Continuing Education on Hearing Loss
Self Help for Hard of Hearing People (SHHH) is launching a new educational program to certify people in hearing loss support. The American Academy of Hearing Loss Support Specialists™ establishes a set of core knowledge and understanding for individuals who work with people affected by hearing loss, reports SHHH. Classes began on October 5, 2005, and continue with rolling admission after December 5, 2005. The online course takes from 50-70 hours to complete and costs $300. Register before December 31, 2005 for a $25 discount. For more information, visit www.hearingloss.org/academy.
Major Insurer Pays for Hearing Aids
Air Force Link reports that effective September 1, 2005, hearing aids will be covered under Tricare Benefits for family members of active-duty military personnel as part of the 2002 National Defense Authorization Act. Previously, hearing aids and services were only available to those beneficiaries enrolled in the Program for Persons with Disabilities. Adults qualify when they have at least a 26-decibel hearing loss in one or both ears at any three or more targeted test frequencies or a speech recognition score of less than 94 percent. Criterion for children is more liberal. Visit www.tricare.osd.mil for more information, or call a regional Tricare office.
Country Music Greats Chime in “So the World May Hear”
On August 20, 2005, in St. Paul, Minn., Trisha Yearwood and Garth Brooks loaned their star power to Starkey Hearing Foundation’s “So the World May Hear Awards” Gala, which included performances by Donny Osmond and Michael Bolton, and raised more than $4 million. Brooks was recognized for his Teammates for Kids Foundation and other honorees were the Richard Schulze Family Foundation, the Wayne Gretzky Foundation and the Children’s Miracle Network, founded by the late Olive Osmond.
Other stars who shone that night included Loraine Bracco, Robert Culp, Lou Ferrigno, Senator John Glenn, Marlee Matlin, Leslie Nielsen, Mickey Rooney and Marianne Ross. Since 1973, the Starkey Hearing Foundation’s international mission trips and domestic programs have provided hundreds of thousands of hearing aids to people in need, especially children. To learn more about the Starkey Hearing Foundation, visit www.sotheworldmayhear.org.
