General meetings are held in downtown Sarasota at the

SELBY LIBRARY

1331 First Street        Time:  1:30-3:30PM

We invite you to join us

Our meetings are open to the community and we encourage anyone with a hearing problem to bring your questions and issues. Between our very expereinced members who can mentor you, plus the wealth of information we have on local resources and our expert speakers,  our highly informative and interatcive sessions can help point you in the right direction towards a solution to restore your hearing.

Upcoming Meetings

Wed. August 18 – 1:30 PM Selby Library Geldbart Auditorium                 Summer Rap Session                                                                                                       

This session is a great opportunity to express your individual concerns or specific questions about dealing with hearing loss. Visitors and members are both invited to bring your issues as well as to support others.

Please note this session is in the 1^st Floor auditorium, where regular meetings are held.

Wed, September 15 - 1:30 PM  Selby Public Library Geldbart Auditorium       “Read My Quips”, the New Speech Comprehension Training System.    

“Read My Quips” is a new, highly advanced program that helps one to hear better in noisy environments by improving one’s speechreading abilities. This self –administered rehab program works on your computer providing entertaining exercises of someone speaking to you. One of the novel benefits is it adapts the difficulty level as your ability to understand what the people on screen are saying improves, consistently reinforcing your growing proficiency. Nancy Muscato, an audiologist with the University of South Florida’s Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders and a board member of HLA-FL will demonstrate the program’s many innovative features and answer your questions.

Speaker Committee Comment: During the past year we were exposed to several helpful self-administered aural rehab programs like Sound and Way Beyond, L.A.C.E, and The Listening Room. Read My Quips appears to take this science to the next level.

Wed. October 20 –1:30 PM Selby Public Library Geldbart Auditorium     Advocacy 101: How to Be a Proponent for Greater Communication Access.  

This workshop will explore the role and importance of advocating with a focus on how every one of us can effectively lobby for greater hearing access in schools, theaters, airports and other public venues.  Joan Haber, long time Chair of the FCCDHH, Board member of HLA-FL and the HLAA Rocky Stone Humanitarian Award winner of 2010, will present opportunities for individual and group advocacy projects and guide us to help build these initiatives with group brainstorming and networking.

 Speaker Committee Comment: This well-received presentation was a hit at the HLAA National Convention in June and will provide a much needed foundation for the Chapter’s upcoming plans to promote looping. Don’t miss this session or the November meeting to be in loop on the HLAS’s top advocacy initiative for the coming year.

Wed. November 17 –1:30 PM Selby Public Library Geldbart Auditorium   Hearing Loop Systems: The Ultimate Assisted Listening Device for Hearing Aid and Cochlear Implant Users.                                                                             

Hearing Loops are a highly advanced sound induction system that sends the sound of performing artists or speakers directly to your hearing aid or cochlear implant. Most hearing devices today have a t-coil, which the loop system turns into a wireless loudspeaker so you don’t miss a word or a beat in the theater, at church or even in your own home or car.  These loops, long popular in Europe, are finally starting to take hold in the US. Jim Scott of Complete Hearing Solutions will show you how to activate your t-coil, which many of us don’t realize is in our aid or implant, and then provide an interactive demonstration of how the hearing loop system actually works.

Speaker Committee Comment: This is must see session as it provides one of the most effective ways to improve our hearing in public venues. HLAA, Sertoma and the Florida Academy of Audiologists are collaborating in a new major effort called “Let’s Loop Florida!” to make the system more prevalent.  Members are encouraged to invite their audiologists, ENTs and managers from the favorite theatres to attend and learn how this revolutionary system can greatly improve our communication access.

Wed. December 15 –1:30 PM. Selby Public Library Geldbart Auditorium   Holiday Party & Entertainment

This festive event features a popular musical performer providing entertainment as well as an opportunity for members and visitors to network. Please save the date and stay tuned for more details as soon as these are finalized.

2011 Scheduling Note - All 2011 meeting dates are tentative pending the Library’s approval of our schedule in mid October. Until then we cannot confirm if our meetings will be held at the Selby Library or move to the Sarasota North Library. Please check back in mid-October to confirm the venue and dates.

