HLAA-WA E-News
Hearing Loss News & Help, August 18, 2026
In this issue, we announce our partnership with the Seattle Reads program, share a new hearing aid discount program from AARP, welcome back our Renton and HOPE support groups, and much more.
We’re Partnering with the Seattle Public Library for Seattle Reads
We’re excited to partner with the Seattle Public Library for a series of Seattle Reads events featuring bestselling author Sara Nović.
Register now to attend one of these author events.
- September 25, 11:00 am at Ballard Branch, 5614 22nd Ave. N.W.
- September 25, 7:00 pm at Hugo House, Lapis Theater, 1634 11th Ave
- September 26, 11:00 am at SouthEast Seattle Senior Center, 4655 S. Holly St.
- September 26, 3:00 pm at the Central Library, 1000 4th Ave
- September 27, 11:00 am at Central Library. This is a private event held in conjunction with Deaf Spotlight and designed for the Deaf community. It will take place completely in ASL.
All public programs will have ASL and CART live captioning. Venues do have assistive listening systems as well, though these systems aren’t hearing loops.
Sara is also an activist and instructor of Deaf studies and creative writing. Learn more about Sara and purchase their books on their website.
If you’d like to help us by volunteering to staff our table at one of these Seattle-area events, please contact Julie Johnson, our volunteer manager: jjohnson@hearingloss-wa.org.
Another Successful Picnic Thanks to You, Our Community
Our July 11 picnic was a winner. Thank you so much to everyone who attended, brought friends and family, shared treats, donated raffle items and helped set up, take down, demonstrate equipment, and create a welcoming, fun day.
See photos (courtesy of Kevin Pieczynski,) and read more details on our blog.
Do you have ideas for a social event for our hearing loss community? Let us know: webmaster@hearingloss-wa.org.
Hearing Loss and Falls Prevention
Did you know that hearing loss is associated with an increased risk of falls? The connection is important—and often overlooked.
Our HLAA-WA President Cheri Perazzoli recently presented to the King County Falls Prevention Coalition about how hearing loss can affect awareness of our surroundings, communication, balance, and cognitive load, and why addressing hearing loss should be part of a comprehensive approach to fall prevention.
Using hearing aids consistently can help reduce some of the challenges associated with hearing loss and may help reduce fall risk. Good hearing health, effective communication, and accessible environments also play a role in falls prevention.
HLAA-WA also encouraged the falls-prevention community to consider simple ways to incorporate hearing into their work, including adding a hearing question to falls assessments and identifying hearing-related action items in falls-prevention resources and programs.
Because this connection is so important, we’ve added a new Hearing Loss and Falls Prevention webpage to provide resources for people with hearing loss and for families, caregivers, and professionals.
You can also view Cheri’s presentation to the King County Falls Prevention Coalition.
Help for People Affected by Wildfires
Our hearts and minds are with people affected by the wildfires in Washington State and beyond this summer.
To help ensure that services and information are accessible to everyone, Deaf and hard-of-hearing leaders across the state are meeting daily and taking action. Thank you to Earnest Covington III, Jim House, Sue Pniewski, Simon Ramel McKay, Sandra Carr, Caroline Allen, and many others for their hard work.
For more information on what’s being done, how to get help, how to prepare for the long wildfire season, and how to apply to have your hearing aids replace if you’ve lost them due to the disasters, check out our blog post.
Rethinking Hearing Loss, Inclusion, and Performance
Including people with hearing loss at work and at school starts with understanding common hearing challenges and the accommodations that help.
In this thoughtful article in Organizational Dynamics, Brent Lyons and HLAA Board Director David Baldridge offer guidance to business leaders on how hearing loss can be successfully accommodated to boost an employee inclusion and performance.
Please share with your employer, manager, HR department, or anyone who’s building an inclusive, hearing-friendly workplace.
Provide Feedback on the Washington State’s Age- and Dementia-Friendly Action Plan
Healthy aging means healthy hearing. Let the Washington State Healthcare Authority know how you’d like to see our state be the best place in the country for seniors and people with dementia.
We encourage hearing loss testing, hearing aid coverage, staff training in hearing loss and communication strategies, and building hearing-friendly communities.Read the draft Reimagining Aging & Memory Loss in Washington plan here.
Send your comments to olderadults@hca.wa.gov with the subject line “Action Plan Comments.”
Deadline for public comment is September 4, 2026.
Hearing-Friendly Entertainment
Village Theatre in Issaquah & EverettThinking about your fall entertainment? Get tickets now to see a hearing-friendly performance of Ragtime at Village Theatre.
Ragtime – a Tony award-winning musical that explores how three families from different backgrounds pursue the American dream at the turn of the century.
- Issaquah – September 15 – October 18, 2026
Open-caption show – October 17, 2026
ASL show – October 3, 2026 - Everett – October 24 – November 15, 2026
Open-caption show – November 14, 2026
ASL show – October 31, 2026
Both Village Theatre locations have hearing loops. Turn your hearing aid or CI to “T” or telecoil mode to hear sound directly, or ask an usher for headphones.
To hear a little from the Broadway production of Ragtime, here’s a beautiful live performance of “Wheels of a Dream” on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
National Hearing Loss News & Events
A New Hearing Aid Discount Program Is Available from AARP and Soundly
The folks at AARP and Soundly have announced a new hearing care and hearing aid discount program.
Members of AARP can save up to 50% on prescription hearing aids, and the program includes unbundled pricing and access to a nationwide provider network. You can find out more and start the process with Soundly here.
If you try it, let us know how this program works for you: webmaster@hearingloss-wa.org.
Webinar: “The Information We Carry: Genetics and Hearing Loss”
August 26, 2026 | Noon Pacific
Genetic hearing loss affects people of all ages. Find out how genetics plays a role in our hearing, what genetic testing can do, and how advances in research are shaping the future of hearing healthcare.
Free and captioned, as always.
HLAA National Online Meeting:
Artificial Intelligence and Hearing LossSeptember 16, 2026 | 4:00 pm Pacific
At this meeting, Dr. Jan Blustein will share highlights and key insights from the 2026 HLAA Research Symposium, “The AI Revolution in Hearing Health – Smarter Tech, Greater Access.”
Afterward, participants can connect in virtual breakout sessions to discuss the theme “The Silver Lining of Hearing Loss.” Shari Eberts, Holly Cohen, and Roxana Rotundo will moderate these small group discussions.
Lawsuit Filed to Address Lack of Disability Access at a Denver Convention
A civil rights discrimination lawsuit has been filed in Denver, with the plaintiffs claiming that no assistive listening systems were provided during the American Psychological Association’s convention at the Colorado Convention Center in August 2025.
The Center for Hearing Access has more details in a press release; though CHA is not a plaintiff in the lawsuit, they help explain it. You can also read the case document itself.
Research Study Opportunity: Do You Use Captions for Voice Phone Calls?
If you’re over 50, have a hearing loss, and use captions for phone calls, you may qualify for an ICAAT research study. This study aims to improve captioned telephone services.
Participants will receive an Amazon gift card.
Hearing Technology News
Video: Why Assistive Listening Matters
Hearing aids are powerful ways to hear people close to us. But in many settings, hearing aids aren’t enough. That’s where assistive listening systems come in: these systems are the bridge between audio and our hearing aids or CIs.
This excellent video from Hearing Health & Technology Matters features hearing loss advocate Shari Eberts along with Juliette Sterkens and Wynne Whyman from the Center for Hearing Access. This trio of hearing loss stars discuss how assistive listening works, why it matters, and how venues can choose the best system for the venue and their listeners.
Auracast Comes to Albuquerque, New Mexico
Grace Lutheran Church and Albuquerque Hearing and Balance are using Auracast assistive listening systems to help people with hearing loss. In both places, Auracast supplements the hearing loop systems they already had, giving listeners another way to hear better.
Read more in this Hearing Health & Technology Matters article.
Hearing Loss Support Meetings
Our Renton and HOPE Support Groups Are BACK!
Local, In-Person Support for Hearing Loss: Renton, Washington
September 11, 2026 | 1:00 pm
Our Renton Support Group meets the second Friday of each month. We’re meeting temporarily at the Renton Community Center until we can resume meeting at the Renton Senior Center, which is currently closed for renovations.No registration necessary. Free.
Local, Online Support for Everyone with Hearing Loss: HOPE
September 2, 2026 | 4:00 pm Pacific
Need HOPE and support for your hearing loss? You’re warmly invited to come our online hearing loss support meeting: HOPE Hearing Other People’s Experiences.Facilitated by a caring, compassionate team, these monthly virtual meetings are free, live-captioned, and open to everyone with hearing loss and to their friends and family.
HOPE meets the first Wednesday of each month at 4:00 pm.
