YourWinter 2020 Issue of HLAA-PA HearSay

Volume 19 Issue 4 Winter 2020

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Support and Advocacy
since 2001
for Pennsylvanians
with Hearing Loss

Nancy's Message
State Happenings
Pandemic Meetings
Walk4Hearing
About HLAA-PA

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Note: This issue of HearSay is designed for screen reading.
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The Nation's Voice for People
with Hearing Loss

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DISCLAIMER

Opinions expressed in HearSay are those of the authors. Mention of goods and services in articles and advertisements does not mean HLAA-PA endorsement, nor does absence suggest disapproval.

To reach readers of HearSay, contact
Lee Williams
Director of Marketing
(leewilliams@hlaa-pa.org)
for information.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!!

Assist the HLAA-PA State Director by serving on the Advisory Council or one of its committees. The Council meets periodically at locations convenient to its membership. But committees conduct most of their business by e-mail and occasionally meet in various parts of the state. If you think you would like to serve on the council or any of its committees, please contact one of the state leaders listed here:

State Director:
Nancy Kingsley
(kingsley@hlaa-pa.org)
Editor: HearSay and HLAA-PA Website:
Don Groff
(groff@hlaa-pa.org)
Advocacy:
Nancy Kingsley, Chair
(kingsley@hlaa-pa.org)
Director of Marketing:
Lee Williams
(leewilliams@hlaa-pa.org)
Outreach Coordinator:
Carolyn Meyer, Chair
(meyer@hlaa-pa.org)
ALD Demo Kit:
Bill Best, Chair
(best@hlaa-pa.org)
Chapter Coordinators::
Mike Miles,Eastern PA
(miles@hlaa-pa.org)
Dale Long, Central PA
(long@hlaa-pa.org)
Teresa Nellans, Western PA
(nellans@hlaa-pa.org)

HearSay Articles

HLAA-PA welcomes articles of interest to the hearing loss community for publication in HearSay, as well as suggestions for topics. Send e-mail to editor@hlaa-pa.org

2021 Virtual Farm Show

In common with so many public events in this time of pandemic, the 2021 Pennsylvania Farm Show will be a virtual event. HLAA-PA has had a booth at the last 11 Farm Shows. At this writing, it is uncertain whether we will be able to participate in some way in 2021

Message from Nancy

by Nancy Kingsley, State Director

As the coronavirus pandemic continues, many HLAA chapters are currently unable to meet in person, including those in Pennsylvania. Some chapters are temporarily suspending their gatherings, while others are meeting online via Zoom. If you haven't yet participated in a Zoom event, don't hesitate to do so--you don't need to be a technical whiz! You can participate via a smartphone, iPad or other tablet, laptop, or desktop computer. The first three generally have built-in webcams (video cameras that connect to the Internet). However, if you are planning to use a desktop, it probably lacks a webcam. You should acquire a webcam with a microphone if you want to participate in interactive meetings (webcams are available for as little as $20 from online and local retailers). You can also join without a webcam as an observer, where you can at least see and hear the event.
   You don't need a Zoom account to join Zoom meetings, and you can download the Zoom app for free at https://zoom.us/download. To join a particular meeting, click on the link for it (it may be sent to you via email or provided at the meeting sponsor's website). Basic controls for participants are at the bottom of the Zoom screen. On the left, slashes through "Mute" and "Stop Video" indicate that you cannot be heard or seen by other participants (but you will still be able to see and hear the event). Click to enable each of these if you want to be able to interact. For events that are not interactive, the meeting host may disable participants' microphones and video feeds to keep them from being able to be turned on.
   A "Chat" button at the top or bottom of your screen can be clicked if you want to send a written message to everyone in the group or to a specific participant. (The host may limit who such messages can be sent to.) If the event is closed captioned, you will also see a CC button, which you need to click if you want to enable the captions. I recently learned that you can click and drag the captions to another part of the screen if desired. This is helpful if the captions are overlapping other information.
   You're now all set to enjoy participating in Zoom events!

