HLAA – Montgomery County Chapter

At our  April meeting, MontCo member Chris Doig spoke about  Multiple Microphone hearing assistance systems.  The topic deals with one of the most frustrating situations for those of us with hearing loss; listening to a number of people in a noisy environment.  There are a number of remote microphones available, and they can help to hear one person, but they don’t work well for more than one.

She brought examples of several multi-mike systems. It was clear that extending hearing assistance beyond a single remote microphone involves a considerable  increase in complexity and cost, but the results may be worth it. There were seventeen in attendance.

Chris is a recent graduate of the N-CHATT program of the the HLAA national office, and has extensive experience with hearing assistance technology.  Her presentation is derived from that program.  Her PowerPoint file contains many references and links to equipment suppliers.  It is available on request to hlaamcc@gmail.com

For our May 7 meeting, Dr. Judith Curtin will speak about psychological aspects of hearing loss.  She a faculty member at West Chester University, an audiologist and  speech pathologist, with broad experience with many aspects of hearing loss.

There will be CART for her presentation, and the loop system will be used.

As always, visitors are welcome.

June 4:  A panel of audiology students from Salus University

July 15:  HLAA picnic at Fort Washington State Park.

Jorge Zavala, Au.D. spoke at our March 5 meeting. Dr. Zavala is the owner of Norriton Hearing Center.  His presentation ranged widely, but focused on the multiplicity of wireless accessories now available.  These include a variety of phone interfaces and remote microphones.  There was extensive discussion of successes and failures of devices used by members.

Dr. Zavala

The April 2 meeting will be a continuation of the ALD workshop that we had at the February meeting, a round-table event that members found valuable.

The MH-3 Pavilion at Fort Washington State Park has been reserved for a picnic on July 15, 2018

Save the date and spread the word.

After a winter break, the MontCo chapter met on February 5, 2018, as usual, at the Jeanes Library, with 14 in attendance.

The meeting was an informal round-table event, generally focused on assistive devices, a format that has proven popular in the past. Attendees brought  their favorite, or even least favorite hardware for show-and-tell.  The discussion covered the gamut, from Pocketalker devices to the Roger Pen and other streaming (paired) systems.

Glen Harris provided a brief review of “Wired for Sound” by Beverly Biderman, who received a cochlear implant in 1993, when they are relatively uncommon.

It was agreed that that MontCo would again sponsor a picnic at Fort Washington State Park in July, and hope was expressed that we can get increased participation from other chapter in the area.

At our March 5 meeting we will welcome Jorge Zavala, AuD,  who will discuss current hearing aid technology, with a focus on connectivity issues.  Further details on hlaamcc.org closer to that date.

Our December meeting was  the traditional social event.  Thanks to Elaine Goldberg for coordinating  the event and to the more than 20 who attended and contributed.

We do not meet in January.  The next meeting will be  on  February 5, and will be an informal session on hearing assistance devices and technology.  Watch for details here.

Diana  Bender agave a thorough exposition of  Over The Counter Hearing Aids, the current status and prognosis for them. A lengthy discussion ensued amont the  19 attendees.CART transcript is available on request to hlaamcc@gmail.com

The chapter budget for the year was approved.

Dues for the year are payable, $10 individual, $15 couple.

The December 4 meeting will be the traditional holiday party.  Further details on hlaaccc.org

Cheryl Deitz, Hamilton Captel Outreach Coordinator  spoke to 10 attendees at our October 2 meeting. She discussed the history of Relay Service, and had demo models of several phones.  One model has Bluetooth capability, which is almost universal in cell phones, but rare in landline phones.

She also discussed captioning for smartphones, PC, laptops or tablets.

One topic that was unfamiliar to most of us was Speech-to-Speech, an interpreting service for those with speech disability.  A Communication Assistant specially trained in understanding those with a speech disability repeats the caller’s words to the party being called.  This is typically a stroke or cerebral palsy victim, but may also be useful to those whose speech disability is a consequence of prelingual hearing loss.

The CART transcript is available on request to hlaamcc(at)gmail(dot)com

At our November 6 meeting, Diana Bender will speak about OTCHA – Over the Counter Hearing Aids.  More details later on this site

The chapter started the new year with 10 attendees in a round table format.  There were many items on the agenda:

• Officers:  Don Groff will serve a third year as President  Andy Walker will continue as Vice-President, and Elaine Goldberg as Treasurer.
• A budget for the year will be prepared and presented at the October meeting.
• UPTOWN West Chester:  We hope to be able to experience the loop system with an upcoming theater performance.
• Town and Country Players:  theater in Lahaska has a loop system – a possible group outing
• CART:  discussed cost versus benefit
• Walk4Hearing:  October 22 at the Navy Yard.
• HLAA Picnic:  possible alternatives  for this event.
• Lunch & Learn: to become a bi-annual event, and will not occur in 2018.
• Farm Show:  past and future participation by MontCo
• Meeting Times:  Is the first Monday of the month the best choice?  Should there be refreshments?
• Convention Scholarship:  The awardee of the Finamore Memorial has not provided a report on her attendance to the HLAA convention in Salt Lake City.
• On October 2, Cheryl Deitz will speak about Hamilton Captel, an update on the service that many of us are very familiar with.

On November, 6, Diana Bender will talk about the status of Over The Counter Hearing Aids

Our traditional Holiday party will be December 4.