Produced seven, captioned videos on Hearing Loss 101 to encourage people to seek help for their hearing loss. We partnered with Knowlera Media, Inc., to produce the videos which are posted on YouTube, www.monkeysee.com, and on www.hearingloss.org. With funding from the Better Hearing Institute, the DVDs are available free on request from HLAA for anyone who wants to show them in their waiting rooms, at HLAA chapter and state events, or for other educational uses.
Developed a new informational Wiki for parents of children with hearing loss. The goal of the site is to empower parents by providing the resources necessary for them to make informed decisions about their children’s hearing loss. www.kidsandhearingloss.org.
Partnered with the American Academy of Audiology on the “Get in the Hearing Loop” project to increase usage of technology beyond the hearing aid that benefits people with hearing loss. With funding from two family foundations, we are developing educational materials on telecoils, assistive technology and how to advocate for them in local communities.
The 2010 HLAA Convention is held in Milwaukee, WI, June 17-20. Joan Haber received the Howard E. “Rocky” Stone Humanitarian Award, named after the founder and given to a former national board member.
Secured funding to hold the 2nd International Hearing Loop Conference overlapping with the Hearing Loss Association of America 2011 Convention in June.
Held 18 Walk4Hearing events throughout the nation to raise public awareness and generate funds to improve services for people with hearing loss. Reed Doughty, safety with the Washington Redskins, is national honorary chair.
The Center for Hearing and Communication (formerly the League for the Hard of Hearing) gave HLAA the Sheldon Williams Leadership Award at their 100th annual meeting in New York City.
Deputy Executive director Barbara Kelley attends the Lexington, Kentucky, Hearing and Speech Center’s Capital Campaign with Keynote Speaker President Bill Clinton.
Conducted a Leadership Training for HLAA state and chapter leaders.
Advocated for: a mandate for captioned telephone nationwide; a hearing aid tax credit; the standard on classroom acoustics to be added to the Americans with Disabilities Act; captioned movies in theaters, on airline flights, at live events and on the Internet; hearing-aid-compatible wireless handsets; continuation of the infant screening law; access to 9-1-1 and emergency preparedness
Testified before Congress in support of laws to require captioning of videos on the Internet. Both the House and Senate Bills passed and will be tweaked for a final bill
Successful in getting the Federal Communications Commission to include our recommendations for accessibility for people with hearing loss in the national broadband plan
On October 8, 2010, President Barack Obama signed into law the 21st Century Communications Video Accessibility Act of 2010 (See items above, HLAA had input to this bill and testified for its passage.) HLAA staff attends the signing at the White House.
Stopped a tax from being imposed on hearing aids in the new health care reform
Reversed the Department of Justice’s employment testing policy so that the Marshal Service’s hiring policy allows court security officers to keep their hearing aids in when undergoing hearing testing
Provided direct support to employees with discrimination issues in the workplace
The HLAA Board of Trustees approved a new position paper on Job Qualification Testing. The paper can be found under the Policy Statements page.