HEARING LOSS ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA, MONTGOMERY COUNTY CHAPTER NEWSLETTER
APRIL 2009
Montco Chapter Officers:
President:DonnaPenman,phone:610-292-9003or610-279-0905;Emailaddress:pen447@verizon.netorpenguin2@tmail.com
Treasurer:KathyHarral Secretary:LauraSkwirutAssistiveTechnology:DonGroff
Newslettercommittee:DianaBender,email:bender@hla-pa.org,andDonGroff
Meetings:1stWednesdayofeachMonth,exceptJulyandAugust:Jeanes’ Library,4051JoshuaRoad,LafayetteHill,PA,7:00 – 9:00p.m.
*******************************************************************************************************************
Montco Members shine at Legislator Reception!
A record crowd of 180 Philadelphia area residents gathered on March 28, 2009 at the Fort Washington Holiday Inn for a reception to thank Representative Allyson Schwartz for her support of the Hearing Aid Tax Credit Bill. Montco members Don Groff and Rod Ryan were featured speakers who spoke about how hearing aids enabled them to live productive lives, both personally and professionally.
The program was moderated by HLAA member Carolyn Meyer, whom many of our members know from our annual HLA-PA banquet. A group of children who attended the Clarke Pennsylvania Auditory Oral Center in Bryn Mawr, PA opened the program by leading the group in the Pledge of Allegiance.
In her comments, Representative Schwartz noted that healthcare reform is an important part of the Congressional agenda this year, and she added that this would provide a good opportunity enact the hearing aid tax credit. Rep. Schwartz, known as a healthcare expert, is one of the 10 House Ways and Means Committee members who have co-sponsored the legislation – a record amount of support from the Committee that has jurisdiction over the legislation. As a member of the Pennsylvania Senate from 1990 to 2004, Rep. Schwartz was a leader on healthcare issues. Her efforts there led to the creation of the Children’s Health Insurance Program in 1992 which served as the model for the federal plan that provides insurance to millions of children.
Representative Schwartz addressed the audience and said, “It does really matter in our political system for us to hear from constituents about what you care about and what matters to you. So thank you for speaking up and speaking really loudly about this. And I’m going to encourage you to keep doing that because this next year is enormously important because this is a year we are going to really work hard to make sure that we get quality, affordable, accessible healthcare to all Americans.”
Research Symposium at the HLAA Nashville Convention
One of the features of any HLAA convention is the research symposium, and this year’s convention will not disappoint its attendees. The Deafness Research Foundation will be sponsoring “An Update on the Latest Hair Cell Regeneration Research” on Friday, June 19, 2009 from 9 am until 12 noon. Top scientists in the field will use the opportunity to present their latest findings. If you’re going to the convention, be sure to attend the research symposium.
Memory Loss Affects Hearing
AccordingtoarecentarticleintheArchivesofOtolaryngology:HeadandNeckSurgery(July2008),theresultsfromacase-controlstudysuggestthatevenmildmemoryimpairmentadverselyaffectscentralauditoryfunctionandhearing.Inthestudy,Dr.GeorgeA.Gates,fromtheUniversityofWashingtoninSeattle,andcolleaguesusedavarietyofteststoassesscentralauditoryfunctionin232subjectswithoutmemoryloss,64withmildmemoryimpairment,and17withdementia.
Withcertaintypesofcentralauditorydysfunctioninthestudy,patientsexperienceddifficultyhearingwhenotherauditorystressorsarepresent.Forinstance,theresultsofthetestsshowedtheyhaddifficultyhearingaconversationinacrowdedroom.Thiswouldtranslateintosomeoneatacocktailpartyunabletohearwhenanumberofotherconversationsweretakingplacenearby.
On all of the auditory tests, scores worsened as memory ability went from unimpaired to mildly impaired to dementia. This finding held true even after adjusting for age and peripheral hearing status.
The conclusions of the article recommends that that central auditory testing be considered in the evaluation of older persons with hearing loss complaints.
Next Meeting: Here’s the Scoop on Hard of Hearing People!
Diana Bender will talk about hearing loss and technology used by hard of hearing people to communicate better. Hearing aids are just the first step – come and find out the differences between FM, infrared and loop assistive listening systems. Being hard of hearing affects families as well as the person who can’t hear well. Diana will discuss difficulties faced by both hard of hearing people and their hearing families.
This presentation was prepared by Carolyn Meyer and Diana and presented to doctorate level audiologist students studying Salus University last January.
Please join us on
Wednesday,
May 6, 2009,
downstairs in the Jeanes’ Library.
