We Have a New Home in Sherman Oaks!

It’s rare that our chapter moves to a new location. As a matter of fact, this move to the Sherman Oaks Library for our March meeting will only be the second time since the founding of the chapter over 13 years ago! But times change and our chapter needs to adapt. The Huntington Hospital served our needs and we thank them, but there were challenges, as many of you know, with the location. We hope you’ll find this new location to your liking.

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We Need Your Help – Stop the Misleading “ADA Education and Reform Act of 2017”!

ACTION ALERT
Save the ADA! HLAA Opposes Misguided, Damaging H.R. 620

The House of Representatives will vote this week on H.R.620.
We need your help to stop it!

Hearing Loss Association of America is opposed to the passage of H.R.620.

image of the Capitol in a circle designBig business is trying to bamboozle the House and the American public into supporting an unnecessary law misleadingly titled the “ADA Education and Reform Act of 2017” (H.R.620) that would make it even harder for people with disabilities who have been waiting to listen to the same programs, use the same restrooms, shop at the same department stores, and eat at the same restaurants as our non-disabled friends and family members, for almost 30 years!

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Research Symposium and Presenters Announcement for the 2018 HLAA Convention

HLAA National Convention

A very interesting subject of interest to us all will be presented at this years 2018 HLAA Convention Research Symposium. Please see below for more information and a link to the speakers for each presentation.

Listening in Noise

Friday, June 22
9 a.m. – Noon

Hearing and listening in noise is often identified as the number one difficulty for people with hearing loss. A great deal of research has been done on this topic by hearing aid manufacturers, audiologists, psychologists, neurobiologists, audio engineers and others. This symposium, presented by top professionals in the field, will focus on noise reduction/cancellation circuitry in hearing aids and cochlear implants. The speakers will discuss the current and future direction of solving the issue of hearing in noise.

Take a look at our speakers and a summary of each presentation.

Love is in the Air! February Meeting Not To Miss!

Our February MeetingLove is in the air! And in honor of Valentine’s Day, we are doing a moderated panel on coping with hearing loss featuring: married couples, single and dating, and parent-child challenges! Note these panel participants will come from a mixed environment – one hearing and other hard of hearing.

It’s going to be an awesome love-fest, so come prepared with any questions you may have regarding your own communication/relationship issues, and please invite hearing family members and significant others to attend!

Networking starts at 9:30am with the meeting starting at 10:00am and going until 12:00pm. As always, the meeting will be CART captioned and looped for tele-coil users; coffee and refreshments will be served. You are welcome to bring breakfast potluck items to share.

We are meeting at the Huntington Memorial Hospital. Directions here. See you on February 24th!

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Learn Sign Language With Our Very Own Michael Thai!

Chapter member Michael Thal is offering an American Sign Language (ASL) course for beginners starting Tuesday, February 6, 2018 from 6:00-7:00 PM to be held at 18344 Clark Street #205, Tarzana, CA. The course costs $15 per class for 11 classes; the first class is free. If you pay up front, you will save $50, costing you only $100. Don’t miss out on a great opportunity to learn sign language! Even if you miss the first class, you are welcomed to join any class.

Here’s what you’ll learn:

• ASL Alphabet

• Counting from 1-30 on one hand

• Basic vocabulary: family, colors, food, prepositions, pronouns, verbs, etc.

• Deaf Culture

• Baby Sign

• Any words you need for work or home

If you’d like to reserve a space, please email Michael Thal at michaelthal@sbcglobal.net.

Space is limited. You can also text only at 818-398-1805.

January 27 Chapter Meeting – Understanding Cochlear Implants

January 2018 meeting

Our January 2018 Meeting

(Click here for our meeting transcript)

We had a great meeting for January focusing on catching up with each other after the holidays and not seeing each other for some time. We capped it off with our guest speaker, Dr. Ray Goldsworthy, who provided an in-depth discussion about Cochlear Implants (CI) and optimizing how they are used (see more below). The presentation was more of a free form and open discussion to ensure immediate questions people had were addressed. We also had a great surprise that Lisa was able to join us as she is visiting here all the way from Washington D.C.!

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