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March - April 2014
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The Hearing Loss Association of America exists to open the world of communication
to people with hearing loss through information, support, education and advocacy.
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April Chapter Meeting
Anna Gilmore Hall
Executive Director, HLAA
The Tipping Point:
HLAA Now and in the Future
As we prepare to celebrate our 35th anniversary year, HLAA can be very proud of its accomplishments and successes. The best is yet to come! The stars are aligned for us to take advantage of changes in the hearing health industry, emerging technology and increased consumer demand for progress. HLAA can become the organization envisioned by Rocky Stone, our founder. Our opportunity and challenge is taking hold at this moment in time to engage more people in altering how hearing loss is viewed by society. We will work together to be sure the voices of consumers with hearing loss are heard and understood.
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
5:30-7:30 PM
5:30-6 Socializing
Presentation starts at 6 PM
NYPL Muhlenberg Branch
209 W. 23rd Street (near 7th Avenue)
Community Room, 3rd Floor
Live CART captioning provided by Lauren Schechter of TotalCaption. Hearing audio loop for those with hearing aids/CIs with T-coils. Headphones are also available.
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KATHERINE PAWLOWSKI (AGE 8)
NAMED AS NATIONAL WALK4HEARING AMBASSADOR
The HLAA Walk4Hearing kicks off its 2014 season with eight-year-old Katherine Pawlowski as the ambassador sending her message across the country about why she walks. She will be featured on www.Walk4Hearing in a video and will attend some kick-offs and Walks. The Walk4Hearing is in 21 cities this year and, with thousands of walkers, raises awareness about hearing loss and raises money for programs to benefit people with hearing loss.
Sunday, September 28th in Riverside Park
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WHAT YOU MISSED
March 18th Chapter Meeting:
"How to Maximize Your Enjoyment of Broadway and Off-Broadway Theaters"
Guest Writers
Monica Padilla Velez and David Lansberger
NYU Cochlear Implant Scientists
As two people who are new to the HLAA New York City community, we are pleased to share our perspectives on this meeting. We are interested in improving the next generation of implants and have been enthusiastically involved with the hearing loss community for many years. The community is highly welcoming. They have given us incredible insights into hearing loss, which we could not have learned from our research alone. With a recent move to NYC (New York University) from Los Angeles (House Ear Institute) where we were active with the local community and HLAA chapters, we are now excited to become involved with the New York City community.
Terry Chayefsky, an HLAA-NYC Board Member and Theater Liaison, gave an excellent introduction to the hardware available for assistive listening through headsets and neck loops. She also provided a list of theaters that have already been looped. Lisa Carling, the Director of TDF Accessibility Programs, talked about open captioning available in specifically scheduled performances. Even better, tickets are available for the hearing loss community at half price. Updates on ticket and captioning availability are provided regularly through an eblast. For more information, refer to www.tdf.org/tap. Mark Annunziato from Sound Associates gave a technical description of the various devices they provide for theaters, including neck loops, headsets, and hand-held captioning devices.
While all three presenters were informative, we actually learned the most from the questions asked by the HLAA-NYC audience. We learned that although many assistive listening devices are presently available, the sound quality and usefulness of the assistive listening devices is highly variable. There were many reports of both highly satisfactory and disastrous experiences. Many members felt that the theater community (both plays and movies) has not been successful at informing them as to which performances and theaters provide which (if any) technology. Some individuals thought that improved communication between the theaters and the hearing impaired audience might help to resolve the issue. ...continue reading
From left: Lisa Carling, Mark Annunziato and Terry Chayefsky
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HLAA - NYC PUBLISHES GUIDE to
NYC THEATER ACCESSIBILITY
Our Looping Committee and Hearing Accommodation Task Force have prepared a Guide to Hearing Access in NYC Theaters. The guide covers the specific hearing assistive systems and devices offered at all Broadway theaters and at over 25 off-Broadway theaters. Special thanks to Terry Chayefsky and Jerry Bergman.
