HLAA 2009 Convention Opening Session - Part Two

By Cheryl Heppner

June 2009

Editor: It's that time of year again! The start of Hearing Loss Convention Season! As is normally the case, HLAA kicks off the activity in June. Char and I didn't attend this year, but super reporters extraordinaire Cheryl Heppner and Bonnie O'Leary from NVRC will be providing detailed coverage of the activities. Here's Cheryl's coverage of the opening session. This is part two of two parts.

More coverage of this great convention is at: http://www.hearinglossweb.com/res/hlorg/shhh/cn/2009/2009.htm

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Here's Part One

A New Program for Veterans

Brenda Battat introduced Dr. T. Alan Hurwitz, President of the National Technical Institute of the Deaf, Alan Ford of the Veterans Administration and Larry Scott representing an organization serving veterans. The occasion was the announcement of a partnership by HLAA and RIT/NTID to serve veterans who have experienced hearing loss while serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. The program will include assisting them in locating career opportunities and helping them adjust to life with hearing loss. Onstage, as we watched, Brenda and Alan signed an official agreement.

Barbara Kelley brought Capt. Mark Brogan back to the stage, this time accompanied by his wife Sunny. Barbara said that Mark, now retired, has now replaced his shoulder boards with two pins engraved "suivez moi" - follow me. Mark has been featured on the veterans page at the HLAA website. The explosion set off by a suicide bomber which caused Mark's hearing loss also caused a brain injury.

Mark said that an estimated 50,000 veterans have hearing loss and it is a significant health care issue which requires commitment from all parties to be sure that veterans will be successful. Three years ago, when he was at Walter Reed hospital doing his physical therapy, he knew that he couldn't hear well. He remembered that when soldiers reached him he had blood pouring out of both ears. He received his first pair of hearing aids and realized how much he had taken hearing for granted. Mark had been a musician, and the double whammy of hearing loss and brain injury now meant that he might not hear due to the hearing loss and might not understand what he was hearing due to the brain injury.

During his recovery, Mark has learned to be an advocate. He did not want to sit and feel sorry for himself. Instead he has found it rewarding to work with others in an organization. He came across HLAA, got involved in a chapter, and learned from the experiences of the other members. He is committed to serving other veterans with hearing loss. For Mark's feature with a photo: http://www.hearingloss.org/veterans/featuredvet.asp.

Advocating for Veterans

Dr. Gene Beck, a former HLAA board member and Chair of the National Audiology and Speech Pathology Program at the Veterans Administration, gave his greetings. He said that "mild traumatic brain injury" (TBI) is a misnamed injury and is just beginning to be understood. It has far-reaching consequences in the daily lives of veterans.

Hearing loss and tinnitus are now the two disabilities most widely reported by veterans. Dr. Beck said that in the past year 750,000 veterans drew compensation for hearing loss and 600 for tinnitus. Last year 400,000 hearing aids were dispensed by the VA and costing many millions of dollars, plus millions for hearing aid batteries. In addition, 70 cochlear implants were paid for. Just as sobering was the news that one out of every seven hearing aids fitted last year in the U.S. were for veterans.

Dr. Beck thanked HLAA for its efforts to provide and promote hearing health care and asked that it continue its efforts.

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