HEARING LOSS ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA, MONTGOMERY COUNTY CHAPTER NEWSLETTER
FEBRUARY 2011
Montco Chapter Officers:
President
: Donna Penman, phone: 610-279-0905; Email address: pen447@verizon.net Vice-President: Patty Cortez; email:
Meeting Schedule: 1st Monday of each Month, except January, February, July and August: Gerber Room, 2nd floor Mercy Suburban Hospital, 2701 DeKalb Pike (Route 202), East Norriton, PA , 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.
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HLAA Convention June 16-19, 2011 in Washington, DC
Don’t miss this year’s convention which will take place at the Hyatt Regency in Crystal City, VA, just outside of Washington, DC.
Educational workshop topics include:
• Advocacy and Government Affairs
• Hearing Technology
• Medical Issues
• Relationships (with Friends, Family and Employer)
• Young Adults
Here are some of the highlights of what awaits you there:
Thursday, June 16th
:•
Exhibit Hall Grand Opening• Afternoon workshops
• Opening Session with keynote speaker, Chris Artinian, CEO of Morton’s Restaurant Group. The Artinian family is the subject of “Sound and Fury
“
•
Full day of workshops and exhibit hall• Saturday evening banquet bids farewell to convention attendees and welcomes Loop Conference attendees.
Sunday, June 19th
•
Awards Breakfast and CeremonyIn addition to the above, there will be a special off-site event for young adults. We are currently exploring the idea of a scavenger hunt in the area of the National Mall – we’ll keep you posted!
And if you’re interested in assistive technology, stay an extra day and participate in the 2nd International Hearing Loop conference. The conference is being hosted by HLAA, in collaboration with the American Academy of Audiology at the same site. The conference will conclude at noon on Monday, June 20th.
For more information, please go to
HLA-PA Scholarship for the HLAA Convention
HLA-PA is offering a scholarship to a Pennsylvanian who has never been to an HLAA convention. You must be a member of HLAA to qualify. The scholarship award is $500 in addition to payment of the convention registration fee. The deadline to apply is April 30, 2011 and more information is available on our website,
www.hla-pa.org, or by contacting Russ Green, Scholarship Committee Chairperson, at scholarship@hla-pa.org
Hearing Aid Costs
What is the range of hearing aid prices for today’s digital hearing aids? You may be surprised to learn that hearing aid prices have actually decreased relatively over time when compared to the rate of inflation. Today’s digital hearing aids prices range from approximately $1000-$5000 per hearing aid, depending upon the level of technology selected.
Considering when the cost is averaged over the lifetime of the hearing aids (3 – 5 years or more), the cost per day of a pair of highly featured, advanced digital hearing aids is about $3 – less than a large mocha at your favorite coffee shop. Considering hearing aids are proven to not only help you hear better, but to actually improve the quality of life for people with hearing loss and their families, that is money well invested.
Editor’s note: HLAA continues to believe that US consumers are paying too high a price for hearing aids, but I thought you’d be interested in industry’s take on this.
HLA-PA Advisory Council
The HLA-PA Advisory Council is very fortunate to be able to welcome Don Groff, Montco’s Assistive Technology expert, as its newest member. Don will replace Donna Penman who has served on the council for the past 6 years. Thanks to both Montco members for volunteering their valuable time for the state office!!!
Spring HLA-PA Banquet
Don’t forget to put the HLA-PA Eastern Regional banquet on Sunday May 1, 2011 on your calendars. The banquet luncheon will take place at the Radisson Valley Forge Hotel in King of Prussia from noon until 2:30 p.m. and the cost per person is $35. For more information and to register please check our website at
Quote of the Month
”
No one can make you feel inferior without your permission.” Eleanor Roosevelt
Next Meeting: PIAT
“For people without disabilities, technology makes things easier. For people with disabilities, technology makes things possible.”
As hard of hearing individuals we know only too well the truth of the above quotation, which is prominently displayed on the website of Pennsylvania’s Initiative on Assistive Technology (PIAT). Our speaker this month is Karen Latimer, the Assistive Technology Specialist for PIAT, which is located at the Institute on Disabilities at Temple University here in Philadelphia. Karen has been involved in the field of Assistive Technology and Disability Service for over 20 years. Before her service to PIAT, Karen was a Student Services Coordinator at Disability Student Services at Temple University.
Prior to her service at Temple, she was the CEO at TECH4U Adaptive Solutions, LLC in Phoenix, Arizona where she trained and assisted Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors to provide Assistive Technology solutions for clients.
Please join us for our next meeting which will be held on
MONDAY,
March 7, 2011
beginning at 6:30 p.m. at the Mercy Suburban Hospital.
Hope to see you all there!
or contact Alice Dungan, who is in charge of registration for the event.
Sept. 2010 issue of Healthy Hearing, a hearing industry publication. Written by Paul Dybala Ph.D., President & Editor-in-chief, Healthy Hearing
or by snail mail at 106 Mountainview Drive, Chesterbrook, PA 19087.
or contact your news editor.
, the movie which documents one family’s struggle with the decision to obtain a cochlear implant for their child.
• Get Acquainted Party
Friday, June 17th
:• Research Symposium on the impact of noise on hearing
• Afternoon workshops; exhibit hall open
• Off-site event; currently working to arrange discounted tickets to a captioned performance of “Wicked” at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
Saturday, June 18th:
, and Don Groff
Treasurer
: Kathy Harral Assistive Technology: Don GroffNewsletter committee
: Diana Bender, email:
HLAA - Montgomery County Chapter 