How to Buy a Cell Phone if You Have a Hearing Loss
March 8, 2009
Janice Schacter is a retired attorney whose daughter is hard of hearing. She is the pro-bono Chair of the Hearing Access Program which was established in 2002. The Hearing Access Program is the only organization dedicated to assisting the world's corporations, cultural and entertainment institutions, government agencies, and mass transit organizations improve their accessibility for people with hearing loss. There are over 60 successes around the world due to her vision, drive and tenacity.
The federal grants to states and support programs through federal agencies for EHDI programs have played an important role in wide spread screening and early intervention for infants with hearing loss since adopted nearly 10 years ago in the Labor, HHS and Education appropriations bill of 1999.
However, there is more work to be done. Nearly 50 percent of those children who are found to have hearing loss are lost to the system. H.R. 1246 would expand the program to allow states to fund follow-up services to ensure that babies who have failed their hearing screenings receive full diagnostic evaluations and, if necessary, are enrolled in early intervention programs, as well as promote culturally-sensitive family support services
Cell phone satisfaction according to MarkeTrak VII is 59%; 43% if we count only "satisfied" or "very satisfied" responses. So the simple act of counseling hearing aid users on how to purchase a cell phone can go a long way to increasing the utility of hearing aids. Janice Schacter has done a superb job of explaining to the potential cell phone consumer how to maximize their experience if they have a hearing loss. This piece (courtesy of Volta Voices) would be an excellent hand-out to your patients or for inclusion in your aural rehabilitation group sessions.
Action Alert - Urge Your Representative to Support EHDI Reauthorization Bill
Please contact your U.S. Representative today and ask them to co-sponsor and support the Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) Act (H.R. 1246) that would reauthorize the federal portion of this important and highly successful initiative for the next five years. You can do so in less than 5 minutes through ASHA's Take Action website.