Getting help to hear...
Today’s hearing aids cost an average of $1,500 apiece. This does not include the additional
audiology fees for the hearing test, ear molds, and fitting.
How we help:Lions Patient Care
The Patient Care
Program brought together
Myrna and Austin, her
hearing dog.
Form & Function
We are supporting a research project at the Virginia Bloedel Hearing Research Center at the University of Washington that is studying how cochlear hair cells
could be regenerated.
Animals with ears in weird places...
Some butterflies have ears on their wings.
How we help:
Lions Hearing Aid Bank
The Bank’s daily operations are run by audiology student interns at the
University of Washington, giving them invaluable hands-on training. They
manage the inventory of donated hearing aids, match aids with patients, and arrange for re-casing and repair.
How we help:Lions Patient Care
A Patient Care grant paid for
Cassidy’s therapy at Listen and
Talk.
How we help:AUDIENT
We have developed an alliance of 1,000 hearing care providers who commit to providing their services
— hearing test, ear molds, and fitting — at a discount. This
number will continue to grow.
Some startling numbers...
More than one-third of all hearing loss is preventable because it’s
related to loud music, workplaces, recreational equipment (snowmobiles,
etc.) and household items (lawnmowers, power tools, etc.).
How we help:Lions Patient Care
A Patient Care grant provided
Krissy with hearing
aids.
Animals with ears in weird places...
Snakes have no ears at all. They “hear” through vibrations on the
ground.
Thank you for your support!
Play it by Ear is a regional hearing fundraiser for the Northwest Lions Foundation. Lions Clubs in Washington and Northern Idaho volunteer thousands of hours annually to raise money on our behalf. Thank you for your support!
How we help:AUDIENT
Since the program began in 2005, it has already provided more than 2,000 hearing aids to people in nearly every state across the
country.
Form & Function
Research shows that a person’s ears work differently: the left is better at processing speech and the right is
better at processing musical sounds and songs.
How we help:Lions Patient Care
A Project Support grant purchased
assistive listening devices for a
workshop for hearing impaired children.
It’s nothing to be ashamed of...
A random sampling of people with hearing loss:
Bill Clinton - Like him or not, the former president made it OK for baby boomers to admit they need
a hearing aid.
How we help:Lions Patient Care
Sean received a bone-anchored
hearing aid through the Patient Care
program.
Sound and Speed
Sound travels at the speed of 1,130 feet per second, or 770
miles per hour.
How we help:Lions Patient Care
Patient Care is a partnership between the Northwest Lions Foundation and
regional Lions Clubs. The Foundation pays for half the cost of treatment and
the sponsoring Club — or group of Clubs if the treatment is expensive —
pays for the second half.
How we help:Lions Patient Care
The grants have paid for an amazing variety of hearing treatment including a
prosthetic ear, speech therapy for a deaf child, sign language classes, and a
hearing dog named Austin.
Form & Function
At the middle ear, the sound waves vibrate the eardrum, which is connected to the ossicles, the three smallest bones in the human body: the malleus, the incus, and the stapes. (Also known as the hammer,
anvil, and stirrup because of their shape.)
How we help:Project Support Grants
A phone system accessible to deaf consumers and staff members was purchased through a
Project Support grant for DEAF ACCESS Washington.
Thank you for your support!
Play it by Ear is a regional hearing fundraiser for the Northwest Lions Foundation. Lions Clubs in Washington and Northern Idaho volunteer thousands of hours annually to raise money on our behalf. Thank you for your support!
Animals with ears in weird places...
Crickets can hear through their legs.
Animals with ears in weird places...
The ears of a barn owl are at different heights on its head. This makes it
easier for the bird to localize sound and catch its prey.
It’s nothing to be ashamed of...
A random sampling of people with hearing loss:
Ludwig van Beethoven – He composed classical music
masterpieces long after losing his hearing at age 28.
Form & Function
Humans cannot regenerate the microscopic hair cells in their cochlea
when they are damaged, but birds can.
Turn that racket down!
Sound level the human ear can withstand without damage: 130 decibels. Sound level of an average rock concert: 150 decibels.
Disgusting but true...
Ears are self-cleaning. Pores in the ear canal produce ear wax (officially known as cerumen)
and tiny hairs, called cilia, push the wax out of the canal.
How we help:Lions Patient Care
Shari (with her guide dog
Nora) received a hearing aid through the Patient Care
Program.
Some startling numbers...
Sixty percent of people with hearing loss are of working age,
between 21 and 65.
