Category: Advocacy

The Family Dynamics with a Hearing Loss

Advocacy, Events, Meetings
Topic: Communicating successfully with family dynamics and hearing loss
Date: Saturday, June 25, 2022
Where: Online Zoom Meeting
Time: 10 a.m. – 11 a.m. PT (may extend beyond 11 a.m.)
Audience: Open to all for this free event. Please pass along this invite to others!

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Overview
Do you wish your family members better understood how to communicate with your hearing loss? Or if you care for a loved one with hearing loss, do you get frustrated or don’t know how to help? It’s a two-way street when finding that balance toward effective communication between hearing loss and hearing.

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Hearing Health Care Impacts from COVID

Advocacy, Better Hearing, News

But like so many aspects of life, hearing health care was impacted by COVID, sometimes causing radical changes that could prove to be permanent. Four people deeply involved in the world of hearing health care—Sydlowski; Kate Carr, president of the Hearing Industries Association (HIA); Barbara Kelley, executive director of the Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA); and Donna Sorkin, executive director of the American Cochlear Implant (ACI) Alliance—provided personal insights into these changes, as well as initial expectations, surprises, hopes for the future, and silver linings.

Kelley also hopes the heightened awareness of hearing caused by facial coverings will lead to more patients getting the care they need.

“I want to drive more people to hearing health care. Hearing health is part of overall wellness.”

OTC Executive Order – Watch Now!

Advocacy, News articles, Resources

President Joe Biden’s new executive order, signed on Friday, July 9, includes a directive to HHS to consider issuing proposed rules within 120 days for allowing hearing aids to be sold over the counter. The executive order said that the four largest hearing aid manufacturers now control 84% of the market and that hearing aids, which cost more than $5,000 per pair, are “so expensive that only 14% of the approximately 48 million Americans with hearing loss use them.”

Watch how this could impact you in five different ways.

Learning the California Legislative Process to Advocate for Hearing Loss!

Advocacy, News

California state legislative process

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Remember when we asked you to support these bills that affected those of us with hearing loss?
AB 598 – Hearing Aids for Children
AB 5 – The “gig worker” bill affecting CART providers
AB435 – Locked Hearing Aids
So many of you contacted your representatives to garner their support for our hearing loss community …. but there were many questions about how to best go about that.
Join us this Saturday, June 19th to learn how to
effectively advocate for change at the State level.

The Legislative Process: How a Bill Becomes a Law

Saturday, June 19, 2021

10:00 a.m. PT

Assembly Member Kevin Mullin
Speaker pro Tempore of the California State Assembly

Join us as Mr. Mullin walks us through how to make a difference for hearing loss.
  • What is the process from beginning to end?
  • How can an individual make an issue go forward?
  • What is the role of the Representative or Senator?
  • What’s the best way to contact my representative?
  • What is effective: Petition? Email? Letters? Fax?
  • How do I keep track of a bill as it moves through the process?
Our virtual meetings are captioned.
Together we can do it!
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Beware of Locked Hearing Aids

Advocacy, Members, News

Do you know and understand what a “locked” hearing aid is? Perhaps you even have one and may not know it. Currently, there is an important assembly bill (AB435) in the California State legislature you should be aware of introduced by Assemblymember Kevin Mullin

“Locked” hearing aids are not consumer-friendly; they require you to return to the provider you purchased them from for repair and adjustments. This practice takes away your consumer right to choose a provider for proper follow-up and caring for your hearing aid. Many times, this policy is not explained at the time of purchase.

To learn more and how to get involved, please review the HLAA California State Association website. Have any questions, just email us!

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