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through information, education, advocacy, and support.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010 5:30 – 7:30 PM
(Socializing at 5:30; program begins at 6:00.)
Editor’s Corner – Elizabeth Stump
Hearing Assessment Results:
The Audiogram and Beyond Welcome to the January 2010 issue of
the HLAA‐Manhattan News & Views!
SPEAKER: Michael Bergen, Director of the Happy New Year! I hope you emerged from the
Brooklyn College Speech and Hearing Center holidays rested and invigorated, ready to tackle a
and audiologist at the CUNY Graduate Center brand new year — and a brand new decade!
In 2009, our Chapter saw a great deal of challenges
MEETING LEADER: Diane Sussman and changes, but also successes. A few immediately
come to mind: the spectacular success of the second
Mr. Bergen will help participants understand annual Walk4HearingTM on October 18th — more than
audiological test results. $152,000 was raised! — and the Advocacy
Committee’s involvement with the showing of open
Location captioned films at various NYC summer festivals.
Such accomplishments are laudable, and hopefully
MUHLENBERG LIBRARY BRANCH
will instigate our members to pitch in and build on
209 West 23rd St.
these successes in 2010! Read more about volunteer
(between 7th and 8th Ave., closer to 7th)
opportunities with the Chapter on pg. 3.
3rd floor—elevator available
A special thank‐you is extended to Susan Shapiro,
NOTE: Assistive listening help is provided at our who stepped down as Chapter Treasurer and who is
meetings through live CART captioning and a room loop being replaced by Elizabeth O’Leary starting this
for those whose hearing aids have a T‐coil. Headsets are month. Also, a note of thanks goes to former Chair of
also available. the Planning Committee, Ellen Semel, who stepped
down in December, for her tremendous dedication to
all our Chapter’s efforts!
In addition to volunteering your time and
involvement with the Chapter, you can start the new
year off on the right foot by attending our January
meeting on the 19th. Michael Bergen, M.S., CCC-A, an
audiologist, Director of Brooklyn College Speech and
Hearing Center, and President‐Elect of the New York
State Speech Language Hearing Association
Next Month’s Meeting: Tues., February 16, 5:30 PM (NYSSLHA), will speak to us about interpreting
Topic: Hearing Loss, Anger Management, & hearing assessments. Don’t miss the chance to mingle
Relationship Skills with fellow members and ask questions of our expert
Speaker: Dr. Mary Kaland, psychologist speaker.
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See you at the Chapter meeting on January 19th! CHAPTER PLANNING COMMITTEE
HLAA Manhattan Chapter Phone Number: (voice)
(212) 769‐HEAR (4327)
Barbara Bryan, Chapter Social Activities
barbarabryan@usa.net
Mary Fredericks, Secretary
(212) 674‐9128 maryfreder@aol.com
Manhattan Chapter Annual Dues
Reminder: Please renew your Chapter dues! Mail Joe Gordon, Chapter Advocacy Consultant
NYJGordon@aol.com
or hand the completed form on the back of the
N&V, along with your check for $15 payable to
Toni Iacolucci, NYC Walk4HearingTM Co‐chair;
HLAA‐Manhattan, to Mary Fredericks. It covers Advocacy Committee Chair
your one‐year membership for the period giantoni@nyc.rr.com
September 1, 2009, to August 31, 2010.
Elizabeth O’Leary, Treasurer
National Dues Reminder EOL321@aol.com
We hope you will also join or renew your
Anne Pope, Immediate Past President, HLAA Board
membership in our national organization. Your
of Trustees; NYC Walk4Hearing Co‐chair
separate $35 check for annual dues (see back atpop24@aol.com
page) is vitally needed to help support the
educational and advocacy work we do at the Susan Shapiro
national level. Your membership also includes a sdshappy@aol.com
subscription to Hearing Loss Magazine.
Dana Simon, Liaison for NYPL
dana2cat@gmail.com
Elizabeth Stump, Chapter Newsletter Editor
Help the Chapter Go Green! ElizabethMStump@gmail.com
Would you like to receive N&V by e‐mail only
rather than receive a mailed version to help us cut Diane Sussman, Posters and Flyers
down on paper consumption and save money? It dlsuss@optonline.net
costs about $8 a year to provide one member with
10 issues — that’s more than half of one’s annual Chapter Advisors:
dues. Please notify HLAANYC@aol.com to make
Barbara Dagen, Newsletter Committee
this change. The Manhattan Chapter thanks you!
Ellen Semel, Policy & Outreach
Professional Advisors:
Josh Gendel, Technical Director, Center for Hearing
and Communication (CHC)
Laurie Hanin, Ph.D, CCC‐A Exec. Director, CHC
Joseph Montano, Ed.D., Director, Hearing & Speech,
Weill Cornell Medical College
HLAA E‐news: Do you subscribe? It provides
HLAA latest news every other week electronically.
To sign up go to:
www.hearingloss.org/membership/Sen.asp
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WHAT YOU MISSED IN DECEMBER systems, classroom acoustics, and best practices for
teachers in the classroom.
—“Panel Discussion for Parents of Children with
In lieu of our December Hearing Loss,” covering such topics as hearing aids,
meeting, we had a cheerful cochlear implants, laws and services in the school
holiday dinner at the Olive system, developing good communication skills, and
coping within the family.
Garden on Dec. 15th. Thank
you to the party organizer, *For Registration and More Information:
Mary Fredericks, and the —Register for the convention online here:
Manhattan Chapter www.regonline.com/Checkin.asp?EventId=780037
—Reserve your spot at the Hilton Milwaukee City
Planning Committee for
Center online here:
arranging such an excellent
www.hilton.com/en/hi/groups/personalized/MKEM
event! HHF‐HLAA‐20100615/index.jhtml
—To get a 10% discount on your airfare, travel with
the official convention airline partner, Midwest
Airlines, between June 12 and June 24, 2010. (The
10% discount is valid for tickets purchased at least 60
Metropolitan Calendar days in advance.) Use promotional code CMZ1710
when you book online (www.midwestairlines.com)
Friday, January 1: Happy New Year!
or by phone (800‐452‐2022).
Tuesday, January 19: HLAA Chapter meeting
—For information on Milwaukee, check out
Thursday, February 4: Center for Hearing and
www.visitmilwaukee.org.
Communication Cochlear Implant Support Group
—For more on the annual convention, go to
50 Broadway, 2nd Floor; 5:30‐7 PM
www.hearingloss.org/convention/index.asp.
*For more information, call (917) 305‐7820
or e‐mail aflores@chchearing.org.
February 14: Happy Valentine’s Day!
Tuesday, February 16: HLAA Chapter meeting
Hearing Loss Association Convention 2010:
—June 17‐20, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, at the Hilton
Milwaukee City Center and Midwest Airlines Center
—There is a discount for first‐time attendees.
—Veterans of OIF and OEF who have hearing loss
are offered complimentary registration (e‐mail
convention@hearingloss.org for more information). Become an HLAA‐Manhattan Chapter Volunteer
*This year’s convention highlights: Have you ever thought about what the members of
—The Research Symposium: Hearing Aid Research and the HLAA Manhattan Chapter Planning Committee
Development: What It Means for the Consumer. do? You are invited to see firsthand on the first
—The Keynote Speaker at the Opening Session: Tuesday of the month at 5:30 pm in the same
advocate Bill Barkeley, past‐president of the Muhlenberg Library room in which our general
Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired, who monthly meetings take place. Please e‐mail
has Usher’s Syndrome (the leading cause of deaf‐ hlaanyc@aol.com or leave a phone message at 212‐
blindness). Barkeley, a world‐class mountain 769‐4327 to let us know you are coming.
climber, conquered Mount Kilimanjaro in 2007, and
in July 2010, he will lead an expedition of college I first attended the Manhattan Chapter of HLAA in
students to the Peruvian Amazon. 1999, and within a few months I volunteered to help
—“What Children with Cochlear Implants Need at publicize the National Day of Hearing Screening,
School,” a special workshop for parents of children which HLAA (then SHHH) sponsored. I worked
with hearing loss and school professionals on FM with Dana Simon, who invited me as a guest to the
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next Board meeting. Life was never the same for me getting a group together to see a captioned movie
after that. I got involved in finding businesses to take and have brunch/dinner? Or you might have an idea
out ads in our newsletter. Then Anne Pope invited for a program speaker/topic? Do you have experience
me to a meeting in her apartment, and that started in publicity? There are so many opportunities to meet
my “career” in the Walk4HearingTM project. new people and learn from others.
Subsequently, I was part of a committee to produce a
pamphlet for parents‐to‐be on Infant Hearing Although I am now stepping down from the
Screenings. Then I got interested in finding a new Planning Committee, I will continue my work to
space for our meetings and after we were lucky educate senior centers about hearing loss and
enough to find the Muhlenberg Library meeting induction loops. I am also working with a new
room, I worked on gifting the library with an volunteer to create monthly press releases; we are
induction loop and PA system. Now I am working updating our media list and hope to get our monthly
with the Department for the Aging as well as with meetings listed on air, in local print press, and online.
JASA to secure induction loops for senior centers.
Our chapter will be making presentations to these Volunteerism is on the rise and is promoted by our
centers to give the members information on hearing federal government in a big way as well as by many
loss. I have also been fortunate enough to work on a large corporations. Volunteering affords you the
committee to choose the three winners of the annual opportunity to learn new skills.
scholarships we give to graduating high school
seniors with hearing loss. Leave a message on our Chapter phone (212‐769‐
4327) or write to hlaanyc@aol.com with your
You, too, can get involved in any of the above and availability and interest. You’ll feel good when you
more or less, as you choose. It is really a good feeling help others!
to know that in addition to learning all there is to —Ellen Semel
know about hearing loss to help yourself, that you
give back and help others, as well.
Please consider getting involved in a chapter activity
that will not only help others but will give you so
much personal gratification. Maybe you would like
to join an activity in progress; maybe you have a new
idea of a project that will help us reach more people
with hearing loss. For example, we can start a
Chapter blog on living with hearing loss and Tips for Avoiding Battery Ingestion
different members can each write a piece. Maybe you
are savvy in working with Web sites and can assist Hear the words ‘battery ingestion,’ and we
our Chapter site, or perhaps you would like to immediately think of small children as the
volunteer to help monitor our sound system. Perhaps culprits/victims. But the truth is that people of any
you have a good idea of how we should spend some age inadvertently swallow batteries, often because
of our Walk4HearingTM proceeds, or you know a they’ve confused them with a pill or piece of candy.
company that would like to support our next Walk. Here are some tips to reduce the risk of battery
Would you consider being on a refreshment ingestion:
committee to ensure we have snacks at our meetings?
‐store hearing aids in a cool, dry environment, out of
reach of all children; never let a kid play with a
Do you like to write? Are you good with numbers?
hearing aid or battery (they have a habit of putting
Would you be interested in telephone work? Do you
things in their mouth).
have good computer skills? Are you organized and
would enjoy some administrative function to help ‐pediatric hearing aids have battery locks on the
our Chapter grow and/or help to plan the annual instrument; be sure these are activated when the
Walk4HearingTM? Would you like to be on a greeting child wears the hearing aids.
committee? Help organize our literature each month?
Perhaps you want to organize a social activity, like
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‐work over a towel when you handle the batteries so
that if you drop one, it will be easy to retrieve; if you
drop one onto a hard table surface, it will often end
up on the floor, and you’ll either waste time looking
for it or never find it. When this happens, someone
could eventually step on it and fall, or a child could Chapter Spotlight: Lauren Schechter
eventually find it and eat it.
Chapter members who attend our monthly meetings
‐never put batteries/hearing aids on a table where cannot help but notice Lauren Schechter, the friendly
you put food/drinks, which could spill onto the blonde CART reporter who captions the meetings.
devices. Also, when distracted you could Here’s a chance to learn more about Lauren and her
inadvertently pick up a battery thinking it’s a piece of involvement with HLAA. Says Lauren:
candy/pill and swallow it.
“I am a trained court reporter, but upon passing the
‐When carrying batteries in your purse, keep Certification exam in 1999, I went right to work as a
batteries separate from any pills inside. CART provider for people with hearing loss. (CART
stands for Communication Access Realtime Translation.)
What should you do if you have swallowed a
How I got interested in this profession is easy – my
battery? Immediately seek professional help with a
father, Woody Waga, is a very well‐known court and
gastroenterologist, and don’t try to fix the problem at
CART reporter. He trained me, so I learned from the
home (such as with laxatives). If a battery gets stuck
master. After learning my theory, how to write
and is not removed quickly, the battery material can
shorthand, I enrolled in a school to build up my
leak and cause inflammation or a perforation in the
speed. And the rest was on‐the‐job training.
digestive tract. Your physician will take an X‐ray and
remove the battery from your gastrointestinal tract “I CART for HLAA twice a month, once for the
with a fiber‐optic endoscope. Fortunately this is a Planning Committee meetings, and once for the
routine procedure and not considered major surgery. general Chapter meetings. I have been working with
HLAA Manhattan Chapter for about three years,
A few additional facts about hearing aid batteries: a
since the time I met Chapter member Joe Gordon at a
battery’s life expectancy is three years or longer; and
job that I did CART at in upstate New York. I have
removing the tab from a zinc‐air battery begins
gotten to know some of the members very well, and I
battery drain that cannot be stopped.
always have such a great sense of pride after every
Hear Your Name Called in Waiting Rooms meeting because of all the thanks and compliments
I’m given. It’s frustrating when I hear about all the
Many of us know how stressful it can be to sit in a challenges the people I work for face every day — it’s
doctor’s office waiting room and hope we hear our hard to believe that so much discrimination still
name called. Instead of glancing up or turning exists today.
around every five seconds to ensure you aren’t
missed, try the following strategy: “I provided CART at the Kickoff celebration at the
Central Park Boathouse for both NYC Walks (2008
Before you leave for the appointment, choose a piece and 2009). I did CART at the ’08 Walk itself, and
of yellow (or blue, red, etc.) paper and write in large would have this year as well, but the wind and rain
letters: Patient is hearing‐impaired — may not hear made it impossible. I also organized a team, Team
name called — wearing yellow (or blue, red, etc.) TotalCaption, and we raised a lot of money both
shirt. (Match your shirt color with the paper color.) years for the Walk4HearingTM. I’m proud to say that
I won as top fundraising captain this year!
Give the paper to the receptionist upon check‐in and
tell her to clip it to the outside front of her chart. You “In addition to working with HLAA, I also currently
could also hand her a headshot of yourself to attach work with several college students with hearing loss
to the front of the chart. Now relax, and sit back to in the NYC area. I also do remote CART, which is
wait peacefully! done over the Internet from my home, for a
businesswoman in NYC. And I provide CART for a
Bar Review Course for law students preparing to
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take the Bar exam when they have students with Arts & Culture Review Corner
hearing loss registered. On Thursday, November 19th, fellow Chapter
member Suzy Immergut and I attended a gallery talk
“I have been married to my college sweetheart for
over 17 years. We have two children, Amanda, age at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. What was
15, and Danny, age 10. We live in Ridgewood, NJ. special about this talk was the availability of
Last year my town formed an Access for All FM assistive listening devices.
The talk was on ʺAmerican Stories: Paintings of
Committee in an attempt to make the town accessible
Everyday Life, 1765‐1915.ʺ The guide was Stephanie
for people with all kinds of disabilities. I joined the
Committee to provide CART for anyone who needed Herdrich. The subject matter was fascinating, and
it. Last October we had a Disability Awareness our guide was informative and well spoken.
Weekend throughout the town. I provided CART at The assistive listening device was comfortable, and
two of the main events, a disability entertainment the sound was clear. It was wonderful to relax and
showcase and an interfaith service at a local church. enjoy the talk. These devices are available for all
gallery talks. I give the Met and its assistive listening
It was one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve
device service five stars!
had in a long time; to see an entire town come
together to celebrate people with disabilities. It was —Wendy L. Wallace
really very special for me, especially because the *Have you had an experience related to assistive
weekend was my idea. technology for your hearing loss while attending a
theater, film, museum, or other cultural event?
“There is a big difference between hearing and Chapter members are encouraged to send in their
listening. If the speaker is not speaking too fast, and personal stories for possible inclusion in the HLAA‐
if I find the material interesting, I can listen and hear Manhattan News & Views! Please e‐mail the editor at
at the same time. But I can just as easily hear the ElizabethMStump@gmail.com.
speaker without listening to a word they are saying.
For example, I have done CART in calculus and
organic chemistry classes where I don’t understand Fall Getaway to the
the subjects; I don’t really pay attention to what’s Caribbean
being said, other than to try to get it all down
The Hearing Loss
accurately. There is no mental processing going on.
