I hope everyone is gearing up for a great year. I’m ready for life to get less stressful and definitely less scary. When I was growing up back in the 1950’s, polio was a medical issue that we had no defense against until Dr. Salk and Dr. Sabin created a vaccine in under four years and we all got our polio shots. Today, we wait for our turn to receive a vaccination for COVID-19. And we are smarter: we wear masks, we social distance ourselves from others, and we avoid crowds and social gatherings for now.
Which is not normal for most humans to do. We like to gather, we like to talk to each other and enjoy the company of others. That’s why we joined HLCnova. We want to get together to share our stories with each other and discuss problems in hearing loss situations. We want to meet and greet old friends, talk to the newly hearing loss people looking for information, and listen to experts and researchers on the latest equipment and knowledge in the field of hearing loss. Thank goodness for Zoom and other platform video conferencing venues.
The Touchpoint meetings have been small but with great discussions. Some members have urgent need of information as their hearing loss has changed and requires new equipment and/or medical professionals. We listen and talk. And to that end, we will have programs in the next three months that address: caption-ing, managing masks, and tinnitus. Hope to see you at the meetings!
Schedule for January-March 2021
Touchpoint on Zoom
January 21, 2021 at 12 NOON to 1:00 PM.
Zoom link will be sent January 18th. Captioning by VA Relay.
Monthly meetings and programs
January 16, 2021 at 10:30 AM to 11:30 AM.
Presentation by Eric Alvillar from Hamilton Relay on “Virginia Relay: Captioning and Telecommunication Relay Services for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.” Captioning by VA Relay.
Zoom link will be sent January 13th.
February 20, 2021 at 10:30 AM to 11:30 AM.
Presentation by Jessica Kreidler, Au.D., audiologist on “Patients Struggling with Communication Without Access to Visual Cues Due to Mandated Masks.” Captioning by VA Relay.
Zoom link will be sent February 17th.
March 20, 2021 at 10:30 AM to 11:30 AM.
Presentation by Brent Donohoe, Hull Hearing, on Tinnitus.
Captioning by VA Relay.
Zoom link will be sent March 17th.
Be safe and get your vaccination as soon as you can.
Respectfully,
Alice Crume, President