Hear Me Foundation

See Hear Me's Front Page and Calendar of Events for more details:

 Hearing Aid Assistance Tax Credit Act:

· Provide a tax credit of up to $500 per hearing aid, available once every 5 years, towards the purchase of such hearing aid, available to:

· While 95% of individuals with hearing loss could be successfully treated with hearing aids, only 22% (6.35 million Americans) currently use them according to the most recent ‘MarkeTrak’ report, the largest national consumer survey on hearing loss in America. Included in this figure are 1 million children under the age of 18 with a diagnosed hearing loss who are not now using a hearing aid, and around 9.7 million Americans age 55 and over.

· 40% of individuals with hearing loss have incomes of less than $30,000 per year. A Department of Commerce study indicates that overall family income of the hearing impaired population is almost half that of the general population.

· 30% of those with hearing loss cite financial constraints as a core reason they do not use hearing aids, according to a MarkeTrak report.

· The average cost for a hearing aid in 2004 was $1,800, and almost 2/3 of individuals with hearing loss require two devices, thereby increasing the average out of pocket expense to $3,600.

· Hearing aids are not covered under Medicare, or under the vast majority of state mandated benefits. In fact, 71.4% of hearing aid purchases involve no third party payments, which places the entire burden of the hearing aid purchase on the consumer, according to ‘MarkeTrak’.

· Hearing loss is the most prevalent birth defect in America today, affecting 2-3 infants per 1,000 births. 1.2 million children under age 18 have a hearing loss.

· For adults, hearing loss usually occurs more gradually, but increases dramatically with age, with 10 million older Americans experiencing agerelated hearing loss.

· According to “Healthy People 2010”, an HHS-led program to address America’s health needs, another 10 million young adults and working aged Americans have noise-induced hearing loss. A primary objective of Healthy People 2010 is to ‘increase the number of deaf or hard-of-hearing people who use adaptive devices, such as hearing aids. ’ This legislation is one of the most practical and cost-effective tools government can use to accomplish this goal.

· Children who do not receive early intervention cost schools an additional $420,000 and are faced with overall lifetime costs of $1 million in special education, lost wages, and health complications, according to a respected 1995 study published in the Intl. Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology.

· For workers, noise induced hearing loss is the most common occupational disease and the second most self-reported occupational injury.

· Studies estimate a 50-70% reduction of income for workers with untreated hearing loss as compared to that received by their non-hearing impaired peers.

· For seniors, untreated hearing loss causes additional costs to Medicare and other health programs due to loss of independence, social isolation, depression, safety issues, and quality of life. The Senate Special Committee on Aging, in S. Rpt. 107-74, noted: “As the wave of seniors begins to experience age-related disability, our current long term care system will not be able to support this demographic shift.” Hearing aids help enable seniors to retain their independence and avoid other long-term care costs.

· In 1999, the National Council on the Aging (NCOA) conducted the largest known study on the effects of untreated hearing loss among adults and their families. The study quantified both the negative results of untreated hearing loss and the positive impact of hearing instruments on an individual’s quality of life. It found that impaired hearing results in distorted communication, greater isolation, withdrawal, reduced sensory input, depression, anger, and severely reduced overall psychological health. Conversely, hearing aid usage among those with hearing loss was found to significantly impact the following areas:

- Increased earnings power, of around 50%;

- Enhanced emotional and mental stability and reduced anger, anxiety, depression and paranoia;

- Improved health status and less incidence of pain;

- Reduced social phobias and improved interpersonal relationships