The new HAT Committee is co-chaired by Dr. Bill Busch, a Communications Systems Engineer who is retired from the aerospace industry, and Herb Balkind; both hard of hearing.

This committee of eight people is currently gathering a variety of assistive devices to enable hard of hearing individuals to experience these various items first-hand to find out if they could help them improve the quality of their lives. 

The committee plans to have monthly meetings to demonstrate these devices to you.  The meetings will be free and open to the public.

Manufacturers and assistive listening device "ALD" sales organizations are being contacted seeking donations of equipment to be used in the demonstrations for people to try out the various technologies.  The committee has already received many items either free, or on loan, and has many more listed on its "wish list" to add to the inventory.  If a person tries an item, finds that he/she likes it and wants to purchase, sources and catalogs will be available for him or her to make their purchase directly from the source.

There are a variety of assistive hearing devices available (besides hearing aids and cochlear implants). A sample includes personal FM systems, alarm clocks that shake the bed, TV listening systems, smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors, all designed especially for people with a hearing loss.  Also available are alerting systems that flash lights or vibrate pagers to signal when the telephone or doorbell are ringing or when a baby is crying, and many more.

The HAT committee's work will benefit all people of the community who suffer hearing loss.  It is planned to have the "Rocky Stone Hearing Device Exhibit" provide a monthly showing at the Weingart Senior Center (link) in Lakewood, California.  The committee members will be present to discuss the benefits of each device, demonstrate its use, and answer all questions.

In time, the committee would like to take the exhibit to other locations in the south bay, such as libraries and veteran centers to reach out to a broader audience of all ages.

For additional information, see our HLA Chapter "Contact"  (link) page above.