Because of concerns about COVID-19, we will not meet in April.
Watch this space for information about our next meeting.
Please take all appropriate measures in dealing with this crisis.
Our March 2 meeting included a general discussion of chapter activities and plans. President Andy Walker conducted an introduction to American Sign Language, as preparation for the visit from the Montgomery County Intermediate Unit later this year. This was enhanced by a video on basic fingerspelling.
Captioning was a topic of discussion in a variety of ways. The Google Live Transcribe system was used again, and proved to be at least moderately successful. The resulting transcript does not separate speakers or topics, and is not easy to read. A modest amount of editing would improve this, and help would be welcome The transcript is available on request to hlaamcc(at-sign)gmail.com.
Other topics discussed:
Hearing aid marketing modes and prices. Some members have used CostCo, with generally satisfactory results.
Noise level in restaurants and other public spaces
HLAA picnic on July 12 at Fort Washington State Park.
April meeting topic TBD, probably focused on assistive technology.
May: Kay Tyberg will discuss strategy for communication in noisy surroundings.
June: MontCo Intermediate Unit visit.
Nancy Hilger, now with Clear Captions, spoke on Getting Hip with Your Hearing.
Hearing aid technology continues to develop at a rapid pace, and she reviewed a number of features that go far beyond the traditional hearing device. The smartphone is become an essential adjunct to the hearing aid, for much more than simple adjusting its parameters.
A new captioning system was introduced, based on Google Live Transcribe software running on a tablet computer and projected on a well
Though hardly perfect, the system is remarkably fast and accurate. It was noted that it is not able to distinguish between individual voices, and sentences are not separated, although paragraphs, at least to some degree, are.
The transcript is available on request to hlaamcc (at) gmail.com
Next meeting March 2.
At the Jeanes Library, 5:30 to 7:30
As always, visitors are welcome.
Our annual holiday party, postponed once by a storm that never really materialized in our area, seemed at risk as another storm threatened. This one too did not cause more than uncertainly about travel.
There are about 18 attendees, and holiday food contributions were appropriate to the season. There was a demonstration of a prototype automatic speech recognition (ASR) captioning system
HLAA MontCo does not meet in January.
Preliminary topics for the remainder of our year:
February 3, 2020
Nancy Hilger , of Advanced Hearing Systems in Warminster, will speak about recent developments in hearing aid technology
March 2, 2020
Round table discussion
April 6, 2020
Montgomery County Intermediate Unit will report on utilization of our contribution to them. There will also be a mini-course on American Sign Language (ASL)
May 4, 2020
Kay Tyberg Devices for to use in noisy situations
June 1, 2020
TBD
The Winter Party has been rescheduled for December 16.
Our December meeting (Monday, December 16) will be our annual holiday social. Please join us to welcome the cold weather (-: …. and to wish each other a comfy and healthy winter. (We’ll convene at 5:30 at the Jeanes Library in Lafayette Hill.)
As always, visitors are welcome.
Please join us.
HLAA MontCo will meet on Monday, November 18. This is not our usual first Monday, because the Jeanes Library is a polling place, and will be preparing for the November 5 election.
There will be a general discussion of hearing challenges, a recap of the Walk 4 Hearing, a presentation of a budget, and plans for a holiday party.
The loop system will be used, and there may also be an opportunity to try out new live captioning software.
As always, visitors are welcome. Please join us.
At the Jeanes Library, November 18, at 5:30
Because of mechanical problems at the Jeanes Library, this meeting is cancelled.
Further details here when available. 10/5/19
On October 7, Kay Tyberg, president of the Blair County chapter will speak about hearing in noisy circumstances, probably the most common aggravation that people with hearing loss deal with. She’ll cover devices and techniques that can help.
The loop system will be used, and there will be CART (real time captioning) for this meeting.
As always, visitors are welcome. Please join us.
At the Jeanes Library, October 7, at 5:30
Chapter officers discussed plans for the year, touching on:
Chapter finances.
Meeting topics.
The Walk4Hearing October 20
Future leadership.
Sharon Carroll, Engagement Manager for Cochlear America spoke about current and future implants and accessories, including:
Cochlear America Presentation
Smartphone streaming, currently limited to iPhone, but will be extended to Android.
MRI compatibility
“Bring Back the Beat”, a iPhone app designed to enhance music appreciation for CI users. There was a lengthy discussion of musical experience.
On October 7, Kay Tyberg, president of the Blair County chapter will speak about hearing in noisy circumstances, probably the most common aggravation that people with hearing loss deal with. She’ll cover devices and techniques that can help.
At the Jeanes Library, October 7, at 5:30
Several dozen HLAA members and friends enjoyed the annual picnic at Fort Washington State Park on July 14. Warm and breezy weather made for a very enjoyable afternoon, as did a variety of food and drink.
The September 9 meeting (NOT the first Monday of the month) will feature a Cochlear America representative on the topic of music appreciation with the cochlear implant.
Once again MONTCO HLAA invites HLAA members, families and friends to a picnic at Fort Washington State Park on Sunday July 14, 2019. This is our fifth time at this great spot, just about a mile from the Fort Washington exit of the turnpike. We’ll be in the Militia Hill area, just off Joshua Road at the MHL-3 Pavilion. This is adjacent to a nice playground and restroom facility. The picnic will be held rain or shine from 1 to 5 p.m.
MHL-3 is not far from the FWSP gate on Joshua Road. There is also an entrance on Militia Hill Road. It’s about a mile from the intersection of PA73 and PA309.
You can click on these Google coordinates
40.117212 N, 75.229444 W to get a Google map to the location.
This will be an agenda-free social event, with food on a potluck basis.
We will provide:
However, we will not provide any:
We’d like to have some idea of how many people might come. The pavilion has a seating capacity of 80. If possible, please let Patty Cortez (pattypeep( at )gmail.com) know if you plan to attend.
Potluck 101: Bring a food item for 6-8 people. If possible, please let Diana Bender (DandRBender( at )aol.com) know what you are bringing.
If you would like to join the picnic committee and offer to help, please contact Kathy Harral (k.harral( at )verizon.net).
We’ll cancel only for extreme weather. Any change will be posted here on hlaamcc.org.
Hope to see you there!!
HLAA - Montgomery County Chapter 