HLAA Exhibits - Part One

By Cheryl Heppner

Editor: One of the best things about the HLAA convention is the opportunity to see all the latest and greatest technology. For those who can't make it to the convention, Cheryl Heppner does an OUTSTANDING job of reporting on the exhibits.

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- Mobile Ear

- Costco

- Consumer Electronics Association

- Hearing Loss Association of America

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Mobile Ear

New at the HLAA convention this year is Mobile Ear, a company with a mainstream product that can be very useful for people with hearing loss. Mobile Ear is a wireless listening device that looks like the Bluetooth gizmos that have become a common on the nation's ears. It allows you to listen to TVs and stereos, play an instrument, and do many other things without disturbing others. It uses infrared technology.

People with mild to moderate hearing loss can also benefit from this device in situations like hearing a lecturer in a noisy lecture hall, and at theaters and museums. Mobile Ear comes in a kit that includes a charger that can be used anywhere in the world. Staff at the exhibit were Serrai Bui, Justin Bui, and Clim Moore.

www.mobileear.com
1-888-316-6245

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Costco

Another new exhibitor is Costco, with information and displays of the hearing aids and batteries it sells. A growing number of Costco stores throughout the country now have hearing aid centers selling the aids at competitive prices. I talked with Carolyn Lovelance, A.A.S., BC-HIS, the hearing instrument specialist at Sparks #466 in Sparks, NV.

Among the materials available at the table was the 2008 Consumer's Guide to Hearing AIds, which is billed as the world's only thirty-party source of hearing aid comparisons. It shows manufacturer suggested retail prices. This publication compares over 350 hearing aids, including all major brands. In addition there are articles such as Eight Reasons Open-Fit Hearing Aids are Winning Higher Customer Satisfaction, Seven Reasons You Hear Better With Two Ears, and Directional Microphone Hearing Aid Technology. It was published in 2008 by James Wilson Group Strategic Solutions LP (817-831-0591).

www.costco.com

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Consumer Electronics Association

Megan Pollock, Senior Manager of Communications at the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), had set up an two small televisions side by side. Both received a signal with rabbit ear antennas. One had a shiny new digital TV converter box. Comparing the picture from the TV with just the rabbit ears to the one with the rabbit ears plus the DTV converter box gave a striking testimony to how superior the digital picture can be. Megan had also activated the caption feature in the converter box, and the captions were very readable.

A new fact sheet from the CEA, "Digital Television Enhances Closed Captioning," was also available. According to Megan it can also be found on the CEA's website. She had information on the DTV Converter Box Coupon Program, including coupon application forms, and information about the organization's "Convert Your Mom" program targeted to help those who are less tech savvy easily make the digital TV transition at home.

www.DigitalTips.org
www.CE.org

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Hearing Loss Association of America

HLAA's own exhibit had new versions of the HLAA brochure, Questions and Answers on Hearing Loss, and the Tips card for communicating with hearing people as well as for hearing people to communicate with hard of hearing people. The HLAA brochure starts with "A New Attitude" which proclaims "Our clear, straightforward message has changed the lives of thousands of people for over two decades. Hearing loss is a daily challenge you can overcome. You do not have to hide your hearing loss. You do not have to face hearing loss alone."

The Questions and Answers brochure gives the important statistics:
- One out of ten people in the United States has a hearing loss
- At age 65, one out of three people has a hearing loss
- Hearing loss ranks with arthritis, high blood pressure, and heart disease as one of the most common physical conditions
- There are 43 million Americans with disabilities -- of those, 31 million have a hearing loss
- It is estimated that 30 school children per 1,000 have a hearing loss

www.hearingloss.org

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