Welcome to our first e-news in 2023. Happy New Year!
Washington State Hearing Loss News
Next HOPE Meeting: February 1, 2023
Special Guest: Author Elana Kupor
Living with hearing loss can feel like climbing an endless series of sometimes thorny stairs over and over again.
In an article published in The Sun magazine in October 2022, Elana Kupor writes eloquently about her hearing loss, which began when she was a child, and about climbing the famous Thistle Steps in West Seattle. Elana’s writing reminded us how important it is to tell our stories.
Elana will join our February 2023 HOPE meeting, when she’ll share her personal and evocative journey through hearing loss. We encourage you to read Elana’s article, then join us at the meeting and welcome Elana to our community.
Our Hearing Other People’s Experiences (HOPE) meetings are a safe, welcoming space where you can ask questions from your peers about anything and everything hearing loss related.
Facilitated by a caring, compassionate HOPE Crew, these monthly virtual meetings are free, live-captioned, and open to everyone with hearing loss and their friends and family. You’re also welcome to relax, listen, and spend time with people who understand what it’s like to live with hearing loss.
Legislative Talk Kicks Off Our Empowerment Series
Learn about the latest efforts to get hearing aid insurance coverage in the 2023 Washington State legislature at the first presentation in our HLAA-WA Empowerment Series.
On January 24, 2023, at 4:00 pm, HLAA-WA legislative liaison Cynthia Stewart will discuss the new hearing aid coverage bill, explain what’s in it and what’s not, and provide specific actions you can take to help get the bill passed.
Our Empowerment Series is designed to share concrete ways people with hearing loss can help themselves and others.
This series is free, online, captioned, and open to everyone.
What’s Your Hearing Test All About?
What’s in your audiogram, and what’s a QuickSIN, anyway?
Carolyn Odio, HLAA-WA board member, offers some advice on understanding your hearing test this week in our Washington State Hearing Loss blog.
Let First Responders Know You Have a Hearing Loss via Your Driver’s License
Did you know you can add a “Deaf or hard of hearing” designation to your Washington State driver’s license or ID card?
Visit the Department of Licensing for more information on this easy process, which can be done by mail or in person.
Hat-tip to Elizabeth Jensen for this story.
Hearing-Friendly History Events Coming Up at MOHAI
At Seattle’s terrific Museum of History & Industry (MOHAI), don’t miss these hearing-friendly, in-person events.
Upcoming programs with both CART captioning and ASL interpretation:
- History Café: Why America Was Not in Carlos Bulosan’s Heart on Wednesday, January 18, 2023 at 6:30pm
- History Café: Paying Tribute to Seattle’s Black Landmarks and Their Namesakes on Wednesday, February 15, 2023 at 6:30pm
- History Café: Creating a Hopeful Future for The Puget Sound on Wednesday, March 15, 2023 at 6:30pm
CART captioning will also be available at the following programs:
- Building with Purpose: Black Architects and Community Agency on Saturday, February 11, 2023 at 11:00am
- Designing with Intention: Three Generations of Black Architects on Tuesday, February 28, 2023 at 7:00pm
National Hearing Loss News
Hearing Care is Brain Care
Is hearing loss related to a risk of stroke?
In this episode of Starkey’s Sound Bites podcast, author Tracy Markley talks with Dr. Dave Fabry about possible connections between strokes and hearing loss, along with other topics, such as her new book, I’m Not Stupid, I Have Hearing Loss.
How’s the OTC Market Coming Along?
Have you shopped for over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids yet?
HearingTracker compiled this list of OTCs “registered with the FDA as self-fitting or preset-based.” The author, Dr. Abram Bailey, also explains the different classifications. And Forbes magazine lists its best OTC and prescription hearing aids here.
So far, the only over-the-counter hearing aid with a telecoil is the Lexi Lumen. Currently, you’ll need a telecoil to connect wirelessly to hearing loops in venues around the world.
Have you been shopping for an OTC hearing aid yet? If so, we’d love to hear about your experience. Email us: webmaster@hearingloss-wa.org.
Hearing Loss May Be Partly an Inability to Tune Out Competing Noise
Age-related hearing loss may be partly in the brain–that is, it may be easier when we’re younger to tune out ambient noise, according to a new study from Johns Hopkins. Researchers say that in light of these findings, perhaps the brain can be trained to focus on individual sounds in noise.
Best Hearing Aids for Tinnitus, per Forbes Magazine
Hearing aids can sometimes help reduce tinnitus, that annoying ringing, buzzing, or other noise in the ears. Here, Forbes suggests several that might help your tinnitus, including the ReSound OMINA, Starkey Evolv AI, and Widex Moment. Our usual reminder about telecoils still applies–ask about a telecoil if you want to connect to hearing loops.
A Speaker to Help You Understand Dialogue on TV
Turning up the TV volume doesn’t necessarily help you understand speech better–plus, the sounds you don’t want to hear, like music or explosions, can get too loud, making your comprehension problem worse.
The new Mirai speaker claims to help you better understand speech on television. Dr. Rachel Cook reviews the Mirai in this video from Dr. Cliff Olson, comparing and contrasting the speaker’s audio with regular TV audio. Could the Mirai make a difference in how you enjoy TV, with or without a hearing loss? (Hint: Yes!)
Join HLAA and HLAA-WA
Member benefits include product discounts, reduced convention registration fees, help with the latest hearing loss tech, and HLAA’s award-winning quarterly magazine, Hearing Life. Your HLAA membership automatically includes HLAA-Washington. Dues start at $45 a year.
HLAA-WA does not endorse any technology, nor does exclusion suggest disapproval. We support the full spectrum of hearing technologies for everyone.