The Hearing Impaired Wants To Be Heard

GARY CORSAIR,
DAILY SUN

A small but potentially vocal group is determined to dispel the notion that hearing-impaired people are content to sit on the sidelines and wait to be recognized.

The message on buttons worn by Hearing Loss Association members leaves no doubt that they want — rather, demand — to be recognized. The message: “Please face me. I’m hard of hearing.”

Hearing Loss Association of America members want to do more than be able to read your lips; they want everyone to hear the words coming out of theirs.

“HLAA helps hearing-impaired people become their own advocate,” says Wayne Cook, one of the organizers of the recently formed Lady Lake chapter.

Cook knows a thing or two about advocacy — and what HLAA members can accomplish when they join voices. Before moving to a home in the Village of Woodbury, Cook was a HLAA chapter president and state coordinator in Rhode Island. He also served on the state commission for the deaf and hard of hearing.

Cook saw firsthand the power Hearing Loss Association chapters can have when they have the support of members and the national organization.



“In Rhode Island, we passed a hearing-aid insurance bill,” Cook said. “That’s one thing we want to do in Florida. My wife and I just spent $12,000 on new hearing aids, and we don’t get anything. No help from Blue Cross Blue Shield, no help from our health care provider.”

While national and state Hearing Loss Association chapters monitor state and federal regulatory agencies, local chapters — like the one just formed — seek to improve the quality of life of each hearing-impaired person in the community they represent.

The help offered takes many forms.

“We provide information about devices to improve the lives of hearing impaired. We can tell them how the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) affects them, and how to approach different medical situations,” Cook said. “It’s all about empowering you. Things like making people understand you have the right to say, ‘Please look at me when you talk to me.’”

“Many people who move here don’t know where to go for help,” said Muriel Raine, a hearing-impaired Lady Lake resident who wants to help deaf people new to the area. “We will have that information to share with the group at our meetings.”

Raine, who moved from Minnesota, says the need for a HLAA chapter is greater than ever.

“For many years the local services were adequate, but we’re seeing a shift in baby boomers moving down here. And as they get older, more and more of them are experiencing hearing loss,” Raine said.

Initially the local Hearing Loss Association chapter will focus on getting information from people it hopes to serve. Once needs and concerns are identified, chapters call upon the state association, which then involves the national organization in obtaining support.

Fourteen HLAA chapters are chartered in Florida, but most are in major metropolitan areas far from Lake, Marion or Sumter counties.

“Tampa and Gainesville are the closest chapters,” said Debbie Cook, Wayne’s wife.

“We’re trying to get all chapters to participate in a grassroots effort,” Cook said. “We need to find out what the hearing-loss community wants. Is it insurance? More captioned movies? Job protection? Once we get all the info, we’ll take it back to the state council.”

Anyone interested in learning more about the Hearing Loss Association of America is invited to attend the local chapter's first meeting from 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesday at the Lady Lake Library, 225 W. Guava St.

For more information, call the Cooks at 751-6065.

Gary Corsair is a senior writer with the Daily Sun. He can be reached at 753-1119, ext. 7907, or gary.corsair@thevillagesmedia.com.

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