Just Arrived!

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.

(e

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

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. 

(e

Presenting Hamilton CapTel!

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. 

(e

Hearing Aid Decorated For 2011 HLAA Convention

What do you think?

(e

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

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?

(e