blog-walk4hearingOn October 9, 2010 Listen Technologies will participate in the Walk4Hearing™ to support the Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA) in its mission to increase awareness about hearing loss and the 36 million Americans who have some kind of hearing loss. 
 
When you look at some of the staggering facts around hearing loss it’s hard to believe that there is still so much stigma associated.



Facts on Hearing Loss in Adults 
  • 31.5 million Americans has hearing loss. As baby boomers reach retirement age starting in 2010, this number is expected to rapidly climb and nearly double by the year 2030.
  • The prevalence of hearing loss increases with age, up to 1 in 3 over age 65. Most hearing losses develop over a period of 25 to 30 years.
  • Among seniors, hearing loss is the third most prevalent, but treatable disabling condition, behind arthritis and hypertension.
  • The vast majority of Americans (95%) with hearing loss have their hearing loss treated with hearing aids; only 25% currently use them. Only 5% of hearing loss in adults can be improved through medical or surgical treatment.
  • People of all ages, including children, teens, young adults, and older people, can develop noise induced hearing loss. Approximately ten percent of Americans between ages 20 and 69—or 22 million Americans—already may have suffered permanent damage to their hearing from noise.
 
Facts on Hearing Loss in Children 
  • Everyday in the United States, approximately 1 in 1,000 newborns (or 33 babies every day) is born profoundly deaf with another 2-3 out of 1,000 babies born with partial hearing loss, making hearing loss the number one birth defect in America.
  • Newborn hearing loss is 20 times more prevalent than phenylketonuria (PKU), a condition for which all newborns are currently screened.Of the 12,000 babies in the United States born annually with some form of hearing loss, only half exhibit a risk factor – meaning that if only high-risk infants are screened, half of the infants with some form of hearing loss will not be tested and identified. In actual implementation, risk-based newborn hearing screening programs identify only 10-20% of infants with hearing loss. 
  • When hearing loss is detected beyond the first few months of life, the most critical time for stimulating the auditory pathways to hearing centers of the brain may be lost, significantly delaying speech and language development.95% of babies are now screened for hearing loss before 1 month of age (up from only 22% in 1998). 
  • Of the babies screened, only 56% who needed diagnostic evaluations actually received them by 3 months of age.   Moreover, only 53% of those diagnosed with hearing loss were enrolled in early intervention programs by 6 months of age. As a result, these children tend to later re-emerge in our schools’ special education (IDEA, Part B) programs.
  • When children are not identified and do not receive early intervention, special education for a child with hearing loss costs schools an additional $420,000, and has a lifetime cost of approximately $1 million per individual.

Since 2006, over $2 million dollars has been raised by the HLAA Walk4Hearing event. The event is held in cities across the country and has energized over 5,000 people to walk and raise money for programs and services for people with hearing loss. In addition to creating awareness about hearing loss the Walk4Hearing aims to:
  • minimize the stigma associated with wearing hearing aids, cochlear implants, and other assistive technology by educating people about hearing loss
  • raise funds to expand services and programs for people with hearing loss and their families at the national and local levels
  • empower the HLAA state organizations and chapters to work with community leaders to organize walks for fundraising and local outreach

You too can help! Join us in helping the HLAA raise awareness and eradicate the stigma of hearing loss by walking with us at a Walk4Hearing in your community. Visit www.hearingloss.org to find a walk near you.