. Its subsidiaries and affiliates, AT&T operating companies, are the providers of AT&T services in the United States and around the world. Among their offerings are the world’s most advanced IPbased business communications services and the nation’s leading wireless, high speed Internet access and voice services.

AT&T Relay has more ways to get you connected and keep you connected with friends, family, co-workers, and everyone else you want to communicate with.

In addition to AT&T Relay, they offer Text Accessibility Plan’s (TAP) for the most popular phone - iPhone and iPhone 3G. These Text Accessibility Plans were developed for people who are deaf, hard of hearing, have a speech disability and/or hearing loss, and was designed with input from the community.

The TAP plan for original iPhone is $40.00 per month* and includes:

Unlimited SMS messages
Unlimited data usage (email and web)
$.40 per minute pay-per-use voice
Visual Voicemail

The TAP plan for iPhone 3G $50.00 per month* and includes:

Unlimited SMS messages
Unlimited data usage (email and web)
$.40 per minute pay-per-use voice

To qualify you have to complete the "disability certification forms". New users activate their iPhones in the normal way through iTunes and then have to contact AT&T's National Center for Customers with Disabilities to change over the Text Accessibility Plan.

Oticon

2009-06-25T12:42:00.000-04:00

Oticon joined us at the 2009 Hearing Loss Association of America Convention at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center and was the proud sponsor of the fancy schmacy red and black registration bags.

Oticon is the worlds second largest hearing aid manufacturer. They have just released a solution called Oticon ConnectLineTM. With ConnectLine solutions Epoq users can finally talk on the phone, watch TV and listen to music with just as much ease as everyone else. ConnectLine delivers improved performance in terms of speech intelligibility and sound quality since sounds are streamed directly to the Epoq instruments via the user friendly Oticon Streamer.