Wed. January 19 – 1:30 PM Location to Be Announced                                                             Communication Strategies For Couples, Families and Friends                  

Communication is a two way street that can be very hard and frustrating for everyone to navigate when one or more persons has a hearing loss and the others do not. This workshop will provide some extremely helpful techniques, which both parties can employ to better connect, much faster and with less hassle. Dr. Diane McKay, Psy.D,P.A. will moderate a panel of couples in an interactive session designed to demonstrate these tactics as well as to address your specific questions.

Wed. February 16 – 1:30 PM Location to Be Announced                              Assisted Listening Devices Can Help You Hear What You’re Missing            Our hearing aids are often not enough to hear the television, phone, door bell, morning wake-up alarm and other sounds at home or while traveling. Flo Innes the Founder and President of the Advocates For Better Hearing (ABH) will demonstrate the latest range of assisted listening devices available today to address these needs plus many more. ABH is a nonprofit, hearing superstore offering the largest hands-on display of assisted hearing devices in Sarasota and Manatee Counties. Flo Innes is also a current board member of HLA-FL and former President of HLAS.

Wed. March 16 – 1:30 PM Location to Be Announced                                          New Restoration Options for Individuals with Profound Hearing Loss                             This session will focus at the latest advancements in hearing technology that makes it possible to restore hearing for people with a serious or profound loss.Dr. Loren J. Bartels M.D., FACS will review state-of –the-art aids such as cochlear implants and BAHA, a bone conductive hearing device, covering who is a candidate, what you should expect and how to get the most out of these devices. Dr. Bartels is a highly renowned otologist-neurotologist and surgeon who heads the Tampa Bay Hearing and Balance Center. Amongst his numerous accomplishments, he has pioneered many of the surgical techniques used by Advanced Bionics, and is the former Chief of Staff at Tampa General Hospital.

Wed. April 20 – 1:30 PM Location to Be Announced                                              How to Treat Meniere’s, Balance Disorders and Related Hearing Loss Issues                                                                                                                 Many people with hearing loss experience some balance issues which can cause serious falls. More than two million Americans suffer from Meniere’s Disease a disorder of the inner ear which can cause hearing loss, vertigo and tinnitus. Jack Wazen, M.D., FACS will outline the symptoms focusing on helpful prevention tips, treatments and the ways to remedy these. Dr. Wazen is an internationally recognized otologist-neurotologist and surgeon with the Silverstein Institute. He is also the Research Director of the Ear Research Foundation and author of “Dizzy”, a very popular guidebook for patients to help understand and manage their balance disorders.

Wed. May 18 – 1:30 PM Location to Be Announced                                                Mapping and Programming: The Keys to Getting the Most Out of Your Hearing Aid or Cochlear Implant.                                                                   One of the most important features of most hearing aids and implants is that they can be customized to address your specific hearing needs and situations. Audiologist Lisa Tanner will discuss what you need to know in working with your audiologist to ensure you can optimize this critical step. Dr.Tanner is a top rated audiologist with Hearing and Speech Therapists in Brandon and is also a board member of HLA-FL.

Wed. June 15 – 1:30 PM Location to Be Announced                                        Summer Rap Session.                                                                                          These sessions are a great opportunity to express your individual concerns or specific questions about dealing with hearing loss. Visitors and Members are both invited to bring your issues as well as to support others.

Wed. July 20- 1:30 PM Location to Be Announced                                         Summer Rap Session.

Wed. August 17- 1:30 PM Location to Be Announced                                    Summer Rap Session.

Wed. September 21 – 1:30 PM Location to Be Announced                                      Speaker to be announced. Please save the date and check back closer to the event for more details.

Wed. October 19 –1:30 PM Location to Be Announced                                         Speaker to be announced.

Wed. November 16 – 1:30 PM Location to Be Announced                                  Speaker to be announced.

Wed. December 21 – 1:30 PM Location to Be Announced                             Holiday Meeting                                                                                                     Our plan is to have a musical performer provide an entertaining and informative recital, as has been the tradition the past few years. Please check back closer to the date for more details.

Have a SPEAKER or TOPIC to suggest?                                                          Contact Ed Ogiba at ed@groupefo.com.

Map to Meeting: