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STEP UP for PEOPLE with HEARING LOSS!
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Registration is open for the ninth Annual NYC Walk4Hearing, which will take place on Sunday, September 25, at 10 AM in Riverside Park (Riverside Avenue and West 97th Street).
The Walk is a Call to Action, as we ask you to Step Up for People with Hearing Loss.
Advocate for accommodation for yourself and 48 million Americans with hearing loss, while joining the NYC hearing loss community for a day of celebration and festivities.
Invite friends and family to participate, send them the link to contribute, and encourage them to walk with us whether or not they have hearing loss. It's time to raise awareness for this invisible disability, which affects one in five Americans of all ages.
Participants in the New York City walk include teams from all over the metropolitan area. Join the New York City Chapter's team -
Walk New York!
- or form your own team.
Beautiful Riverside Park can be reached via the 1, 2, and 3 trains and many bus lines. If you're driving, several parking garages are nearby. There's always a big turnout, with balloons and treats, good will, and lots of fun.
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As noted on the HLAA
website
, a hearing loop is a wire that circles a room and is connected to a sound system. The loop transmits the sound electromagnetically directly to the telecoil in a hearing aid or cochlear implant. Thanks to advocacy efforts by HLAA-NYC members, more and more venues in the metropolitan area are now looped. Click
here
to see the updated list of looped sites. The list was compiled by HLAA-NYC member Ellen Semel, with the tireless help of Alexandra Lutz, who in addition to making numerous telephone calls, visited many of the venues to confirm the loop's location and effectiveness.
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| SECOND ANNUAL DISABILITY RIGHTS PARADE on JULY 10TH |
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HLAA-NYC member Ruth Bernstein (pictured above) reports that the second Disability Pride Parade, held in Manhattan on July 10, was twice as large as the first. The organizers estimated
an attendance of 4,000. HLAA-NYC and CHC (Center for Hearing and Communication) participants gathered at the north end of Union Square Park.
In Ruth's words, "There were speeches, CARTed on a large screen by Lauren Schechter. There was also an audio loop. While we waited to march in the parade, we were serenaded by several bands and enjoyed dancing in the streets. We walked up Broadway to 26th Street followed by the CHC Hearing Van, guarded by a lot of New York City policeman and some high security law officers. I left the parade at 26th Street, satisfied that HLAA-NYC h
ad been represented.
"P.S. The purple umbrellas were eye-catchers."
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2016 HLAA CONVENTION ACCESS
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How to Attend the HLAA Convention When You Can't Attend
by Ruth D. Bernstein
I was so excited about attending the HLAA Convention at the Washington Hilton from June 23 to 26, I downloaded the convention app as soon as it became available, referred to it constantly, and refreshed it frequently. Little did I know the app would be my connection to the convention. The weekend before the event, I came down with a debilitating flu that made it impossible for me to leave home. I contacted Lauren Schechter, our very special CART transcriber, and explained my situation. Lauren provided me with the links for streaming CART and explained how to "attend" meetings by adding the name of the meeting room at the end of the link,
https://hlaa2016.1capapp.com/event/ballroom
I was too sick to sit at my computer, so I set myself up with my iPad on a stand (see photo), propped up my pillows on the living room couch and stretched out to
"
listen" to the exciting things that were happening in the hearing loss world.
In addition to attending the Research Symposium, I was present at "Turn on the Captions Now!" - the story of how captions are required on all public TVs in Portland, Oregon. In "Stigma: Tales, Triggers and Tools," hearing health advocate Nancy Williams and HLAA-NYC past president Holly Cohen presented excellent ideas on how to deal with the stigma of hearing loss. HLAA's Director of Public Policy Lisa Hamlin and information technology specialist Scott Smith talked about "Emergency Preparedness for People with Hearing Loss." I also followed the antics of the mentalist and magician Max Major at the Saturday night banquet, and the moving speeches at the Sunday awards breakfast.
Although I was happy I was not totally cut off from the convention and was able to read streaming CART for some of the meetings, a virtual presence is no substitute for being at the convention in person, surrounded by old and new friends, having an opportunity to see what was in the Exhibit Hall, and sightseeing in Washington. I'm going to work hard at being well so I can go to Salt Lake City!
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At the June 7 board meeting, HLAA-NYC awarded $1,000 scholarships to help three high school seniors with hearing loss - TJ Bartholomew, Ethan Corregano, and Xinbei Liu - finance their college education. Each winner also received a one-year HLAA membership.
TJ, who will attend the Rochester Institute of Technology, where he will major in biotechnology and biochemistry, has moderately severe to profound bilateral hearing loss and wears two hearing aids. He attended Saint Francis School for the Deaf in elementary and middle school. Then he was mainstreamed and went to Murry Bergtraum High School for Business Careers, where he used an FM system in speech class and an
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Xinbei Liu, TJ Bartololmew, and Ethan Corregano |
interpreter during other classes. In his essay TJ wrote, "At first I was nervous about being surrounded by so many hearing people. I was afraid of being mocked as 'deaf and dumb.' As the months passed, however, I started to realize that hearing people are just like me. I was excited I was able to compete with them. My test grades were higher than the hearing students in my classes. I was proud."
A graduate of Millennium High School, Xinbei, like TJ, will attend RIT where she will major in biochemistry. She hopes to become a forensic scientist. An active member and president of the American Sign Language Club, she was an honor student at Millennium and has won academic and personal achievement awards. Xinbei's hearing loss is profound; she wears a cochlear implant and uses CART captioning and an FM system in class. Recently she spoke at Columbia University Teacher's College about her experiences as a deaf student, and at Mount Sinai Hospital about assistive technology. In her essay, Xinbei wrote that having a cochlear implant "allows me to build a bridge between the deaf world and the hearing world. A cochlear implant is not a sign of disability but a sign of success."
