News on Hearing Aid Assistance

Older Americans are not receiving the critical preventive medical services that will help them live healthy, independent lives.

Hamilton Relay, Telecommunications Relay Service (TRS) and captioning provider, will award 18 $500 scholarships for the 2011-2012 academic year.

During February and March, Oticon will donate a portion of the proceeds from the sale of Agil hearing aids to the American Heart Association to fund life-saving research.

Lack of funding leads to the cancellation of the 17th Annual Winter Deaflympics in Slovakia.

Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA) has signed on to support a petition asking the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to require better access to television captioning for people with hearing loss.

Deaf discrimination is the topic of this week's ABC program What Would You Do? and explores whether people would speak up in a situation where deaf people were being discriminated against.

An ADA ruling now requires that H&R Block furnish sign language interpreter services when necessary for persons who are deaf or hard of hearing so they may have equal access to the goods, services and accommodations made available to others.

The Rochester Institute of Technology American Sign Language & Deaf Studies Community Center (RADSCC) opened this week in the center of RIT’s campus, establishing a space for students of diverse backgrounds to come together.

The Coalition for Global Hearing Health, a new organization made up of humanitarian hearing health professionals, is raising awareness and looking for solutions to the global hearing loss crisis, and will hold its first conference on June 14 and 15 2010 in Washington D.C.

In recognition of Universal Children’s Day November 20, CASLPA highlights the vital role of speech-language pathologists, audiologists and supportive personnel to maximize the communication and hearing potential of children.

The Global Foundation for Children with Hearing Loss is seeking donations of BTE hearing aids in good working condition and financial contributions to support its Hearing Aid Program for an upcoming audiology and auditory-verbal Mobile Mission in Vietnam scheduled for January 10-21, 2011.

A team of Oticon employees joined forces with tens of thousands of walkers who participated in the American Cancer Society’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer noncompetitive walks in New York and New Jersey and helps raise $20K.

The Hearing Aid Tax Credit was originally co-sponsored by Reps. Jim Ryun (R-KS) and Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY) in the 109th Congress. With the new Congress convening in January 2011, the importance of bi-partisan support for HATC will be critical.

Since its inception in 1997, the Oticon Focus on People Awards has honored outstanding people with hearing loss who prove that hearing loss does not limit a person’s ability to live a full, productive and even, inspiring life.

The Oticon Foundation and American Academy of Audiology Foundation provided funding for the 2010 Future Leaders of Audiology Conference. Oticon strives to empower people to communicate, interact and participate, and audiology’s new leaders to advance this mission.

In a key agreement for people with hearing loss, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania Hearing Healthcare Association (PHHA) and the Hearing Industries Association (HIA) have achieved an agreement that covers "invisible hearing aids".

The Ida Institute announced four distinguished experts in hearing health and related disciplines to its Advisory Board. The Institute seeks to foster a better understanding of the human dynamics of hearing loss from its recognition to its resolution.

The Canadian Association of Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists (CASLPA) is supporting a bill to amend the Income Tax Act relative to hearing impairment. The amendment would ensure all eligible individuals with hearing disabilities have fair access to the disability tax credit.

The Oticon Foundation announced today that it has awarded a grant of $ 6.4 million to the Ida Institute to continue the non-profit Institute’s contributions to a substantial and positive paradigm shift within the field of audiology.

The Hearing Aid Tax Credit which must next be considered by the Michigan House of Representatives. Michiganders - contact your state Reps and a hearing on the bill during the Lame Duck session after the November 2 elections.

The Educational Audiology Association (EAA) has joined forces with ASHA on its Listen To Your Buds campaign to teach children the importance of valuing and protecting their hearing, a vital part of their life-long well-being.

The Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010 will update current law to increase access to Internet, television, smart phones and other telecommunications technologies through improved interfaces, closed captioning, video description and other tools. Nondisabled people stand to benefit, too, from improved ease of use.

The NIDCD announces the launch of a new Spanish-language section of its popular website for parents of 8- to 12-year-olds, It’s a Noisy Planet, Protect Their Hearing.

Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) emphasized the importance of enacting the Hearing Aid Tax Credit (S. 1019) to help people and families who need hearing aids at an event attended by 170 Michiganders in East Lansing on Sept 3.

The Children's Hearing Institute partnered with the New York Mets on Saturday, September 18th, to sponsor Deaf and Hard of Hearing Awareness Day at Citifield. The Institute distributed free tickets to over 1000 hearing impaired children.