Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA)

Happy anniversary! 🎉 The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed into law 34 years ago today, on July 26, 1990, prohibiting discrimination against people with disabilities in jobs, schools, transportation and places of public accommodation. #HLAA played an important role in getting key communications access provisions for people who have #HearingLoss or are #Deaf included in this landmark civil rights legislation. Read more: https://lnkd.in/ggt9vvdQ #ADA #ADA34 #ADAAnniversary #DisabilityPride #Inclusion #Accessibility ADA National Network National Association of the Deaf National Black Deaf Advocates Gallaudet The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Hearing Health Foundation CIICA Hearing Industries Association National Disability Rights Network Global Disability Inclusion, LLC Disability Scoop American Association of People with Disabilities Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA)

Summer's in full swing and we hope you're enjoying every moment! Our latest Hearing Life e-News has great tips from Starkey Hearing for keeping your accessible tech devices safe, our summer campaign update, #HLAA204 Convention highlights, advocacy actions and more. 🌞 Shine Bright with #HLAA! https://ow.ly/Cjmb50SIkot Sign up for free monthly issues: hearingloss.org/e-news National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders National Institutes of Health National Institute on Aging (NIA) FDA

Hearing loss is an invisible disability...yet not everyone with this condition identifies as having a disability or chooses to disclose it on the job. If you're a professional with #hearingloss, what's your experience in the workplace? Do you request and receive #accessibility accommodations? Has ableism and/or discrimination ever been an issue? Let us know via comment or DM. #DisabilityPrideMonth #DisabilityInclusion #ADA

#MondayMotivation What does it take to get a landmark #Accessibility and #DisabilityRights bill passed in Washington, DC? And why should #DisabilityPride matter for all people who are #Deaf or have #HearingLoss? Read this excellent blog post written by Becky Montgomery, a Hearing Loss Association of America - Washington State board member, about the history of the #AmericansWithDisabilities Act (#ADA), which became law on July 26, 1990, and the meaning behind #DisabilityPrideMonth. https://lnkd.in/ddtXzG-R #AccessibilityInclusion #AccessibilityMatters

BREAKING NEWS: Have you ever tried to turn on your closed captions, but it takes so long to find the right button, app or setting menu that half the TV show goes by before they’re set up? So frustrating! A new rule adopted today by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) requires manufacturers and multichannel video programming distributors to make those captioning display settings easier to access within two years. This rule is the result of a multi-year effort by #HLAA and other advocacy groups to help consumers with disabilities, including people who are #Deaf or have #hearingloss, to easily find and customize caption size, font, color and other features—often a time-consuming, exasperating process. Learn more: https://ow.ly/nqXf50SFER2 #FCC #ClosedCaptions #ClosedCaptioning NCTA - The Internet & Television Association National Association of the Deaf TDI

July is #DisabilityPrideMonth, generating awareness of #Accessibility and #Inclusion for all. The landmark #ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) was passed on July 26, 1990, supported by #HLAA and other organizations. The Disability Pride flag was originally created in 2017 to represent people with a range of #Disabilities. Thanks to Hearing Loss Live for this helpful explainer graphic: Against a dark gray background are five diagonal stripes (which symbolize cutting through barriers) in five colors: red for physical disabilities, light gold for neurodivergence, light gray for invisible disabilities, light blue for mental illness and green for sensory disabilities. #HearingLoss is considered both a sensory and an invisible disability. #DisabilityPride #DisabilityAwareness National Disability Rights Network National Association of the Deaf Gallaudet Hearing Health Foundation Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA) American Association of People with Disabilities American Council of the Blind National Federation of the Blind Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation Muscular Dystrophy Association United Spinal Association Disability:IN The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Hearing Industries Association Disability Scoop CIICA

#TechTuesday – Will #CochlearImplants someday be fully implantable, without any external components? A research collaboration between MIT Research Laboratory of Electronics, Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Harvard Medical School and Columbia University, recently published in the Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering is bringing that possibility one step closer to reality. Thanks to advances in biocompatibility and miniaturization, the multidisciplinary team was able to develop a tiny implantable microphone prototype (pictured here) and low-noise amplifier, which together perform as well as external hearing aid microphones. Read more: https://ow.ly/9h9B50SCtPF IOP Publishing National Institutes of Health National Science Foundation (NSF) University of Basel

#MondayMotivation – In June, #HLAA Executive Director Barbara Kelley and Director of Public Policy Neil Snyder spent two days discussing topics related to hearing health care accessibility and affordability at a working group hosted by the The National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) and the National Institute on Aging (NIA), in partnership with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This meeting aimed to gather input from subject matter experts and partners about persistent hearing health care needs and new opportunities, such as the availability of over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids among other, more general health care resources. It was co-chaired by HLAA Board Member Carrie Nieman, M.D., MPA, with Sumit Dhar, Ph.D., and past Board Member Ibrahim Dabo was a panelist. #HearingHealth #OTC #HearingAids

Hey, what's up? It's #FurbabyFriday! For your viewing pleasure, here are a few of the fabulous #HearingDogs who attended the #HLAA2024 Convention in Phoenix in June with their people. #FabulousFurbabies #ServiceDogs #ServiceAnimals #AssistanceDogs The Sam Simon Foundation' Canine Companions®

We hope you're enjoying the summer and staying safe out there! 🌞 Whatever fun activities you choose, don't get sidelined by #HearingLoss. Follow these helpful tips from Starkey Hearing, a leading #HLAA Hear for Life partner, to protect your #HearingAids and #CochlearImplant processors and keep them working well all summer long. Read the blog: https://ow.ly/bpZx50SyXrB