Sound and Speed
A sonic boom occurs when an object breaks the speed of sound. The sound waves from behind and in
front of the object crash into each other and create the boom.
Thank you for your support!
Play it by Ear is a regional hearing fundraiser for the Northwest Lions Foundation. Lions Clubs in Washington and Northern Idaho volunteer thousands of hours annually to raise money on our behalf. Thank you for your support!
Form & Function
The hammer, anvil and stirrup bones are full size at birth and all three
together could fit on a penny.
Getting help to hear...
Only 10% of hearing losses can be reversed by surgery or other medical
treatment…
Getting help to hear...
...but 90% of hearing losses can be treated with a listening device like
a hearing aid.
How we help:AUDIENT
The AUDIENT Program helped PCC Jim Kemp purchase hearing aids.
Getting help to hear...
An “ear trumpet” was used by people who had difficulty
hearing before the hearing aid was invented.
How we help:Lions Patient Care
A Patient Care grant provided Treyton with hearing aids.
It’s nothing to be ashamed of...
A random sampling of people with hearing loss:
Lou Ferrigno – The star of the “Incredible Hulk” lost most of his hearing as a child due to an ear
infection.
Form & Function
A human has 5 muscles in its outer ear, while a cat has 32. This means a cat can rotate its ears 180 degrees to
pinpoint sounds.
How we help:
Lions Hearing Aid Bank
Justin received hearing aids through the
Lions Hearing Aid Bank.
Turn that racket down!
At 115 decibels, a baby's cry is louder than a car horn.
Form & Function
The outer ear includes the part of the ear you can see, which is also called
the pinna or auricle.
How we help:Lions Patient Care
Denver received a hearing aid through the Lions Hearing Aid Bank.
How we help:AUDIENT
The program focuses on individuals making less than $24,500 per year. (The income level needed to qualify varies by family size.) To learn more about AUDIENT, contact 1-877-283-
4368 or visit www.audientalliance.org.
Thank you for your support!
Play it by Ear is a regional hearing fundraiser for the Northwest Lions Foundation. Lions Clubs in Washington and Northern Idaho volunteer thousands of hours annually to raise money on our behalf. Thank you for your support!
Form & Function
The ear never stops working, even when people are asleep. The ear continues to hear sounds, but the
brain shuts them out.
Hearing and balance
For seniors, loss of balance and hearing often go hand in hand as
the vestibular system degenerates with age.
Some startling numbers...
Thirty out of every 1,000 school-age children have hearing loss.
Getting help to hear...
Adults with hearing loss wait an average of 7 years before seeking
help.
How We Help: Lions Health Screening Unit
Jason had his hearing tested in the Lions Health Screening Unit.
Photo by Tony Overman, December 17, 2004. Reprinted with permission from The Olympian.
Hearing and balance
Exposure to high decibel sounds can induce temporary loss of balance
along with temporary or permanent hearing loss.
Some startling numbers...
In total, more than 28 million Americans have hearing loss. This number could reach 78
million in 2030.
How we help:
Lions Hearing Aid Bank
A special thanks goes to the hearing care providers across Washington and Idaho who serve patients going through the
Bank. Their hearing aid-related services typically cost $400 but these partners
often discount the fee or waive it altogether.
How we help:Project Support Grants
A Project Support grant helped to
purchase a hearing screening
machine to test the hearing of Methow Valley
children.
Thank you for your support!
Play it by Ear is a regional hearing fundraiser for the Northwest Lions Foundation. Lions Clubs in Washington and Northern Idaho volunteer thousands of hours annually to raise money on our behalf. Thank you for your support!
Getting help to hear...
Companies like Oticon are setting the next trend: the hearing aid as fashion
accessory. These models are incredibly small, high-tech, and available in stylish
colors (even animal prints)!
How we help:Project Support Grants
A Project Support grant helped to purchase an assistive hearing system
for the Cutter Theatre in Metaline Falls.
How we help:Lions Patient Care
Our Lions Patient Care Program provides nearly $200,000 in
grants each year to people for hearing and sight treatment
they otherwise could not afford.
Form & Function
Humans rely on five components to hear: the outer ear, middle ear, inner
ear, auditory nerve, and brain.
How we help:
Lions Hearing Aid Bank
Erma received hearing aids through the
Lions Hearing Aid Bank.
Form & Function
The outer ear collects sounds waves and funnels them through the ear
canal to the middle ear.
