December 9, 2025 – In this issue, we introduce our new volunteer & community engagement manager, discuss AI-powered sign language interpretation, share tips on hearing-friendly cruising, and more.
Introducing Our New Volunteer & Community Engagement Manager
We’re excite to share that Julie Johnson is our first Volunteer & Community Engagement Manager.
We Need YOU to Do All We Do:
The Power of Community
As you plan your holiday giving, will you consider a gift to HLAA-WA?
In 2025, with your help, we’ve taken huge steps together in building a hearing-friendly world: more open-caption movies, outreach to new groups, new board and volunteers, and a dynamic strategic planning team who’s shaping our future.
With your help, we’re building a community of hearing loss support, encouragement, and self-empowerment for 2026 and beyond.
And we can do so much more together. That’s the power of community.
Get Out and Enjoy Hearing Friendly Holiday Entertainment – Updated
Wanna get out and enjoy the holidays, but you aren’t sure where you’ll be able to hear?
Here’s our list of Hearing Friendly Holiday Events in 2025 in Washington State. We’ve added performances of holiday favorites A Christmas Carol and The Nutcracker.
Got an Access Barrier Story? Let Us Know.
Hearing access is required in many settings that Deaf and hard-of-hearing seniors find themselves in. But too often, sign language interpreters, captions, and assistive technologies aren’t there when we need them.
The Washington State Association of the Deaf is leading the way to improve communication access for seniors — especially vulnerable seniors — in healthcare and other services they need.
We’re looking for stories about your lack of effective communication access in nursing homes, rehab centers, adult family homes, and in-home caregiving.
Send your brief story to hope@hearingloss-wa.org by Thursday, December 11, 2025. You don’t need to include your name, and you can send a video instead, if you like.
Online Training from ODHH: The 988 Lifeline
The Office of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (ODHH) is offering a class to show you how to access the 988 lifeline.
- Accessing the 988 Lifeline for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing People – December 11, 2025, 5:30 – 6:30 p, via Zoom
Captions (CART) and ASL will be provided.
Questions? Contact Elizabeth Luttrell, elizabeth.luttrell@dshs.wa.gov.
National Hearing Loss News
Can AI Help Overcome the ASL Interpreter Shortage?
There’s a shortage of ASL interpreters, so Deaf people can’t always get the translation and access they need both in Washington State and across the country.
To help close these communication gaps, Deaf advocates, including our friend Melissa Greenlee, are developing an AI-powered ASL translator called Sign-AI. Read more about it here.
Hear Better While You’re Cruising
Are you considering getting out of the winter gloom and boarding a cruise ship? Here are some tips to make your cruise hearing-friendly
Hearing Loss Friends Are the Best at Any Age
We often talk about the benefits of having a “hearing loss friend” — someone who can share your experiences and offer support, tips, and simple friendship.
Here are two such friends, one age 17 and one age 7, who found a friendship over UNO card games, adventure, and the shared experiences of having cochlear implants.
This story from WKYC warmed our hearts.
Small Study Shows the Benefit of Hearing Aids for Brain Health
Hearing aid use reduced the risk of developing dementia in people with hearing loss in this study published in JAMA Network Open on November 5, 2025.
The data for this study were drawn from the Framingham Heart Study participants.
The link between hearing loss, cognitive decline, and hearing aid use is complex. You can read more about the research on our website.
Hearing Access Technology Spotlights
World’s Largest Hearing Loop Project Installed in Dubai
Five hundred twenty (!) hearing loops were installed this fall at Dubai International Airport. That’s a lot of loops! Also, how cool is that airport?
Get in the Cab, Get in the Loop
Taxicabs in Madrid, Spain are LOOPED! Read more about how 3,000 taxis got loopy in this story from Contacta.
Thanks to legislation passed in 2020, all new taxis in Madrid are required to have a hearing loop. Sounds like a good law to us — can we pass a law like that in American cities, too?
Hearing Loss Support Meetings
Get In-Person Support for Your Hearing Loss
- December 12, 2025, Renton
Our Renton support group meets 1-2 pm the second Friday of the month at the Renton Senior Activity Center, 211 Burnett Avenue North. No need to register; simply check in at the desk. Free. - December 20, 2025, Bellingham
The HLAA-Northwest Washington Chapter December meeting is a Christmas potluck and white elephant gift exchange, 11:30 – 2 pm (note the change in time from the usual).
Please sign up to attend: marketing@hearingloss-nwwa.org. Please bring a side, dessert, or salad to share; coffee, soft drinks, ham, turkey, plates and utensils provided. You’ll receive the “rules” for the white elephant gift exchange ($10 or so) when you register.
The HLAA-NWWA chapter usually meets the third Saturday of the month, 9:30 – Noon, at Christ the Servant Church, 2600 Lakeway Drive, Bellingham, Washington. Looped and free, open to all.
Join Our Next HOPE Meeting
January 7, 2026
Need HOPE and support for your hearing loss? You’re warmly invited to come an online hearing loss support meeting. At our January meeting, our president, Cheri Perazzoli, will receive a special award from AARP.
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.
Toastmasters Online for People with Hearing Loss
Need a boost in confidence? Some friendly coaching to improve your speaking skills?
If so, you might like to join the Audible Talkers Toastmasters, which is specifically designed for people with hearing loss. This friendly group meets twice a month, online via Zoom, the first and third Mondays from 6-7:15 pm Arizona time. Their next meeting is December 16, 2025. Everyone is welcome.
Access the meeting at zoom.audibletalkerstoastmasters.com. Questions? Contact Christy Abrams (c.abrams@acdhh.az.gov) or Harry Wolfe (hwolfeaz@gmail.com).
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.