HLAA – Montgomery County Chapter

In lieu of our regular first-Tuesday meeting, members are encouraged to attend the conference presented by HLAA-PA on Saturday April 29.

WHEN: Saturday, April 29, 2023, from 9:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
WHERE: St. David’s Episcopal Church, 763 South Valley Forge Road Wayne, PA 19087
COST PER PERSON: $35 (includes continental breakfast and buffet lunch)

It will include:/

Becoming that Fabulous Person with Hearing Loss – presented by Gael Hannan

As a person with lifelong hearing loss, Gael Hannan has learned a few lessons along the
way. Come find out what we must add to our life when we can’t delete our hearing loss.

and

Bluetooth LE Audio: A look under the hood– presented by Linda Kozma-Spytek, M.A., CCC-A

Bluetooth LE Audio is what enables AuracastTM broadcast audio, which is
expected to become the next generation assistive listening technology. The talk will cover all the latest in Bluetooth technology and its capabilities.

Details and registration form available at:
https://hlaa-pa.org/docs/AprilConf3.pdf

Our next regular meeting will be on May 2.

About a dozen members and friends of HLAAMCC enjoyed holiday desserts and conversation, in spite of rain and fog.

/We will not meet in January and February, Please plan to join us on March 7, 2023, and watch this space for details.

Please plan to join us on Tuesday, October 4, at 5:30 pm  We will meet in person at Jeanes Library.

There were twelve in attendance. Judy Shugarts of the Chester County chapter spoke about her experience with a variety of wireless microphone systems. They vary a good deal in functional details, cost, and overall performance.

Our November meeting will be an online event on the 16th, and will be a presentation about the Pennsylvania Assistive Technology Foundation PATF. The website https://patf.us/ explains the organization in detail.

Our Holiday Party will be held on December 6. Details later..

In addition to continuing to re-connect after the disruption of COVID, we have two items on our agenda.  They are:

1)      Demonstration of the Onn omnidirectional microphone by Judy Shugarts.

2)      Discussion of a question raised at a previous meeting:  Do you  feel isolated when, despite using all of the recommended strategies, you can’t hear family members – at meals, playing games, sharing stories., etc..? 

Please plan to join us for what promises to be an informative and engaging meeting.   Tuesday, October 4, at 5:30 pm.

Hoping to see you on October 4!

Visitors are welcome. Please join us.

Cathie Harvey and Andy Walker

/

Please join the Montgomery County Chapter of the Hearing Loss Association of America for an in-person meeting at the Jeanes Library. This is our first in-person, indoor meeting since March 2020.  It will be a perfect time for newcomers to learn about the HLAA and for current members to re-connect and tap into our community of support.  We will bring our collective experience to bear on questions and concerns of living with the range of assistive devices that we so depend upon.

Please note: The room at Jeanes is looped and can be accessed by telecoil. The library requests that we observe basic COVID public safety guidelines. Masks are optional as of late August.

Jeanes Library is located at 4051 Joshua Road, Lafayette Hill, 19444.   We will gather at 5:30 PM and will end by 7:30 PM.  

We look forward to seeing you on Tuesday, September 6 , at 5:30 PM.

Andy Walker, President

Cathie Harvey, Treasurer

After a break in January and February, our Mont Co HLAA will meet on March 1, from 6 to 7 pm on Zoom. We will have chapter updates and an opportunity to share and connect.  Please note the date/time and plan to join us. A Zoom link will be provided to those on our list. If you are not sure if you are on that list, please contact us using the contact form below.

We do not plan to meet in April. If the pandemic subsides adequately, we might be able to meet in person in May.

The New York City HLAA chapter maintains a list of online events of interest to the hearing loss community. You can find it HERE

Our December meeting has always been our holiday party and this year we are continuing our tradition – on Zoom. We will gather on Zoom from 6 PM to 7 PM on December 7, 2021. In place of our pot luck dinner, we are suggesting that you have your favorite holiday beverage – eggnog, hot cocoa, wine, peppermint latte – on hand. We will share memories of a most appreciated gift – from childhood or another time in our lives.

Covid and the limitations it has on our in-person gatherings is challenging. We still need connections with each other as we navigate our lives with hearing loss. Please join us on December 7. It is one thing we can each do to keep our connections strong .

After December we will not meet again until March, 2022 when we will have an update about Jeanes Library and can think about the months ahead.

Join us on zoom with your favorite holiday drink on December 7 at 6 PM. A reminder and the zoom link will be sent out on December 6. We look forward to being with you and hearing about your most appreciated holiday gift!

HLAA MontCo continues to meet virtually while masking requirements are in place.

We met on October 5, with 12 attendees. The meeting was primarily a presentation by Ronnie Adler about the upcoming Walk 4 Hearing, October 17, at the Navy Yard in Philadelphia.

MontCo Chapter will not meet in November. Our next meeting will be on December 7.

We inadvertently scheduled the September HLAA meeting in conflict with the
Jewish New Year. Therefore we are changing the meeting date.

Our new plan is to meet on Tuesday, September 21, on Zoom. We will meet
from 6 PM to 7PM.

Thank you for your understanding and your cooperation with this change. We
look forward to being together with everyone on Tuesday, September 21 from
6-7 PM on Zoom.