HLAA – Montgomery County Chapter

Dr. Brenner

Gail Brenner, Au.D,  described the nature of tinnitus, its history, which spans nearly all of recorded history, and discussed various means of treating it.  Many in our audience of 17 deal with it in varying degrees.

Dr. Brenner is an expert in tinnitus and its related conditions, hyperacusis and adult misophonia.  She has lectured internationally and taught and mentored doctoral students in the field.  She received her clinical doctorate in audiology from the University of Florida and is a fellow of the American Academy of Audiology and a member of the Academy of Doctors of Audiology.  Licensed in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, Gail has been trained in such state-of-the-art treatments as Tinnitus Retraining Therapy (TRT) and Neuromonics.

The presentation will cover the following:

• What IS tinnitus and what it is not- Clarifying the myths.
• Statistics- how many people have tinnitus ?
• What can be done? What management strategies are available today.
• Questions and Answers
• And much more….

CART transcript is available   hlaamcc(at)gmail(dot)com

Our December meeting will be a holiday social event, December 7, 2015.
Watch for details here.

Alison Mendez, Engagement Manager- New York for Cochlear Americas spoke at our October 5 meeting. She is  a teacher of the deaf by certification, and has worked with Cochlear for 5 years.

Alison described  the Cochlear N6 cochlear implant,  and related wireless technology, and Cochlear resources available to recipients.  She also described the BAHA device, and  the latest developments in hybrid CI technology.

The discussion ranged widely, and attendees brought many questions.  Some examples:

• Eligibility for a cochlear implant.
• Performance relative to a hearing aid.
• Resources available for new users
• Backward compatibility
• Reliability records
• Future developments

Technical difficulties prevented the CART system from working, and no transcript is available.

For our November 2 meeting,  Gail Brenner, Au.D, a specialist in tinnitus and sound sensitivity will speak.  Many of us have to deal with what we do hear as well as what we don’t hear, and Dr. Brenner  has extensive experience in dealing with tinnitus.

Our meeting room has a hearing loop, and CART will be provided.  The meeting time is 6:00 to 7:45.

As always, visitors are welcome.

Attendees totaled 18 at this meeting, two weeks later than the usual date.  Several visitors were in the group.

This was a round table forum, on a variety of topics, including:

Installed new officer;  President Don Groff, VP position is open

Scheduled and proposed meeting topics for the coming year

Activities apart from meetings e.g. a possible theater outing

Possible adjustment of meeting calendar.  The notion of starting the meeting at 5 p.m. rather than 6 was favored by many, since starting at 6 puts travel at the peak of rush hour traffic.

Details about the upcoming (10/18) Walk4Hearing were presented.  It has been confirmed that registration starts at 10 and the walk starts at 11 a.m.   Details at  Walk4Hearing

The topic of noisy restaurants , of interest to many was discussed in several major newspaper article, such as  the  N Y Times    and    Philadelphia Inquirer.

 Our next meeting, October 5, will feature a presentation by Cochlear America.

There were sixteen in attendance as Don discussed a wide variety of remote microphone configurations.  Audience members contributed their observations and demonstrated devices that have been useful.

Don Describes Tin Cans on a String.

Diana Describes a Letter in Support of a Hearing Aid Tax Credit

Elaine and Kathy Discuss the Roger Pen

Alice Describes Her Preferred Devices

CART transcript available on request to hlaamcc@gmail.com

(original post)
Don Groff will review the range of devices that are available to help in those situations where hearing aids are not enough. The fundamental device for these situation is the remote microphone. The discussion  will be in the context of the most primitive Hearing Assistance Technology – two tin cans on a string!
Tin Can #1 often a microphone of some sort, but could also be the sound track of a movie, or even a cell phone.
The String might simply be a wire, an FM system, an IR system, an induction loop, or a Bluetooth-type RF streaming signal.
Tin Can #2 could be a headset or a T-coil in your hearing aid.
There might even be a second string and a third tin can!
In all cases, the goal is to bring the desired sound directly to the listener’s ear, with minimum reverberation and background noise, no matter if the cost is $10 or $1,200.

CART will be provided.

May 4, 2015 at 6 p.m. at the Jeanes Library

Please join us!

Our group of fourteen included two visitors, Ann and Mark  The round table discussion touched on many topics, among them:

Earmold types, materials, problems, and maintenance.
Remote microphone types, especially new products that deal with multiple speakers.
Cochlear implant eligibility.
Local venues with hearing assistance, including loop systems.
The Lunch & Learn program on 4/19.
Chapter Facebook page.
Future meeting topics.

In May, Don Groff will discuss a range of hearing assistance devices, from Pocketalkers to Comtechs to Bluetooth streaming devices and the like.

Emilio and Patty Cortez have been alarmed  at the very high sound levels that they’ve encountered at restaurants, entertainment facilities, and especially at gymnasiums, where people are presumably concerned about their well being. They have embarked on a campaign called Turn Down the Volume to educate the public about the danger of Noise Induced Hearing Loss.

Dr. Cortez with Headphones

Dr. Cortez described their efforts to bring sound levels under control at a variety of locations, with varying degrees of success, often finding lip service in support of the issue, and indifference at the front lines.  As is often the case with hearing loss issues, denial is a constant factor.

March 2 Audience

He demonstrated a number of sound level meters, and pointed out that smartphones can serve this function, using many different apps, some of them free.

If excessive levels can’t be avoided, by necessity or preference, earplugs are a simple countermeasure, and he demonstrated their use.

Headphones are now available with level limiting features, and Dr. Cortez brought a number of samples.  These units are supposed to limit the effective sound level to 85dBA, although some products indicate higher levels.

The web site DangerousDecibels  has a wealth of information about NIHL causes, prevalence, and measures to deal with it.  It is 100% preventable!

Under 85 keeps your hearing alive.

CART transcript available on request to hlaamcc@gmail.com

Emilio Cortez, Ed.D., is the co-chair of HLAA’s: “Turn Down the Volume Committee.” The topic of Dr. Cortez’s presentation will concern Noise-induced Hearing Loss. Disseminated information will include: the causes and prevention of Noise-induced Hearing Loss and anecdotal accounts related to the challenges of informing the public about Noise-induced Hearing Loss. (Attendees are encouraged to bring their smart phones to the presentation.)
Dr. Cortez considers himself as a fortuitous survivor of the Philadelphia School District where he taught English to foreign students for thirty years. He received a doctoral degree in English Education from Temple University, and he has taught as an adjunct professor at St. Joseph’s University, Temple University, and West Chester University. The first of his 30 published articles was entitled: “Lip-Reading: A Viable Approach to Language Teaching in the EFL Classroom.”

Please join us at the Jeanes Library on March 2 at 6:30 p.m for this important topic.