We are pleased to announce that we are resuming some in-person meetings in September 2022.  However, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, there are changes to the format of each meeting. Please check below for “instructions” for the meeting you would like to attend.  Please bear with us as these changes are ever evolving.   If you provide us with your email address, we will be able to send you reminders of the meetings and notices about any changes.

What it’s all about

Sound Advice is a monthly 1 hour meeting sponsored by the North Shore branch of the Canadian Hard of Hearing Association. Its purpose is to provide a platform for people to discuss issues arising from hearing loss.

  • We provide information about the basics of dealing with hearing loss: how do I know when it is time to get a hearing aid?
  • Who do I go to see about it?
  • How do I choose a hearing aid?
  • How do I know the hearing aid is working for me?
  • We talk about features of hearing aids that will help an individual benefit as much as possible from his/her hearing aid. Often these are features that an audiologist or hearing instrument practitioner ( HIP) doesn’t have time to talk about or hasn’t wanted to overwhelm us with too much info.
  • We encourage people to be self aware and communicate their needs.
  • What questions can we ask their audiologist/HIP on the next visit?
  • What tweaks does the hearing aid need?
  • We go beyond that to discuss the newest advances in technology and how those help an individual and when they are absolutely necessary.

We also go beyond the hearing aids and provide information about gadgets and assistive devices that aid our hearing aids. We answer technical questions about hearing aids. We talk about the “mechanics” of hearing loss: information about how we hear things, sound frequencies and the audiogram. An important issue is the connection between the brain and our hearing loss. Most people don’t connect their hearing loss and bouts of depression. We talk a lot about coping strategies: what we do in a situation where we can’t hear; how to deal with the stress of not hearing; how to make changes in our lives so that we can live to our fullest; how to get our friends and family on board with our hearing loss. Hearing loss is an emotional issue and we reach out to support those who feel separate from the real world.

The group can consist of people who are just starting to lose their hearing to those who have been wearing hearing aids for several years to those where hearing aids aren’t helping anymore. It also can include people who have a family member who is dealing with hearing loss. The group is open to people of all ages. The group consists of new people looking for answers to specific answers, regulars who have their own stories to share, and people who come on a semi regular basis who want to give feedback on their progress. We are hard of hearing people helping other people with hearing loss. We listen to others with similar problems and share our solutions.  When the meetings started up in 2002 they were hosted by 2 volunteers, Flo Spratt and Hugh Hetherington. Flo has had hearing loss most of her life and has a cochlear implant; she was our coping strategy expert.  Life changes and Flo moved to the USA but she did join our Zoom meetings whenever possible.  Her position was filled by various volunteers.  We cannot thank Flo enough for all her work and dedication and info in our meetings.  Hugh had had hearing loss for several years and was our technical support guy. Perfect hearing aids doesn’t necessarily mean perfect hearing but we want to do as much as we can to make the world user friendly for people with hearing loss. We want to inform, advise, educate and support people dealing with hearing loss.  Sadly, Hugh became ill in the summer of 2025 and was not able to continue as host.  He passed away in January 2026.  His hosting duties were taken over by Alan Dion and Ping Lau.  We hope to bring more people on board.

Sound Advice: West Vancouver

We are sorry to announce that these meetings have been cancelled.

Sound Advice: North Vancouver

We are pleased to announce that we will resume these meetings at the NEW Silver Harbour Seniors’ Centre in September 2026.  These Sound Advice meetings take place on the third Monday of the month and will be facilitated by Alan Dion. Currently the dates scheduled are: September 21, October 19, November 16, and December 21.  Please note that the start time for the session has changed to 1pm.  The sessions will be held in the Gathering Place, Room 1077. No registration is required and the sessions are free.  Silver Harbour is now located at 2325 St Georges Avenue, North Vancouver.  The main entrance is on St Georges Ave and is actually the second floor of the facility.  Our meeting room is down one floor.  Access to the underground parking is on 23rd St and is shared with the new Harry Jerome Recreation Centre.   Once the parking meters are in place, you must register your license plate number at the meter.  The first 3 hours are free.   You can access the centre by elevator or stairs.  We are looking forward to seeing you!

CHHA-NSB is currently under transition.   For more information, email northshore@chha-bc.org 

Please note that the April 27, 2026 meeting was a celebration of life in honour of Hugh Percy Hetherington. Hugh passed away on January 16, 2026 at the age of 89 after a brief illness.   Hugh was the heart and soul of CHHA-NSB from the beginning and he was a champion for the rights of the hard of hearing on the North Shore and in British Columbia, generously offering his time and expertise to benefit countless hard of hearing persons.  He was a mainstay for CHHA North Shore Branch, serving as President, Secretary and Treasurer for numerous years. For a recap of his celebration go to: https://www.chha-nsb.com/about/remembering-hugh-hetherington/

 

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