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Next Meeting: Saturday June 10, 2017, 2:00-4:00 PM

Where:  Northborough Public Library, 34 Main Street, Northborough, MA

Guest Speaker:  Jonathan O’Dell, Communication Access, Training and Technology Services Department’s Training Director, MA Commission on the Deaf and Hard of Hearing

Topic:  Assistive Technology for People with Hearing loss

The next meeting will be on Assistive Technology. There are times when the hearing aid or cochlear implant may not be enough to help us in listening situations. For example, are you able to hear everything in a staff meeting your place of employment; are you able to fully use the telephone or, participate in a community meeting and many more situations?

Jonathan O’Dell will be presenting on this very issue. He is the Director of the Communication, Training and Access Services at the MA Commission on the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. He is a gifted and entertaining speaker who, no doubt, will provide new information for you!

Please come and bring your questions and thoughts. CART (computer aided real time captioning) will be provided.

Parking lot is accessed by Patty Lane :

 

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OVER-THE-COUNTER HEARING AIDS ARE GETTING ATTENTION The introduction of recent legislation to create a new class of hearing aids that would be available over the counter (OTC) is starting to bring greater attention to the issue of affordability and accessibility of hearing health care.Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), who led the introduction of the Over-the-Counter Hearing Aid Act of 2017, were recently published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) discussing the need for this legislation. And on April 6, the Boston Globe published a front-page article talking about the new legislation. You can find more information on this hot topic on our website at hearingloss.org/content/call-to-action-otc.

Hearing Loss Association of America 7910 Woodmont Ave, Suite 1200 Bethesda, MD 20814 Phone: 301-657-2248  |  Fax: 301-913-9413  |  Email: inquiry@hearingloss.org
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Registration is now open for the ‘Matisse in the Studio’ tour with hearing assisting devices to be held
on Sunday, May 21.

ATTENTION:  The Matisse tour has filled up already but the MFA is planning on running another tour at 10 am on Saturday, 5/20. There will be a minimum of 6 needed for this date with a maximum of 15. Please plan to meet at The Linde entrance.

Registration  instructions are the same:

Please note that the cut-off for each tour will be 15. Because the museum expects large crowds for this exhibit, the time of the tour has been changed to 10:00.

To register:

1. Email Hannah Goodwin <hgoodwin@mfa.org> or call 617-369-3189.

2. In the subject line, put the name of the tour “Matisse in the Studio,” the date ( May 21), and the time of the tour (10:00 a.m.)

3. Indicate whether you want a neckloop or a head set.

4.  Please arrive 15 minutes early to get your neckloop and headset and to make sure that they are working.

5.  Remember that there is a limit of one guest with you. You must register your guest whether or not an ALD is needed.

6.  Tours will leave from the Linde Family Wing Entrance, which is on Museum Road.

7. Email access@mfa.org if you register and are then unable to attend.

8. Registration closes on May 12 unless the tours are filled up before that time.
If you have registered and are unable to attend, please let our tour leader Karen Moss (karmoss@hotmail.com) and Hannah Goodwin (hgoodwin@mfa.org) know via email even if it’s the morning of the tour. It’s helpful in terms of ticket count and equipment.

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MARCH 24, 2017

This is a weekly report from the HLAA national office in Bethesda, Maryland. Please also sign up for the online HLAA e-News where even more news is published.

ADVOCACY

It’s a Call to Action! Join HLAA in Supporting the Over-the-Counter Hearing Aid Act of 2017 On March 21, U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), and Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), reintroduced legislation (S. 670) to make hearing aids for those with mild to moderate hearing loss available over the counter (OTC). A companion bill (HR 1652) led by Representatives Joe Kennedy III (D-Mass.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) was also introduced in the House.

The Over-the-Counter Hearing Aid Act of 2017 would make certain types of hearing aids available over the counter and remove unnecessary and burdensome requirements that currently create barriers for consumers who could benefit from hearing aids.

HLAA is issuing a Call to Action to ask for your help in sending Congress a message that passage of this bill would be life-changing for the millions of Americans who don’t seek help for their hearing loss simply because they can’t afford to.

You – we – now have the opportunity to influence Congress to change that. We have created a new section of the HLAA website entirely devoted to over-the-counter hearing aids.  It includes information on what exactly an over-the-counter device is, what all this means to people with hearing loss, the NAS report, information on the Call to Action – what you can do to help, useful links and much more.

Senator Warren Discusses Over-the-Counter Hearing Aids with the FDA On the heels of the reintroduction of the Over-the-Counter Hearing Aid Act of 2017, Senator Warren discussed the legislation, what it means to people with hearing loss, and posed some questions to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regarding over-the counter hearing aids. Senator Warren has made some compelling arguments during the discussion, which took place at a hearing of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) on Tuesday, March 22.

You can watch a captioned video of the presentation here.

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Hearing Loss Association of Central MA will be hosting a three-part series on technology for people with hearing loss and their families/friends.

All are welcome!

The presentations will be held at the Northborough Public Library.

Saturday, April 8^th, 2017: “What Do I Need to Know About Hearing Aids”  to be presented by Tina Coderre, M.A. CCC-A.    2:00 PM-4:00 PM.

Saturday, June 10^th, 2017: “What Do I Need to Know About Assistive Devices” to be presented by Jonathan O’Dell, MA Commission on the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.  2:00 PM-4:00 PM.

Saturday, September 9^th, 2017: “What Do I Need to Know About Signaling Devices” to be presented by Beth Wilson, PH.D, Electrical Engineer 10:00 AM-12:00 PM.

Mark your calendars and stay tuned for further details of these upcoming presentations.

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(People can register on line at the Northborough Library or call the library.   (508) 393-5025 ,the maximum # is 20)

Part I: The Basics Tuesday, March 21, 2017 (7-8:30 pm)
Basic information on hearing loss. This session will cover some facts and myths about hearing loss and explain the difference between frequency and loudness.

Part II: Technology Strategies Tuesday, March 28, 2017 (7-8:30 pm)
Basic information on hearing technology. This session will provide an introduction to hearing aids and assistive devices.

Part III: Communication Strategies Tuesday, April 4, 2017 (7-8:30 pm)
Basic information on communication strategies: this session will provide techniques for making it easier to listen and to communicate with family, friends, and co-workers. This introductory series provides basic information and strategies. If you have a hearing loss or know someone who does, this series can help make hearing loss less mysterious and provide some information on how to make hearing loss easier to deal with.

The sessions will be led by Dr. Beth Wilson, who was born with a hearing loss and is a member of the local Hearing Loss Association of America Central Massachusetts chapter. Beth has a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering with research in speech processing, so she actually understands how things work! She has had much experience in explaining her own hearing loss in a way that makes everyone comfortable (and a bit entertained).