Here’s a troubling statistic: In the United States, 35 million people are hearing impaired, but just 28.5 percent of them use hearing aids. Why?
Despite the fact that this common health issue affects more than 11 percent of the population, you can probably guess why many of those who are hearing impaired live in silence. Hearing aids are extremely expensive — from $1,000 to $6,000, per ear — and are not covered by most types of health insurance.
At Jupiter Community High School in Florida, students who need a hearing aid can borrow one from the district, but they have to return it as soon as they graduate so younger students can use them, WPTV reports. And while it’s important to allow every student the chance to hear, can you imagine what it’s like for someone to give it up?
Knowing this troubling situation, some teachers at the school decided to band together to raise funds for these students so they can keep their devices after graduation.
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“It broke our hearts to see them lose their hearing aids and go silent right at graduation, so we go out and find donors in the community and we find ways to purchase them hearing aids,” Dr. Kelly Easterling told WPTV.
Together, the teachers raised enough money to buy a hearing aid for one student, Syed Tajuddin, and they are trying to raise additional funds for 12 more.
“When [Dr. Easterling] told me that, I was so glad that I can go on ahead to college with all of the support and all that and so it’s really like a good thing,” Syed said.
Currently, there are only 19 states that require health benefit plans to pay for hearing aids — and Florida isn’t one of them.
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The reason why hearing aids aren’t covered by insurance is because they are considered elective in the same way that laser eye surgery or liposuction is. But as a major life function, the loss of hearing can lead to feelings of loneliness, depression or even dementia, CNN points out.
Hearing impairment is a major problem that won’t be going away anytime soon. Until there are solutions, at least there are teachers out there who won’t let their students have any limits.
Tag: hearing aids
These Hearing Aids Are Like Google Glass for Your Ears
Imagine walking into a crowded restaurant and having the noise automatically dim to your liking, or hearing turn-by-turn directions while driving without chancing a glance at your smartphone. Consider a world where you can listen to music without headphones, or simply hear conversations clearly, regardless of the background noise. For the 35 million Americans with hearing impairment, this world isn’t a reality — at least not yet. With the ReSound LiNX, the first hearing aid made specifically for the iPhone, the hearing-impaired will be able to connect to the world in a way they never thought possible.
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The ReSound LiNX is a tiny device that connects via Bluetooth to the iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch. The device is customizable through the ReSound app, allowing users to program hearing settings for different locations, and fine-tune treble and bass for music or connecting to the TV. The aids can also be used with other apps in the iTunes store. The ReSound LiNX are basically wireless stereo headphones, which just happen to double as hearing aids.
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Hearing aids are often pegged as being for “old people”, but in America, hearing loss often begins around age 30, and individuals can lose as much as 10% per decade. Given the fact that just 28.5 percent of Americans who experience hearing loss actually wear hearing aids, a product like the ReSound LiNX could make a difference. “There are so many people like me these days. I want my Google ears. I want to hear everything everywhere,” Lloyd Alter, who has worn hearing aids for two years, writes for Treehugger. “If people stopped thinking that these things are just for old people and thought of them as their personal connection the world, perhaps more people who need them would wear them.”
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