News on Hearing Aid Assistance

Rep. Pete Olson (R-TX) urged a capacity crowd of 120 Texas Hearing Aid Tax Credit supporters to help him work for passage of the bill (H.R. 1646) in the final months of this Congressional session or in the new Congress that will convene in January.

Walk4Hearing events has kicked off in Pennsylvania, Chicago, and New England. In the next few months walks will be hosted in other cities across America. Join these free, fun events to get informed and motivated about hearing loss awareness.

In October, Oticon will launch - Pink with a Purpose - to introduce the Oticon Agil Think Pink hearing aid. During October, National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Oticon will donate a portion of the proceeds from the sale of the special edition Agil Think Pink and all Agil hearing aids to the National Breast Cancer Coalition to support breast cancer research.

The U.S. Access Board voted recently to develop regulations pertaining to classroom acoustics. Poor acoustics in the classroom can interfere with a student’s academic performance by hindering concentration and attention, reading, and spelling, as well as understanding speech.

Your help is needed to attract an impressive crowd to support the Hearing Aid Tax Credit Bill. HIA is partnering with the Michigan AG Bell, HLAA and IHS chapters to host a dinner event for Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) in East Lansing on Friday, September 3.

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced $4.9 million in grants to continue support for 51 Family-to-Family Health Information Centers that provide information, education, training, outreach and peer support to families of children and youth with special health care needs and the professionals who serve them.

The American Speech-Language-Hearing Foundation is hosting a charity golf benefit. All event proceeds will support the organization’s research and education programs for future audiologists, speech-language pathologists, and speech, language, and hearing scientists.

Peter C. Fackler of Rochester, New York, has been named president of the Board of Trustees of the Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA), the nation’s largest organization for people with hearing loss.

Hearing Care Professionals across the US can make a positive difference in South Africa, where people are in need of hearing healthcare services. Join Oticon's Mission to Xanthia by participating on the mission blog and hearing instrument donation program.

A grant to WMU will provide expanded services and programs for infants and hearing impaired children, including those with cochlear implants.

The recent Coalition for Global Hearing Health Conference allowed ISA’s Humanitarian Committee to also meet one of its four goals.

Leading universities look to integrate Ida Principles and Tools into Audiology Curriculum.

The tax credit coalition continues to work with lead sponsors Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY) and Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) to insure that the Hearing Aid Tax Credit is considered when major tax reform legislation moves to the top of the Congressional agenda.

Financial Assistance for Hearing Impaired Children is available from AG Bell. Applications are due by July 30, 2010.

Canadian leaders in speech, language and hearing were honoured for contributions to the professions of speech-language pathology and audiology.

The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) honors Annie Glenn for her many years of advocacy on behalf of people with communication disorders.

Sedona AZ - Auricle Ink Publishers announces the release of The Consumer Handbook on Hearing Loss and Noise. Noise is the number 1 most preventable cause of hearing loss worldwide.

North Carolina and New Hampshire have both enacted hearing aid insurance coverage mandates in the last week which requires insurers to cover hearing aids costs.

The American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Foundation (AAO-HNSF) has been awarded a $60,000 grant from the Oticon Foundation to support research efforts directly tied to improving the quality of patient care.

The Hearing Aid Tax Credit was introduced to provide assistance to some of the 34 million people who need a hearing aid to treat their hearing loss. If enacted it would provide a $500 tax credit per hearing aid for children and people age 55 and older.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, in partnership with the National Hearing Conservation Association (NHCA), is accepting nominations for the 2011 Safe-in-Sound Innovation in Hearing Loss Prevention Award.

Statistics show that while 95 percent of people with hearing loss can be helped by hearing aids, only 23 percent currently use them. Hearing aids are not reimbursed by either private insurance plans or Medicare.

Brain injuries are the number one killer and disabler of people under the age of 44 in Canada. Research indicates that 80 to 100 percent of individuals with a brain injury will have some form of communication disorder.

House Ear Institute (HEI) is in the running for $250,000 in the Pepsi Refresh Project for the month of June. House Ear Institute plans to use the grant for education and outreach of its Sound Partners® teen hearing conservation initiative.

Get accurate information about hearing loss, its causes and what to do about it by viewing the Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA) series of seven, four-minute, captioned videos on hearing loss.