June 14, 2007

This week in clinic I observed mostly. While I did not perform the hearing evaluation for this client, he definitely made an impression on me. We had a man come to the clinic who was definitely in need of a hearing aid. He was unable to understand loud conversational speech. The clinician had to help him fill out the case history form because he was unable to read or write. He was interested in purchasing a hearing aid though and brought the forms for the Starkey Hear Now program. After the completion of the hearing evaluation, it was determined he did have a hearing loss and he had 88% discrimination in one ear and 74% in the other. All of the clinicians in the clinic were very concerned about this man, so we decided to look into other options for purchasing hearing aids.
From ASHA, I found an article in the Audiology Information Series on Funding Resources for Audiology Services and Hearing Aids. The article discusses various federal and state resources. They also discussed some of the private resources for children and adults. The Hear Now program was one of the private resources listed, as well as the Easter Seals and the Travelers Protective Association Scholarship for the Deaf and Near-Deaf. I found this information very interesting. I also learned from an audiologist in the area that the Lion's Club sometimes sponsors individuals who need hearing aids. Hopefully after researching some of the organizations, we will be able to help this man purchase the hearing aids he needs.
If you are interested in this article please check out: http://www.asha.org/NR/rdonlyres/6440B0E8-8441-481B-BB9C-0D4E5ADC038F/0/InfoSeriesFundingResources.pdf.