National Online Support for Parents of Kids with Hearing Loss
September 16, 2026 | 5:00 pm Pacific
Hear Together: Parents of Children with Hearing Loss
Led by a speech-language pathologist and an audiologist, this virtual national parents’ support group is designed to connect families and provide resources and support. The group meets regularly on the third Wednesday of the month, with the meeting moved to the fourth Wednesday in February only.National Online Support for Veterans with Hearing Loss
September 15, 2026 | 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm Pacific time
The national HLAA office has a virtual chapter dedicated to veterans with hearing loss: the Veterans Across America Virtual Chapter Meeting (VVAVC) They meet online every third Tuesday of the month, and everyone is welcome, including friends, family, and caregivers of veterans.Free and captioned.
Stay Involved with HLAA and HLAA-WA
We’re glad you’re part of our community.
What more can you do to support people with hearing loss?
The Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA) and HLAA-WA do not endorse specific products or services,
but educate and advocate for a range of assistive technology options to help people with
hearing loss understand, connect, and stay engaged in their lives.As an all-volunteer run organization, 100% of every dollar donated is directed to our programs. HLAA-WA is an IRS non-profit 501(c)(3) organization; all donations are tax-deductible as allowed by relevant IRS code.
Hearing Loss News & Help, July 21, 2026
In this issue, we share a volunteer opportunity, an open-caption victory, a survey to help shape disability services in Washington State, a heartfelt post on disability pride, a movie we’re excited about, a cochlear implant conference, a $20 hearing aid, and more.
Help Make the Washington State Ferries Hearing-Accessible
We’ve been working with the Washington State Ferries to make sure that people with hearing loss can get important announcements and safety info. We’re happy to report that the WSF is creating an advisory board to help with a text-based alert system.
Find out more, including how you can volunteer to help, in this blog post.
Ask Twice, Receive Hearing Access
When you ask twice for open captions, and you receive them, what happens when you show up the third time?
Kirsten and John Robbins, longtime HLAA-WA advocates, recently attended a FIFA viewing party given by the City of Renton and requested captions–twice.
Their story is a good reminder that in hearing advocacy and in life, persistence works.
Research Study Participant Opportunity: Hearing Access in Primary Care
Central Michigan University is recruiting Deaf and hard-of-hearing folks to answer questions about their experiences with communication barriers in primary care settings. The survey will take just 15-20 minutes to complete.
Please see this flyer for more information. There will be a QR code on the flyer that you’ll want to follow. (If you see an advertisement, simply click on “continue to destination,” and that will take you to the survey.
Short Survey: Help Prioritize Services for People with Disabilities in Washington State
The Washington State Independent Living Council (WASILC) would like to hear from people with disabilities, including hearing loss, as they create their 3-year plan.
Your answers to their short survey will help guide policy and resources for people with disabilities in our state. We encourage you participate. You could win a $100 gift card, too.
Disability Pride? Me? Yes!
July is Disability Pride Month. Do people with hearing loss have reason to be proud? Our wonderful writer Becky Montgomery says YES in this blog post.
Celebrating 36 Years of the ADA
July 26 marks the 36th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), signed by President George Bush in 1990. This landmark civil rights legislation expanded access and opportunities for millions of Americans with disabilities.
For people with hearing loss, the ADA helped ensure access through assistive listening systems, captioning, interpreters, and the right to effective communication in employment, education, and public life.
While much progress has been made, creating accessible communities is an ongoing effort–and a job for all of us.
We encourage you to join an ADA event in your area. For example, you can register for “The Fundamentals of Accessibility” webinar presented by the Seattle Cultural Accessibility Consortium, July 22, Noon- 1:15 pm.
Get ASL and Other Communication Access at SEA Airport
Our SEA (formerly SeaTac) Airport now provides live video ASL, called Mobile Video Remote Interpreting.
People with hearing loss might also benefit from other disability access help at SEA, including communication tip cards, sunflower lanyards, and the hearing loops at information desks.
Disability Performance in the Spotlight: ILLUMINATE 2026 at Seattle Center
Enjoy films, plays, readings, and a panel discussion by artists with disabilities at ILLUMINATE 2026. July 21 and July 27, 2026. This festival celebrates Disability Pride Month with art and entertainment for everyone.
The festival is held at the Seattle Center Theatre Black Box. Here’s more information about Sound Theatre Company’s accessibility. We aren’t sure if there is an assistive listening system in this specific venue, so if you go, please request the hearing access that you need: accessibility@soundthearecompany.org.
Hearing-Friendly Entertainment: Author Talks, Governor Inslee, and More at Town Hall Seattle
Town Hall Seattle is an extremely hearing-friendly venue, with hearing loops in all three event spaces. Here are just a few of the events coming up this summer.
- July 23rd, 7:30 pm – The Emperor of Gladness: A Novel, with Ocean Vuong and Putsata Reang
- July 29th, 7:30 pm – “This is the Plan: How to End America’s Meltdown and Save Democracy,” with Ben Wikler and former Washington State governor Jay Inslee.
