Toni starting her great presentation about “Ins and Outs” about buying hearing aids
Long-time HLAA member Toni Barrient led us through “The Consumer’s Guide to Purchasing Hearing Aids.” The items she covered can also be applied to finding the best cochlear implant provider. Her talk was based on HLAA’s Consumer Checklist, which can be downloaded from https://www.hearingloss.org/wp-content/uploads/HLAA_Purchasing_HearingAid_Checklist.pdf?pdf=Checklist
Liz discussing the Hearing Loss Californian special edition.
This is a summary of our August 25 chapter meeting, covering the guest presentation and chapter business. Click here to view meeting transcript..
Guest Presentation
Aural Rehabilitation was the topic of the day, presented by Helen Tinsman, a speech therapist who works for Advanced Bionics (AB). She can be reached by email at helen.tinsman@advancedbionics.com
Your HLAA-LA chapter is looking for a few good people to stand for our September 22 steering committee election. Are you one of them?
As a steering committee member, you’ll be part of the team that shapes chapter meetings, parties and other activities.
To serve on the steering committee, you need to meet these requirements.
· Be a paid member of HLAA National
· Have attended a minimum of six chapter meetings
· Participate in 5-10 hours per month of online SC communication
· Know or willing to learn Slack and Confluence online programs for SC communications
· Have a valid email address
· Respond to written SC communications within 24 hours
· Attend all SC meetings (on average, following every other chapter meeting)
Yes, this is a comprehensive list. But serving on the steering committee gives you the satisfaction of doing something worthwhile for yourself and your hearing loss community!
If you are interested, or have questions, please send an email to info@hlaa-la.org and a steering committee member will respond.
If you or someone you know is planning to purchase new hearing aids anytime in the future, our September meeting is for you! When you know what to expect, you are in a better position to make the right choices. This presentation will help you to maximize your success and outcome in selecting the best devices and features for you.
Our speaker is hearing loss advocate and HLAA-California Trustee Toni Barrient, who has held numerous positions with the State and National organizations. Toni will provide expert tips and guide attendees through the entire process of purchasing hearing aids, including what to look for and what to avoid, when shopping for your ears.
A valuable consumer checklist will be provided as a handout, so you know what to expect at every step, from making the appointment with your hearing aid provider to services, warranties, trial periods, and much more.
As a tie-in, CBS Sunday Morning has prepared a segment on the same topic, which will air at a later date. In the meantime, some good information is here https://www.cbsnews.com/news/guide-to-hearing-aids/
We’ll also have elections for the full steering committee. More details to follow shortly.
Please join us!
Saturday, September 22, 2018
9:30am, socializing – 10am-noon, meeting
Everything you wanted to know about HLAA-LA events through the end of 2018.
It’s all about aural rehabilitation at our August 25 chapter meeting.
Helen Tinsman, a Speech Language Pathologist and Consumer Specialist with Advanced Bionics will discuss what you can do to adjust to your hearing aids and cochlear implants. Don’t miss this, no matter what hearing technology you now use!
Helen’s presentation will cover
~Factors that have an impact on outcomes with a cochlear implant
~What aural rehab / listening practice is and why it’s recommended
~High tech (computer / app) based programs for listening practice
~Low tech (non-computer / tech) based programs for listening practice
~Accessories that can be used to assist with listening practice in challenging situations
Chapter business items will include CAA conference volunteers (Sept 14-15), Steering Committee elections (Sept 22 meeting) and more.
We meet at 9:30am for socializing; the general meeting goes from 10am-noon. Remember to bring some snacks to share! Sherman Oaks Library Community Room, 14245 Moorpark St, Sherman Oaks.
Rehabilitation – What should you be doing? as shared by Heather.
Meeting transcript can be found here.
HLAA-LA was one of the largest groups in attendance.
At the awards ceremony, Lisa Yuan received the Spirit of HLAA, a top honor. Tim Browning accepted for the best chapter website (and was asked to make websites for other chapters!)
Today’s meeting covered a taste of information gathered at workshops.
Hi-ho, hi-ho, it’s off to the July HLAA-LA meeting we go!
Join us for this informational meeting, where attendees at last month’s national convention in Minneapolis will share their experiences. Heather, Tim, Jen and Teri will each discuss a pair of topics, from healthcare, to advocacy to tech apps and more.
After the break – don’t forget to feed the kitty jar! – we’ll get introductions from first time attendees, WOW Awards, a call for volunteers at the upcoming CAA convention, and an overview of our calendar of events for the rest of 2018.
As always, consider bringing a snack to share. And if the heat is making your brain a bit fuzzy, check out the ‘chapter meetings’ tab here for the address and parking instructions.
Looking forward to seeing you on Saturday!
Your Steering Committee has filled the chapter calendar for the rest of 2018 with a mix of activities. Here’s the scoop.
Next up, at our July 28 chapter meeting, Heather, Tim, Jenna and Teri will share an overview of what they saw, learned and did at the national convention last month. Among the topics are apps for your devices, disability rights, auditory training & preservation, healthcare, and more. (There’s so much to share that apps and auditory training will be coveredin detail at future meetings!)
August 25 – “It’s a Brain Thing” presentation by Advanced Bionics
September 14 & 15 – volunteers needed to work the HLAA-CA booth at the California Audiologists Association (CAA) convention at the Anaheim Hilton; details to follow
September 22 – “The In’s and Outs of Buying Hearing Aids” presented by Toni Barrient; steering committee elections
(NOTE: Due to library events, we’ve had to adjust our activity schedule for the rest of the year)
October – Chapter social outing; to be determined
November 3 – “Coping With the Holidays”
December – Holiday Party; to be determined
Every meeting is always a great time!
We were a small but chatty group for Saturday’s rap session. This session covered travel, technology, fundraising, movie & TV captions, how HLAA has helped – and more. We agreed that any one of these topics would be good to cover as a future meeting topic.
