A Farewell and Thank You to Sharon

by Sandy Blake
HLAA-LA Steering Committee Member

Sharon  Swerdlow has been the LA Chapter president since September 2019 and previously had served on the Steering Committee for one year. Sharon brought her finance expertise, tireless energy, gift for gab, good humor, one hearing aid and one cochlear implant, and dedication to the LA Chapter. We were all motivated to support Sharon in her leadership role and the meetings were filled with useful information, fun, supportive spirit, and refreshments. Sharon led an exhaustive search for a new meeting location, endlessly researching possibilities of venues, and basically turning the town upside down with her determination and focus.

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How to Cope with Hearing Loss and Your Mental Health Meeting

Join Us!

Coping with Hearing Loss: Taking Care of our Mental Health
Date: Saturday, January 22, 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!

Hearing loss is an invisible disability; its true disability is a communication disability. The primary disability of hearing loss is a communication disability rather than just not being able to hear. Struggling to understand conversations with lifelong friends and family, hearing music or professional meetings is a constant stress every day and can lead to depression and social withdrawal.

An essential part of dealing with hearing loss is recognizing that stress is inevitable so rather than avoiding it, learning more effective stress communication skills will be more productive and emotionally satisfying. Come learn new coping skills for keeping depression and anxiety at bay with Dr. Alison Freeman, who has a severe, bilateral sensorineural loss herself.

Presenter:

Alison Freeman

Alison Freeman, Ph.D. received her Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology and theater arts from the University of California and doctorate from International University. She works half-time at California State University at Northridge as a staff psychologist working with students with hearing loss, is an adjunct professor at Cal Lutheran and has a private practice.
Dr. Freeman was diagnosed with a moderate-severe hearing loss at age 3.

Stay Updates with the Latest Chapter and HLAA News

Please see below for many great options to sign up to stay updated on the latest hearing loss and chapter news!

LA Chapter email/newsletter subscription form.
See the right side of any page to submit your email.

HLAA Groups
Link below will take you to various groups you can join and follow.

https://hlaagroups.hearingloss.org/

HLAA Hearing Life e-News
Twice a month HLAA news stories and information to your inbox.

https://www.hearingloss.org/news-media/e-news/

HLAA News and Hear This! Blogs

Latest hearing loss and HLAA news and events sent directly to your inbox.(You’ll find it on any HLAA website page in the lower right corner of the page. Just look for the below and submit your email.)

Fun at the Beach!

Volley 4 sound banner

The chapter received wonderful news recently when Volley4Sound decided to make our chapter one of the recipients of a donation from them. Special thanks go to Kelsey Brandin for making this happen for the chapter!

This event will take place at beautiful Hermosa Beach on Sunday, October 10, and should be a wonderful time for all who attend. But, we need your help! We have the unique opportunity to have a booth to set up and provide HOH/deaf information and awareness to those attending. We’ll have printed materials, buttons, candy and big smiles to share but need volunteers to join in the fun and help man the booth!

Please consider volunteering or learn more by emailing us at info@hlaa-la.org.
Date: Sunday, October 10, 2021
Where: Hermosa Beach Pier
Time: Festivities start at 9 a.m. with booth setup time TBD

Join our Upcoming Chapter Meeting

Introducing HLAA-LA Poetry Celebration!

In the spirit of poetry month for April, we will be having a special chapter meeting. Spend the month submerged in poetry!

Date: Saturday, April 24, 2021
Time: 10 a.m. PT
Duration: 90 minutes

REGISTER

We recommend daily readings of poetry at home. Each member selects a favorite poem and practices reading it.

We will gather on April 24th to share and/or discuss our favorite poems and poets. Writing your own poem to share or poetry performances are completely voluntary–but are SUPER fun! So you’ll gather with others to celebrate, catch up with each other, and provide support.

You may also come dressed inspired by your poetry selection ? Let’s get creative!

Any questions? Just email us at info@hlaa-la.org.

 

October Meeting with Innocaption

We had a great October meeting with Innocaption. Many thanks to Matt Goncalves and Christina Duarte of Innocaption for a terrific and timely presentation on the workings and important new features of the Innocaption app. We had a nice turnout and a robust Q&A participation.
We decided in lieu of our chapter November meeting to join HLAA-CA on Saturday, November 14th, at 1:00 pm for a presentation on Surviving the Holidays with Hearing Loss with our very own Allison Freeman presenting! Link to follow.
We will also be having an “Open House” on Thanksgiving Day from 11:00 am – 12:15 pm – feel free to stop by during that time frame to say hi and enjoy a little holiday community!

Virtual Meeting on Saturday, October 24 10 a.m. PT – InnoCaption Presentation!

Innocaption PresentationBack by popular demand after their San Diego chapter presentation last month, InnoCaption will join us for our next virtual meeting to share the latest innovations for the desktop and app. The latest feedback from users is this is a worthwhile and transformative feature that you should not miss!
Matt Goncalves, Marketing Director, and Christina Duarte, Director of Regulatory Affairs, will be presenting and taking Q&A at the end. Please note the presentation is free and will be captioned so come and join your fellow friends and members for an engaging time!

Note: You’ll be sent a meeting link after you register above. Make sure to check your inbox for an email from “Sharon”!

Important information

Captioning will be provided within Zoom for easy viewing and following along.

Zoom: Use a computer. If possible, attend the meeting on a computer rather than via a smartphone or iPad. This will give you the best layout to view the captions as well as other meeting features.

Meetings are captioned. How to See Closed Captions in ZOOM

Of course, if you have any questions, just email us info@hlaa-la.org.

August 22 Virtual Chapter Meeting – Music Appreciation!

It’s that time again! Mark your calendars for our upcoming virtual chapter meeting to be held on Saturday, August 22 at 10 a.m. PT.

Ray Goldsworthy, Associate Professor of Research Otolaryngology at USC, will be speaking to us.  Ray is a cochlear implant wearer and a few years ago had a wonderful presentation to the chapter. Ray devotes his time and research to rehabilitation and recently received a grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to undertake a project to bridge the gap between cochlear implant users and regaining their appreciation and love for music. Please join us for what will sure to be an engaging and “upbeat” meeting to learn how nothing has to stop your love of music!

Please note – Feel free to invite your loved ones and friends to who might benefit from this meeting, especially music lovers!

Zoom information – Please email us for the Zoom meeting link and information.


Important information

Captioning will be provided within Zoom for easy viewing and following along.

Zoom: Use a computer. If possible, attend the meeting on a computer rather than via a smartphone or iPad. This will give you the best layout to view the captions as well as other meeting features.

Meetings are captioned. How to See Closed Captions in ZOOM

We look forward to “seeing” you all on Saturday, August 22 at 10 a.m.!

If you have further questions, please email us.

Virtual LA Chapter Meeting, Saturday May 16!

We miss you and hope you and your loved ones are safe and in good health.

As we try to navigate our world(s) during this unprecedented and extraordinarily difficult time, we have the added burden of trying to hear and understand family members, grocery store employees, health care workers and others through their face masks, without the ability to read lips as well as having to contend with strange and muffled sounds that emanate through the speaker’s masks.

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