Scott, I've sent you a personal message so that we can "talk" about Portland-area services off line.

FYI: I just checked the national HLAA website. http://www.hearingloss.org There are 3 HLAA chapters in Oregon, plus a state association. There are only 13 states that have state associations, so that's a very positive thing for Oregonians. HLAA held a national convention in Portland 6 years ago. The key to receiving help from HLAA is to get involved and meet the people. I have learned more from HLAA people than from all the hearing healthcare professionals I've seen over the last 40 years. Not meaning to diss the pros, but pointing out that self help and peer support is extremely helpful. AND, a lot of the technology that's available to use today is the result of HLAA folks pushing research and development. I go back to the days when we were creating our own induction loops out of telephone wire, amplifiers and microphones from Radio Shack. We saw what worked and pushed it. We let the research bodies know there was a huge difference between being hard of hearing and wanting to remain in the hearing mainstream, than identifying as culturally Deaf with a preference for sign language. It took millions of people from all over the USA, coming out of their hard of hearing closets to start making hearing loss an issue of concern. Until 1988, the National Institutes of Health didn't even have a division to address communication disorders. HLAA was founded in 1979. Yes, I admit to being an HLAA advocate. I give this organization, which was originally called Self Help for Hard of Hearing People, Inc. credit for giving me back my life!