Bethesda, MD (January 28, 2016): The Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA), the nation’s leading organization representing people with hearing loss, invites you to attend Convention 2016, being held June 23-26, 2016 at the Washington Hilton Hotel, Washington, D.C. The Convention, now in its 31st year, features an extensive educational program and exhibit hall and trade show for people with hearing loss as well as their families and professionals who work with them.

  HLAA is also honored to host the International Federation of Hard of Hearing People (IFHOH) Congress at this year’s Convention. The IFHOH is an international, non-governmental organization representing the interests of more than 300 million hard of hearing people worldwide.  

HLAA Convention 2016 will feature an Opening Session keynote address, Disability as a Strength, by Jenny Lay-Flurrie of Microsoft. She will speak about her role as Chair of the Disability Employee Resource Group, and Chief Accessibility Officer. As a person with hearing loss since childhood, she’s learned a few tricks over the years about how to manage her own disability and use those skills to empower others to achieve more. In 2014 the White House recognized Jenny as a Disability Employment Champion of Change. The Opening Session is on Thursday, June 23, 5 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.   

Plenary sessions on Thursday, June 23 will include The Institute of Medicine Report on Accessible and Affordable Hearing Health Care for Adults, presented by Dan Blazer, M.D., Chair of the Institute of Medicine’s Committee on Accessible and Affordable Hearing Health Care for Adults; and The Latest from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Accessible Communications, presented by Gregory Hlibok and Karen Peltz Strauss, Chief and Deputy Chief, respectively, of the Disability Rights Office in the FCC Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau.  

In addition, we are honored to have Frank Lin, M.D., Ph.D., former HLAA Board of Trustee member and Associate Professor of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Geriatric Medicine, Mental Health, and Epidemiology at Johns Hopkins. Dr. Lin will moderate the Research Symposium: Novel Approaches toward Addressing Hearing Loss – Ideas on the Cutting Edge.   

Further highlights of the event include:

Educational workshops on interesting and current topics such as hearing technology, advocacy issues, employment, and dating/relationships.
Exhibit hall full of cutting-edge technology and services – free exhibit hall passes available.
Opening night Get Acquainted Party (Sponsored by CaptionCall).
Two off-site events to choose from: Scavenger Hunt in Dupont Circle orMonuments by Night, Friday, June 24.
Capital banquet on Saturday, June 25, hosted by Gael Hannan, comedienne, author and hearing loss advocate; entertainment by magician and mentalist Max Major(Sponsored by Contacta).
Awards Breakfast and Ceremony on Sunday, June 26 (Sponsored by CapTel Captioned Telephone).
First-timer and early-bird registration discounts.
Complimentary registration for veterans with hearing loss who have not attended the HLAA Convention in the past.

Registration is now open, and early-bird registration ends January 31, 2016.   More information is available at hearingloss.org/convention.