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CLOSED CAPTIONS SPREAD
ACROSS NYC CINEMAS
Our campaign for closed-captioning at the movies continues to bear fruit, You can now view movies with captions at Bow Tie's Ziegfeld and Chelsea in Manhattan.
Bow Tie also provides captioning at its Babylon, Franklin Square, Squire, Manhasset, Herricks, Port Washington and Roslyn cinemas on LI; Bronxville, Bedford, Cinema 100, Larchmont and Mt. Kisco theaters in Westchester; and at the Fine Arts in New City; Criterion in Saratoga Springs, Movieland in Schenectady, and Wilton Mall in Wilton, NY.
The AMC chain continues to roll out captioning as per its agreement with our chapter. Of AMC's 24 cinemas in the state, all but seven now offer closed-captioning, including these NYC locations:
19th Street, East 34th Street, 84th Street and Kips Bay. The newest locations to offer captioning include: Orpheum in Manhattan, Bay Plaza in the Bronx, Bay Terrace in Bayside, Nassau Metroplex in Levittown, Shore 8 in Huntington, and Port Chester and Stony Brook in those towns.
Our newest initiative is aimed at Reading International, which owns/manages six Manhattan cinemas: the Angelika, Beekman, Cinemas 123, East 86th Street, Paris and Village East. Management claimed that captioning is available at all 6 locations. Our own investigation revealed no captioning at Cinemas 123 and very limited availability at the other four cinemas. We are pressing the company to expand the availability of captioning, and asking all cinema operators to provide the "CC" symbol in showtime listings and on websites. HLAA members should call theaters directly regarding captioning availability before going to a cinema and buying tickets.
Always ask for captioning devices when you go to the movies. You can report your cinema experience via e-mail to Jerry Bergman at
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QUOTE OF THE MONTH
"Hearing loss is a lot more conspicuous than hearing aids."
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Katherine Bouton Author
Shouting Won't Help
Why I - and 50 Million Other Americans - Can't Hear You
Dear Abby tries to suggest how Mortified can deal with her hearing-impaired in-laws in a restaurant. She should have asked an expert. Or at least someone with hearing loss.
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Gael Hannan
Editor,
The Better Hearing Consumer
Hearing loss packs a powerful emotional punch, and many use poetry to express its impact.
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Thanks to Ruth Bernstein for researching this information.
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And the good news is...
...that record numbers are attending our monthly Chapter meetings. The not-so-good news is that we're running out of room.
Ideally, we'd love to move to a midtown location, with easy-enough access to East and West-siders as well as to those coming into Penn Station or Grand Central.
If you have any suggestions, please contact
[email protected].
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HLAA
Webinar Series
Visit the WEBINAR SCHEDULE to see upcoming offerings. There is something for everyone!
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HONOR a
SPECIAL PERSON
in your life
with a gift to the
NYC Chapter
Be sure to designate:
Birthday of...
Anniversary of...
Congratulations to ...
In memory of ...
In honor of ....
Simply mail names and addresses, along with your check payable to HLAA-NYC Chapter, to HLAA-NYC Chapter, P.O. Box 602, Radio City Station
New York, NY 10101.
An acknowledgement will be sent and an announcement will appear in News & Views. All donations are tax deductible.
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We gratefully acknowledge the following donations:
Mary Cooper
In honor of Joan Lynton's birthday -
Linda Emory
Louise Levy
In memory of Katherine Bouton's Mother and Aunt -
Holly Cohen
Toni Iacolucci
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HLAA Convention 2014
Austin, TX
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Stay Connected with HLAA-NYC!
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MARK YOUR CALENDARS Chapter Meetings 5:30-7:30 PM
May 20 Ask the Audiologists
June 3 Awards Night |
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Copyright � 2014. All Rights Reserved.
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HLAA is a volunteer association for people with hearing loss, their relatives, and friends. It is a nonprofit, nonsectarian educational organization devoted to the welfare and interests of those who cannot hear well. Your contribution is tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. We are a 501(c)(3) organization. Mention of suppliers and devices in this newsletter does not mean HLAA endorsement, nor does exclusion suggest disapproval.
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