Audiology faculty and students from East Tennessee State University have recently donated more than $60,000 in services and discounted hearing aid devices to patients who attended the Remote Area Medical clinic that took place in Gray last November.
RAM is a major nonprofit provider of free pop-up clinics. Students, faculty and staff from several ETSU colleges and programs assist annually at clinics held throughout the region. Volunteers from ETSUâs Doctor of Audiology program attended the Gray clinic in November and tested 40 patients for hearing aids. Of those patients, 28 were identified as persons who could benefit from hearing aids.
Those individuals were invited to come, free of charge, to ETSUâs Center for Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology at the Nave Center in Elizabethton in order to be fitted for hearing aids in January and February.
Approximately 48 million Americans are living with significant hearing loss. While hearing loss can occur at any time in life, the problem becomes more common with age. The National Institute on Aging, a part of the National Institutes of Health, estimates that one in three adults between the ages of 65 and 74 has hearing loss, and nearly half of people older than 75 experience hearing difficulties. Most of us, at some point in our lives, will either experience hearing loss or know someone who does.
It may surprise you to know, however, that only one in three adults who could benefit from hearing aids has ever used them. In fact, people with hearing loss tend to wait an average of seven years before seeking treatment. The American Academy of Audiology outlines some issues that may be preventing those with hearing loss from seeking help:
Third-grader inspires legislation to help those with hearing loss
At just 9 years old, Ally Tumblin has inspired legislation in Congress that could help thousands of Americans pay for hearing aid devices by mandating insurance companies to cover them.
It all started in 2019 with a simple letter to her elected official after the then third-grader was assigned to do something to better her community for class. She decided to write to her congressman, Rep. Joe Neguse, a Colorado Democrat, about her struggle to hear and how important her BAHA was, a bone-anchored hearing aid that’s used to treat hearing loss. It’s an implantable device that most insurance companies do not cover and can cost up to $10,000.
3 Possible Hearing Aid Side Effects You Should Know
By Amanda Vining Email Even though there are side effects to wearing hearing aids, the degree to which side effects are experienced is usually very mild.
If you find yourself struggling to hear sounds, hearing aids may be an option to help restore your auditory capabilities. But it’s important to be aware of some hearing aid side effects first.
Hearing aids are small battery-powered electronic devices that are worn either in or behind your ear and help to make noises and sounds louder and clearer for patients who have experienced hearing loss.