Association of Florida
But in a setting like HLAA, where I’m hearing about
invites you aboard the
people’s personal issues, and learning about things
Royal Caribbean cruise
that are or can be relevant to my life, as long as the
ship Freedom of the
speaker isn’t speaking very fast, I do pay attention
and process as best I can what they’re saying. Seas, sailing October 17, 2010! Visit Jamaica, Haiti,
Mexico, and the Cayman Islands. A portable room kit
“One thing that I cannot do is type and talk at the with a visual‐tactile alert system for the stateroom is
same time. So if I’m asked a question, I have to either available upon advance request. CART will be
stop typing, or type the answer. But that doesn’t available for production shows in the main theater,
happen very often. and an assistive listening system is available in the
main theater and show lounge.
“I have some elderly relatives who wear hearing
aids, but that has helped them enough that they don’t Inside cabins start at $700 per person; outside cabins
have any big challenges beyond that. I got involved start at $850 per person (based on two passengers in
with the hearing loss community through my father, cabin). Deposit of $250 per person due upon
and I am very glad that I did. I feel rewarded every reservation, final due 8/1/10. For more information,
day that I work. I know I’m providing a service to contact: Lynn Rousseau at HLAFlorida@aol.com.
someone, or a group of people, that would otherwise
be left in silence. I am one of the few people who can
honestly say that I love my job. Thanks, Dad!”
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Access to the Arts in New York City
OPEN‐CAPTIONED THEATER ‐ Find captioned theater listings nationwide on www.c2net.org
Theater Access Project (TAP) captions Broadway and Off‐Broadway productions each month. Tickets are
discounted. For listings & application www.tdf.org/tap or 212‐221‐1103, 212‐719‐45377 (TTY)
*Upcoming OPEN‐CAPTIONED Shows: [See TAP for tickets]
The Lion King (1/24, 1PM); Next to Normal (1/30, 2PM); Mary Poppins (1/31, 1PM); Time Stands Still
(3/6, 2PM)
OPEN‐CAPTIONED MOVIES –
For updates, go to www.insightcinema.org/links.html or www.regalcinemas.com/movies/open_cap.html.
REGAL BATTERY PARK STADIUM 11, 102 N. End Avenue–Vesey & West Streets (212) 945‐4370.
REAR‐WINDOW CAPTIONED MOVIES ‐ For listings go to Captionfish.com or www.FOMDI.com. Ask for a
special window when buying your ticket. The window reflects the text that’s shown on the rear of the theater.
AMC Empire on 42nd Street. (212) 398‐2597, call Tues. afternoon for next week’s schedule
Clearview Chelsea Cinemas, 260 W. 23rd St., Auditorium 4, 212‐691‐5519. www.clearviewcinemas.com/tripod.shtml
The Bronx: AMC Cinema Bay Plaza, 718‐320‐1659.
MUSEUMS WITH CAPTIONED EVENTS & ASSISTIVE DEVICES ‐
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1000 Fifth Ave. 212‐879‐5500 Ext. 3561 (V), 212‐570‐3828 (TTY)
Real‐Time Captioning of lectures upon request – This service requires at least three weeks notice.
Gallery Talk with ALDs (meet at gallery talk station, Great Hall)
The Museum of Modern Art, 11 East 53rd St., Access Programs 212‐408‐6347 (V), 212‐247‐1230 (TTY),
accessprograms@moma.org. ALDs are available for lectures, gallery talks, & family programs. Real‐time captioning for
lectures is available upon request with three weeks notice. Infrared is available in Titus Theaters.
Mention of suppliers or devices in this newsletter does not mean HLAA‐Manhattan endorsement,
nor does exclusion suggest disapproval.
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c/o Mary Fredericks,
520 E. 20th St., #8E
New York, NY 10009
Please check your address label for the date of your last dues payment and, if you are a National member, there will be
an “NM” after the date. Report any discrepancies to Mary Fredericks. Thanks!
HLAA is a volunteer association of hard of hearing people, their relatives and friends. It is a nonprofit, non-sectarian
educational organization devoted to the welfare and interests of those who cannot hear well.
Your contribution is tax deductible to the extent allowable by law. We are a 501(c)(3) organization.