State Happenings
by Carolyn Meyer, Outreach Coordinator Carolyn

HLAA, like many other organizations, is struggling to keep its members supported as well as informed. Virtual meetings have become a part of our lives. In late October, with the initiative of Mike Miles, Southeastern PA Chapter Coordinator, five chapters joined in one Zoom meeting with a guest speaker, Chris Doig. Approximately 40 participants signed on to hear Chris, a member of the MontCo chapter and N-CHATT trained leader, speak about the latest in assistive listening devices. Chris gave an excellent presentation. Participants were invited to share experiences and ask questions. Using this protocol, separate chapters do not have to provide separate programs for their members. Surely other chapter members could join these meetings by contacting chapter leaders and providing their contact information to receive the link and future meeting dates. Captioning was provided. Many used Otter and other apps on their smart phones if they preferred. We are always looking for a chapter leader to step up to organize this so please contact Mike Miles for information miles@hlaa-pa.org . The All Generations chapter has had a Zoom Game Night as their virtual meeting. Lots of creativity here to be explored.

THE JOE MEYER MEMORIAL GRANT AWARD

The Joe Meyer Memorial Grant was established by HLAA-PA to assist Pennsylvania residents with hearing loss for one or more of the following purposes:

To purchase hearing assistive technology, including hearing aids
To participate in educational programs on coping with hearing loss for personal benefit and/or to help others
To attend a college or technical institute

One grant will be available per year. The HLAA-PA Advisory Council’s Joe Meyer Memorial Grant Committee will select the qualifying applicant. Applicants may be of any age and must meet the following requirements:

Be a Pennsylvania resident
Have a documented hearing loss (provide documentation)
Use residual hearing (can utilize hearing aids and/or cochlear implants) to communicate
Indicate how the funds will be spent and provide a receipt for the purchase or evidence of college/technical institute enrollment

Grant amount: The recipient will be awarded up to $500.
If you are an interested candidate or know someone who may be qualified, please pass along this information. Here is the link to the application form if you wish to print it out. docx format pdf format
*Please note that this year the grant can also be applied to hearing aid purchases.

HLAA-PA RECEIVES GRANT FROM THE LOUIS N. CASSETT FOUNDATION

We are appreciative of a $2,000.00 grant awarded to our state organization. The grant can be used for captioning of our joint virtual meetings as well as to help cover expenses for our state website. Captioning is essential for many members to receive benefit and support from our online experiences. We are thrilled to have this support during the pandemic to help us achieve the goals of our mission.

Pandemic Meeting Options
by Mike Miles

The coronavirus pandemic has been difficult for everyone, and safety precautions and lockdowns have caused many everyday activities to be altered or cancelled. When the lockdowns hit Pennsylvania in March, my HLAA chapter had scheduled a Saturday morning brunch at a local Wegman’s conference room as an alternative to the normal monthly meeting at a church. We wanted to see whether meeting at a different time and place would help increase attendance. (As one of our members commented, if you feed them, they will come.) We had commitments from over 20 prospective attendees, which would have been our largest turnout in over two years! However, this event became one of many coronavirus cancellations for HLAA chapters.