Ethan, a graduate of Tottenville High School in Staten Island, will attend Manhattanville College in Purchase. Ethan, whose hearing loss is moderate to severe, uses two hearing aids. In class he relies on an oral translator, an FM system and - because he also has vision problems - an iPad magnifier. As a high school student, Ethan was on the honor roll and participated in sports and community service activities, including Toys for Tots, Breast Cancer Awareness, and the food-bank program Dine Out for Hunger. He hopes to become a sports coach or an athletic trainer. In his essay Ethan wrote, "People in life set goals to push harder in what they are trying to accomplish. If you have a dream, you have to follow it. And don't let anyone tell you you can't do it."
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CENTER for HEARING and COMMUNICATION
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For the latest news, read The Buzz E-Newsleter, July 20, 2016
T
he Center for Hearing and Communication (CHC) and the New York City chapter of HLAA are pleased to enhance their collaborative relationship in order to best serve both CHC clients and HLAA-NYC members.
CHC will provide a 5 percent discount on all purchases of hearing aids and FM systems (and a 15 percent discount on the purchase of two hearing aids), along with an extended trial period of 60 days following a purchase of hearing aids by HLAA members in their New York City and Broward County locations.
In order to obtain the discounts, you must show written documentation of your HLAA membership. For more information, call the CHC appointment secretary at 917-305-7766, or email
[email protected].
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| OUR FAVORITE HEARING LOSS BLOGS |
Katherine Bouton
A Weekend With "My People"
I've just spent six days in Washington DC with "my people" - the deaf and hard of hearing members of the Hearing Loss Association of America. It was our annual convention, held this year in Washington DC at the Washington Hilton, a short walk from the Dupont Circle Metro stop.
Read more of this post.
Shari Eberts
How to Enjoy a Barbecue with Hearing Loss
I love summer barbecue parties - Memorial Day Weekend, Fourth of July, or just a regular summer weekend. It is fun to gather friends and family to enjoy the summer weather, each other's company and the casual fare. Parties can be a challenge for people with hearing loss, but barbecues are some of the easiest to navigate
.
Read more of this post.
Gael Hannan
When Yer Talkin' to a HoH
When people with hearing loss gather together, you'd think it would be noisy. Loud voices talking over each other, yelling what?! or pardon?! In some ways, however, we are a quieter crowd than an equivalent number of hearing people. If more than one person talks at a time, we don't understand anybody, so we generally honor the one-speaker rule. And some people don't speak much at all because they're bluffing throughout the conversation.
Read more of this post.
Mary Whalen
Do Persons with Hearing Loss Experience the Stages of Grief?
In her highly acclaimed book
On Death and Dying, Dr. Elisabeth Kübler Ross, a Swiss-American psychiatrist described the stages of grief one can expect to experience when losing a loved one. The beauty of the book is that it is relatable and understandable in layman's terms rather than presenting peer-reviewed scientific evidence.
Read more of this post.
Nancy Williams
Top 5 Tips for Wearing Hearing Aids and Making Music
For every decibel that amateur pianist Joyce Morton has lost in hearing, she has gained double the wisdom about how to keep on making music despite her hearing loss. In this exclusive interview with GRAND PIANO PASSION™, she shares her top five tips about playing an instrument while wearing hearing aids. Read more of this post.
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SUPPORT HLAA - BECOME A MEMBER
As the nation's leading organization for people with hearing loss, we provide information, education, support, and advocacy for the millions of Americans
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DISCOUNT PRICES for
CAPTIONED THEATER PERFORMANCES through TDF |
The Theatre Development Fund's Accessibility Programs (TAP) offers a membership service for theatergoers who have hearing loss or are deaf. TDF/TAP obtains special seating and provides captioning. There is no annual fee, but you must provide proof of eligibility. To see what shows are available - and to join - visit
TDF Accessibility Programs
.
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WEBSITE for THEATERGOERS WITH DISABILITIES
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Those who are hard of hearing or deaf, have low vision or are blind, who cannot climb stairs, who require aisle seating or wheelchair locations, who are on the autism spectrum or have other developmental or cognitive disabilities, now can find out everything they need to know to choose a show, buy tickets, and plan their trip to Broadway by visiting Theatre Access NYC.
IS NEW WEBSITE FOR INFORMATION OF THEATRE
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| FIVE (5!) NYC THEATERS ARE LOOPED |
Hear these musicals through your hearing aids/cochlear implants.
From the Nederlander Organization:
Gershwin:
Wicked
Richard Rodgers:
Hamilton
Lunt-Fontanne:
Finding Neverland
At Lincoln Center's
Vivian Beaumont: Watch this space for next show.
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| HONOR SOMEONE with a GIFT to the HLAA-NYC CHAPTER |
Searching for the perfect way to observe a loved one's birthday, anniversary, or special occasion, OR to honor the memory of someone special? Please consider making a gift to HLAA-NYC Chapter to support our efforts.
You can donate by mailing a check (payable to HLAA-NYC) to HLAA-NYC Chapter, P.O. Box 602, Radio City Station, New York, NY 10101. Include name and address. An acknowledgement will be mailed. Donations are tax deductible.
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Hearing Loss Association of America - New York City Chapter
The Hearing Loss Association of America exists to open the world of communication
to people with hearing loss through information, education, support, and advocacy.
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