The meeting will start promptly
HEARING LOSS ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA, MONTGOMERY COUNTY CHAPTER NEWSLETTER
APRIL 2009
Montco Chapter Officers:
President:DonnaPenman,phone:610-292-9003or610-279-0905;Emailaddress:pen447@verizon.netorpenguin2@tmail.com
Treasurer:KathyHarral Secretary:LauraSkwirutAssistiveTechnology:DonGroff
Newslettercommittee:DianaBender,email:bender@hla-pa.org,andDonGroff
Meetings:1stWednesdayofeachMonth,exceptJulyandAugust:Jeanes’ Library,4051JoshuaRoad,LafayetteHill,PA,7:00 – 9:00p.m.
*******************************************************************************************************************
Montco Members shine at Legislator Reception!
A record crowd of 180 Philadelphia area residents gathered on March 28, 2009 at the Fort Washington Holiday Inn for a reception to thank Representative Allyson Schwartz for her support of the Hearing Aid Tax Credit Bill. Montco members Don Groff and Rod Ryan were featured speakers who spoke about how hearing aids enabled them to live productive lives, both personally and professionally.
The program was moderated by HLAA member Carolyn Meyer, whom many of our members know from our annual HLA-PA banquet. A group of children who attended the Clarke Pennsylvania Auditory Oral Center in Bryn Mawr, PA opened the program by leading the group in the Pledge of Allegiance.
In her comments, Representative Schwartz noted that healthcare reform is an important part of the Congressional agenda this year, and she added that this would provide a good opportunity enact the hearing aid tax credit. Rep. Schwartz, known as a healthcare expert, is one of the 10 House Ways and Means Committee members who have co-sponsored the legislation – a record amount of support from the Committee that has jurisdiction over the legislation. As a member of the Pennsylvania Senate from 1990 to 2004, Rep. Schwartz was a leader on healthcare issues. Her efforts there led to the creation of the Children’s Health Insurance Program in 1992 which served as the model for the federal plan that provides insurance to millions of children.
Representative Schwartz addressed the audience and said, “It does really matter in our political system for us to hear from constituents about what you care about and what matters to you. So thank you for speaking up and speaking really loudly about this. And I’m going to encourage you to keep doing that because this next year is enormously important because this is a year we are going to really work hard to make sure that we get quality, affordable, accessible healthcare to all Americans.”
Research Symposium at the HLAA Nashville Convention
One of the features of any HLAA convention is the research symposium, and this year’s convention will not disappoint its attendees. The Deafness Research Foundation will be sponsoring “An Update on the Latest Hair Cell Regeneration Research” on Friday, June 19, 2009 from 9 am until 12 noon. Top scientists in the field will use the opportunity to present their latest findings. If you’re going to the convention, be sure to attend the research symposium.
Memory Loss Affects Hearing
AccordingtoarecentarticleintheArchivesofOtolaryngology:HeadandNeckSurgery(July2008),theresultsfromacase-controlstudysuggestthatevenmildmemoryimpairmentadverselyaffectscentralauditoryfunctionandhearing.Inthestudy,Dr.GeorgeA.Gates,fromtheUniversityofWashingtoninSeattle,andcolleaguesusedavarietyofteststoassesscentralauditoryfunctionin232subjectswithoutmemoryloss,64withmildmemoryimpairment,and17withdementia.
Withcertaintypesofcentralauditorydysfunctioninthestudy,patientsexperienceddifficultyhearingwhenotherauditorystressorsarepresent.Forinstance,theresultsofthetestsshowedtheyhaddifficultyhearingaconversationinacrowdedroom.Thiswouldtranslateintosomeoneatacocktailpartyunabletohearwhenanumberofotherconversationsweretakingplacenearby.
On all of the auditory tests, scores worsened as memory ability went from unimpaired to mildly impaired to dementia. This finding held true even after adjusting for age and peripheral hearing status.
The conclusions of the article recommends that that central auditory testing be considered in the evaluation of older persons with hearing loss complaints.
Next Meeting: Here’s the Scoop on Hard of Hearing People!
Diana Bender will talk about hearing loss and technology used by hard of hearing people to communicate better. Hearing aids are just the first step – come and find out the differences between FM, infrared and loop assistive listening systems. Being hard of hearing affects families as well as the person who can’t hear well. Diana will discuss difficulties faced by both hard of hearing people and their hearing families.
This presentation was prepared by Carolyn Meyer and Diana and presented to doctorate level audiologist students studying Salus University last January.
Please join us on
Wednesday,
HLAA - Montgomery County Chapter 