   The pandemic has caused organizations and individuals to get creative in order to function with some sort of normalcy. By now, many of you have attended at least one virtual meeting or webinar on Zoom, Google Meet, or some other video platform. But back in March, most of the people who had heard of Zoom were meeting planners at corporations. Due to the coronavirus, the recent growth of virtual meetings has been exponential.
Fortunately, prior to the pandemic, the HLAA National office had been using Zoom for board meetings, the Veterans Across America Virtual Chapter meetings, and Walk4Hearing meetings. So they were quick to begin offering virtual captioned monthly meetings for members nationwide as well as guidance for chapters on how to run virtual meetings. Some of the early topics included the challenge of face masks for people with hearing loss and automatic speech recognition (ASR) technologies (such as Live Transcribe, Otter, and Microsoft Translator) for captioning. If you are a member of HLAA, you most likely received invitations. If you missed any, you can find information, including PowerPoint presentations, on the HLAA website. Meeting dates are listed at https://www.hearingloss.org/programs-events/calendar/. I highly recommend watching the webinar on ASR that was given on May 27 and downloading the accompanying files at https://www.hearingloss.org/webinars/automatic-speech-recognition-asr/.
   In November, HLAA chapters in southeastern Pennsylvania decided to try a regional captioned virtual meeting open to all their members. The chapters felt it would be more efficient to get one speaker for a larger group rather than having each chapter try to line up its own speakers. Almost 40 participants attended a virtual presentation by Chris Doig, a MontCo chapter member with N-Chatt training, who spoke about the latest in assistive microphones. To be included on the virtual meeting email list, contact one of the chapter leaders. Their email addresses are given on the HLAA-PA website (www.hlaa-pa.org).
   Not all virtual chapter meetings involve a speaker or presentation. The All Generations Chapter has had game nights during which members who join the Zoom meeting receive a link to an online game website that shows on the screen for all to play. For more information on holding game nights, contact Ronnie Adler, president of the All Generations chapter.
Little by little, HLAA chapters around the country began experimenting with virtual meetings, with Zoom and Google Meet being the primary video platforms. Because no travel is involved, I have attended virtual meetings in California, Utah, Florida and Pittsburgh, and I planned on attending the NYC chapter meeting on November 17. You not only learn about different topics relating to hearing loss but also get to “meet” HLAA members from around the country without traveling to the National Convention! My favorite presentation was by a policeman in Oakland, California talking about tips for drivers with hearing loss who are pulled over by a policeman.
HLAA North Bay of CA holds a monthly HOPE (Hearing Other People’s Experiences) support group meeting that is open to all. The group uses Google Meet, and a free Gmail account is needed to participate. The contact person is Rich Osbourne at HLAA.NBofCa@gmail.com.
   If you are interested in attending a virtual meeting of another chapter from around the country, contact your chapter leader, as leaders are able to get access to these meetings through the HLAA Leaders user group.
   One of the primary concerns in hosting a virtual meeting for individuals with hearing loss is captioning. The best captioning solution is still having a live captioner attend the virtual meeting and type the captions on the screen, just as you would at in-person chapter meetings. If the cost for this is an issue, there are several options for using third party closed captioning apps. In addition, some participants place their cell phone next to their computer or tablet and use one of the speech-to-text apps such as Live Transcribe for Android or Otter.ai for iPhone to caption the presentation if captioning is not provided.
If you are thinking of hosting a meeting with captioning and do not want to use a live captioner, I highly recommend contacting Ann Thomas of the Diablo Valley, CA chapter at athomas@hearingloss.org. Ann is the HLAA brand ambassador for all the HLAA chapters and has organized a group of HLAA members who have volunteered to help other chapters with their virtual meeting challenges.
   Participating in meetings during a pandemic is different, but fortunately, it’s still possible!

2020 Walk4Hearing

by Ronnie Adler

The Pennsylvania Walk4Hearing had a successful online celebration on Sunday, October 18th on Zoom. The event was a huge success and allowed us to keep the hearing loss community together and support one another. We had some very special guests such as HLAA Executive Director Barbara Kelley, comedian Gael Hannan, and singer Mandy Harvey. The Phillie Phanatic also made some very brief appearances. The celebration included hearing health tips and people’s personal stories about their hearing loss, and we announced that Hailey and Harper Butler won the American Girl doll Joss Kendrick, who wears a hearing aid.

The Pennsylvania Walk raised almost $88,000, with 68 teams registered. We encouraged people to walk in their neighborhood or local park to show their Walk4Hearing spirit. We also had an online raffle platform called RallyUp and raised $1,305 on raffle prizes. Winners were announced at Game Night, when we played various games and continued the celebration. It was a fun day for all our participants.
We truly appreciate our local sponsors: TMNA Services, Brookman Hearing Services, Penn Medicine, Pinnacle ENT Associates, Thomas Jefferson Otolaryngology, Maguire Foundation, Hearing Technologies, and the Hebrew Association of the Deaf. A special thanks goes to our national sponsors, which support all 20 Walks across the country: Advanced Bionics, CaptionCall, CapTel, Cochlear Americas, and Hamilton CapTel. Thank you all for making the Walk4Hearing a huge success.

About HLAA and
its State Office, HLAA-PA

The Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA), founded in 1979, is the nation’s foremost membership and advocacy organization for people with hearing loss. HLAA opens the world of communication to people with hearing loss by providing information, education, support and advocacy. The national support network includes the Washington, DC area office, 14 state organizations, and 200 local chapters. HLAA is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.

Hearing Loss Association of America
7910 Woodmont Avenue, Suite 1200
Bethesda, MD 20814
hearingloss.org

HLAA-PA is the all-volunteer state office of Hearing Loss Association of America. We were established in 2001 to carry out the mission of HLAA for Pennsylvanians with hearing loss, their families and friends.

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