NEWS & VIEWS
January - February 2018

www.hearinglossnyc.org       212-769-HEAR       info@hearinglossnyc.org

February 20th Chapter Meeting

TAKING THE STING OUT OF STIGMA

Holly Cohen, Hearing Health Advocate
Nancy M. Williams, President, Auditory Insight
Join us in this interactive session as we explore stigma in family, social, and workplace environments, and also the inner self-stigma that people with hearing loss may experience. The session will empower attendees to confront stigma by learning eight tools. Participants will have the option to commit to one sustainable (and meaningful) tool to take home.

If you weren't able to attend this popular workshop at the HLAA Conventions in Salt Lake City or Washington DC, here's your opportunity!

Tuesday, February 20th
5:30-8 PM
The Community Church of New York Assembly Room
40 East 35th Street
 (between Madison and Park Avenues ) 

Socializing and refreshments 5:30-6 pm. If you would like to bring a snack or drink to share, please email  info@hearinglossnyc.org. Those contributing refreshments should plan to be at the meeting by 5:30.

CART (real-time captioning) provided by Lauren Schechter of  TotalCaption . In addition, the meeting room is equipped with an induction loop that transmits sound directly to hearing aids and cochlear implants equipped with telecoils. An ASL interpreter will be provided with five business days notice.

SAVE THE DATES FOR
UPCOMING CHAPTER MEETINGS
March 20    Aural Rehabilitation
April 17      Hearing and the Brain
May 22       Annual Meeting and Awards Ceremony

No meetings in January, June, July, or August
RECAP DECEMBER MEETING
Making Technology Work for You
Bill Schiffmiller (at right, with CART transcriber Lauren Schechter), founder and CEO of AKOIO, a company that advises corporations on how to develop products that meet the needs of people with hearing loss and other physical challenges, described recent technological innovations for people with hearing loss. A hearing aid user and accomplished speech reader, Bill said that he relies on video conferencing via Skype and FaceTime. He also stressed the advantages of Made for iPhone hearing aids, which - using Bluetooth - deliver sound directly to hearing aids or cochlear implants. According to Bill, over 20 manufacturers now sell Made for iPhone hearing aids, and this technology recently became available for cochlear implant users.

"Embrace technology, but do not be overwhelmed by it," Bill advises. "Here's what I recommend: Know the extent of your hearing loss, what brand and model hearing aid or cochlear implant you have, and its capabilities. Then go to the manufacturer's website and see what is being offered with up-to-date technologies. Technology is empowering and allows you to become more and more independent."
RECAP NOVEMBER MEETING
Taking on the NYPD over Hearing Aids--
and Winning
NY Police Department Deputy Inspector Dan Carione and his attorney Colleen Meenan (pictured at left) talked about Dan's successful battle to reclaim his job after he was forced to retire for wearing hearing aids. His hearing loss dates back to a 1996 shootout during which Dan's partner fired her gun near his right ear. Out of what he characterized as "vanity, pride, and ego," he did not get a hearing aid until 2008. Shortly thereafter, the NYPD informed him that, as per department policy, police officers could not wear hearing aids while on duty. Dan was transferred to a desk job, and in 2011 he was forced to retire. Working with attorney Colleen Meenan, and with advice and an amicus brief filed by HLAA, AARP, and other organizations, Dan and another police officer prevailed in court. In March 2015 the case was settled in Federal Court. The NYPD was found to have violated the Americans with Disabilities Act. Dan was reinstated in 2015 and is back in uniform. In Dan's words, "My role as an advocate is the best part of my police career right now because it puts me in a position to be visible. A door has swung open, and there are people fighting to ensure that the door remains open."
HLAA NYC Funds Transportation for Seniors to Get Hearing Education and Evaluations at CHC
by Ellen Semel 
Thank you HLAA-NYC Chapter for funding roundtrip transportation for senior PS-HOPS members, mostly from the Penn South Co-op, to attend Hearing Health Days at the Center for Hearing and Communication.

PS-HOPS stands for Penn South Home Organized Personal Services, and among other health- and service-related discounts, it provides a discount for hearing aids purchased from the Center for Hearing and Communication (CHC), a well-known nonprofit audiology center in downtown Manhattan. On Hearing Health Days, seniors who are members of the PS-HOPS discount program are transported to CHC to get hearing tests, learn about the need to care for their hearing, address denial, and expand their awareness of treatment options. The day also includes a PowerPoint presentation on hearing health, an introduction to speech-reading, and information about hearing assistance technology and CHC’s Emotional Health and Wellness Center (which provides group and individual psychotherapy). In addition, each member of the group gets a one-hour hearing evaluation with a trained audiologist.

Penn South Co-op, a fifteen-building complex located from 8 th to 9 th Avenue and from W. 23 rd Street to W. 29 Street, was built by the garment industry union in 1962. By the 1980s many of its residents had become seniors. The Penn South Board of Directors created the first Naturally Occurring Retirement Community (NORC), a senior center with classes and full-time social workers. CHC decided the first partner for their Hearing Health Days should be Penn South Co-op because it is a NORC with a substantial number of seniors.

Penn South Co-op has taken seven groups of up to eight participants each to CHC for Hearing Health Days. The feedback has been wonderful. One woman said she is indebted to me because the Hearing Health Day got her husband to address his hearing loss and buy much-needed hearing aids. Others are grateful because they have learned about their hearing issues and realized they are not alone.

So, if you wonder what HLAA NYC does with your donations, Hearing Health Day is one of the many worthwhile projects you are helping to fund.
WATCH MOVIES WITH CAPTIONS AT
REGAL AND AMC THEATERS
OUR FAVORITE HEARING LOSS BLOGS
DISCOUNT PRICES for
OPEN CAPTIONED THEATER PERFORMANCES through TDF
WEBSITE for THEATERGOERS WITH DISABILITIES
 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, can find out everything they need to know to choose a show, buy tickets, and plan their trip to Broadway by visiting  TheatreAccessNYC . I
HEAR BETTER WITH LOOPING
DEFINITION OF LOOPING

A hearing loop is a wire that circles a room and is connected to a sound system. The loop transmits the sound electromagnetically to the telecoil (t-coil) in a hearing aid or cochlear implant. 

NYC LOOPED VENUES

Thanks to advocacy efforts by HLAA-NYC members, more and more venues in the metropolitan area are now looped. Click  here   to see the latest (January 2018) list of looped sites. The list was compiled by HLAA-NYC member Alexandra Lutz and Ellen Semel.
 
BROADWAY SHOWS CURRENTLY AT LOOPED THEATERS
 
From the Nederlander Organization
Gershwin:  Wicked
Minskoff:  The Lion King 
Richard Rodgers:  Hamilton
Lunt-Fontanne:  Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
 
From the Shubert Organization
Bernard B. Jacobs:  The Iceman Cometh  (opening March 2018)
 
Lincoln Center
Vivian Beaumont:  My Fair Lady (beginning March 15)
Mitzi Newhouse Theater
Off-Broadway
Irish Repertory Theater:  Disco Pigs (until February 18)
Westside Theatre (Upstairs Theatre)
HONOR SOMEONE with a GIFT TO HLAA-NYC
 
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 coping with hearing loss. Join online  or download a  membership form .

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  online  or 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.
As the nation's leading organization for people with hearing loss, we provide information, education, support, and advocacy for the millions of Americans coping with hearing loss. Join online  or download a  membership form .

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  online  or 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.