- August 12, 6:30 pm – “Noticing” with Richard Louv and Sally Jewell.
Many Town Hall Seattle events are free or low-cost. The venue itself is also accessible to people with other disabilities, with an elevator, wheelchair ramps, Braille signage, and more.
National Hearing Loss News & Events
Webinar: “The Information We Carry: Genetics and Hearing Loss”
Genetic hearing loss affects people of all ages. Find out how genetics plays a role in our hearing, what genetic testing can do, and how advances in research are shaping the future of hearing healthcare.
This HLAA webinar is August 26, 2026, at Noon Pacific.
Read the Latest Issue of Hearing Well Magazine from the Hearing Health Foundation
The latest issue of Hearing Health magazine features an article on mini-microphones, stories of music lovers with hearing loss, captions for gamers, and more.
Read the summer issue here. Note this is not to be confused with HLAA’s outstanding Hearing Life magazine.
Disability Rights Film Being Heumann Will Open the Toronto International Film Festival
The movie Being Heumann, which focuses on disability rights activist Judy Heumann, will be featured on opening night at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) on September 10, 2026. We’re happy that a film that centers disability advocacy and centers one of its heroes could reach a big audience. Note this is not a documentary, but it is adapted from Heumann’s 2020 memoir. Heumann passed in 2023.
TIFF will be Being Heumann’s world premiere. We’ll let you know when the film comes to us locally or when it’s available to stream.
Cochlear Implant International Community of Action (CIICA) Conference Is October 21- 23rd, 2026, in Brussels
Cochlear implant wearers: Wanna go to Brussels this fall?
The theme of the third CIICA conference is “Where Science Meets Experience | Advocating for Sustainable, Lifelong CI Services Globally.” People who use CIs may be eligible for a 50% discount on tickets.More information here, including the agenda, which includes a free reception, a paid welcome dinner, advocacy help, science talks, help for parents, and more.
Hearing Technology News
Three Views on Auracast
We get a lot of questions about Auracast, the emerging assistive listening system that’s getting a lot of attention at the moment. While we’re excited about Auracast’s possibilities, we also believe that we need the full spectrum of technologies — including hearing loops — to truly include all people with hearing loss in all settings.
This excellent series of articles in Hearing Life magazine, including one by our president Cheri Perazzoli, takes a deeper dive into Auracast.
Auracast at a K-Pop Concert
The Korean (K-Pop) music group Big Ocean all identify as Deaf, and they use cochlear implants or hearing aids, sometimes both. When they perform, they use light cues and vibrations to coordinate and communicate with each other.
At a recent show in South Korea, they used Auracast to ensure their fans with hearing loss could relax and enjoy the show. Pretty cool!
A Startup Company Has Invented a $20 Hearing Aid
At McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, three students have developed a hearing aid that they say needs no battery and could cost as little as $20 a pair. The students were inspired to do so by watching their family members’ experiences with hearing loss and struggling to pay for many expensive hearing aids.
Hearing Loss Support Meetings
Our Renton support group and our HOPE virtual support group are on
summer hiatus during July and August.
Both teams will be back in September.Local, In-Person Support for Hearing Loss: Bellingham – Northwest Washington
August 15, 2026, 11:00 – 2:00, Bellingham
HLAA-Northwest Washington Chapter
This month’s meeting is a picnic at Whatcom Falls Park Pavillion. Members and friends are welcome.
While their picnic will be at a different location in August, the HLAA-NWWA chapter generally meets the third Saturday of the month at Christ the Servant Church, 2600 Lakeway Drive, Bellingham, Washington. Looped, captioned, and free. Open to all, including friends and family.National Online Support for Veterans with Hearing Loss
July 21, 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm Pacific time
Veterans Across America Virtual Chapter Meeting
The national HLAA office has a virtual chapter dedicated to veterans with hearing loss. They meet online every third Tuesday of the month, and everyone is welcome.Meet with veterans from across the county to talk about issues related to veterans and hearing loss. Caregivers and family members of veterans are welcome to attend. Free and captioned.
Stay Involved with HLAA and HLAA-WA
We’re glad you’re part of our community.
What more can you do to support people with hearing loss?
The Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA) and HLAA-WA do not endorse specific products or services,
but educate and advocate for a range of assistive technology options to help people with
hearing loss understand, connect, and stay engaged in their lives.As an all-volunteer run organization, 100% of every dollar donated is directed to our programs. HLAA-WA is an IRS non-profit 501(c)(3) organization; all donations are tax-deductible as allowed by relevant IRS code.