Hearing and balance
Balance is controlled through the vestibular system located in
the inner ear.
How We Help: Lions Health Screening Unit
In 2006, the Lions Health Screening Unit checked the hearing of nearly 30,000
schoolchildren in Washington and Northern Idaho.
How we help:AUDIENT
AUDIENT is the most recent addition to our hearing programs. It provides new, discounted hearing aids to low-
income patients of all ages.
How We Help: Lions Health Screening Unit
The Lions Health Screening Unit travels 20,000 miles
across Washington and Idaho each year to provide free
check-ups for hearing, sight, diabetes, glaucoma, and blood
pressure.
Thank you for your support!
Play it by Ear is a regional hearing fundraiser for the Northwest Lions Foundation. Lions Clubs in Washington and Northern Idaho volunteer thousands of hours annually to raise money on our behalf. Thank you for your support!
Disgusting but true...
A giraffe can clean its own ears with its tongue.
Getting help to hear...
Dani’s hearing loss was caught early thanks to the Lions Early
Assessment Program.
How We Help: Lions Health Screening Unit
This mobile clinic screened 30,000 people in 2006! About 90 percent of those screened were schoolchildren.
It’s nothing to be ashamed of...
A random sampling of people with hearing loss:
Thomas Edison – The inventor became deaf in his early teens, which didn’t
stop him from inventing the phonograph or motion picture camera.
Turn that racket down!
Noise intensity is measured in decibel units. Each 10-decibel increase
represents a tenfold increase in noise intensity.
How We Help: Lions Health Screening Unit
The program helps Washington schools fulfill a state mandate
requiring the testing of student hearing and vision in Grades K, 1, 2,
3, 5, and 7.
Form & Function
The cochlea in the inner part of the ear contains microscopic hair cells. These
hairs convert sound waves into electrical signals that are sent to the brain through
the auditory nerve for processing.
Turn that racket down!
A whispered voice measures at 30 decibels while a normal conversation
is 60 dB.
How we help:
Lions Hearing Aid Bank
Each year, our Lions Hearing Aid Bank provides recycled aids free of charge
to more than 300 people who otherwise could not afford them.
How We Help: Lions Health Screening Unit
The Lions Health Screening Unit gives peace of mind, saves time and money by catching medical problems early,
and even saves lives.
Turn that racket down!
News from the other spectrum of the scale… in Africa, a tribe called Maabans live in such quiet that they can hear a whisper from across a baseball field,
even when they are very old.
Thank you for your support!
Play it by Ear is a regional hearing fundraiser for the Northwest Lions Foundation. Lions Clubs in Washington and Northern Idaho volunteer thousands of hours annually to raise money on our behalf. Thank you for your support!
Some startling numbers...
Twelve thousand infants born in the U.S. each year (33 per day)
have some degree of hearing loss ranging from mild to profound.
This makes hearing loss the most common birth defect.
Some startling numbers...
Only 11% of children with hearing loss think they have trouble hearing. (Which means that without hearing check-ups, they won’t know to tell their parents
that something is wrong.)
It’s nothing to be ashamed of...
A random sampling of people with hearing loss:
William Shatner & Leonard Nimoy – The Star Trek co-stars now suffer from
permanent tinnitus (ringing of the ears) after an explosion on the set in
the 1960s.
How we help:Lions Patient Care
The Patient Care Program
provided Cody with hearing
aids.
Some startling numbers...
One out of every three people over 65 has hearing loss.
It’s nothing to be ashamed of...
A random sampling of people with hearing loss:
Mike Singletary – The Hall of Fame linebacker for the Chicago Bears has
worn hearing aids for most of his life. He and wife Pam have done public service announcements emphasizing that it’s usually the spouse who convinces a
person to get help.
How we help:Lions Patient Care
One of the most common requests is for an FM system for a hard-of-hearing child. The device amplifies a teacher’s voice in class and transmits it directly
to the student’s ears through earphones or hearing aids.
Turn that racket down!
Most musicians wear ear plugs. Check out a non-profit called Hearing Education and Awareness for Rockers (www.hearnet.com) for hearing advice
your kids might actually listen to.
How we help:Project Support Grants
A Project Support grant helped to pay
for Katie’s tuition to become a
certified sign language
interpreter.
Thank you for your support!
Play it by Ear is a regional hearing fundraiser for the Northwest Lions Foundation. Lions Clubs in Washington and Northern Idaho volunteer thousands of hours annually to raise money on our behalf. Thank you for your support!