There are not enough hearing aids produced to fit all of the hearing impaired people in the world according to the World Health Organization. While 278 million people worldwide have some hearing impairment, only around 28 million hearing aids are produced each year. In the United States, one out of every 10 Americans are affected by some form of hearing loss, but the costs of hearing aids are not covered by many health insurance plans. Medicare does not cover hearing aids either. So, donating used hearing aids which can be refurbished is a way to change the future for another hearing impaired individual.
Instructions
1. Find a hearing aid donation center by going to the Lions Club website (see Resources). Drop off your used hearing aids at one of the collection points, located in the United States, Canada and Denmark. The Lions Club organization runs a Hearing Aid Recycling Program (HARP). It sponsors the collection of used hearing aids, forwards them to a manufacturer for refurbishing and then helps to distribute them to low-income hearing impaired individuals.
2. Mail your used hearing aid to Hear Now, at 6700 Washington Avenue South, Eden Prairie, MN 55344. Hear Now is the nonprofit partner of the Starkey Hearing Foundation (see Resources). It forwards collected used hearing aids to Starkey, a hearing aid manufacturer who refurbishes them and contributes them to low-income hearing impaired children and adults around the world.
3. Call the Children's Hearing Help Fund Hearing Aid Loan Bank at (866) 999-2443 to request a hearing aid donation box. Use the box the organization sends to mail in your used hearing aid which will be refurbished. If it is appropriate for infants or young children to wear, it will be available for loaning to Florida children who fail the newborn hearing screening. Florida is the first state to set up a loaner program for for infants and children so that they can be exposed to sound early enough to develop language naturally.
Tags: hearing aids, used hearing, hearing impaired, used hearing aids, your used hearing,