the patient care program brought together myrna and austin, her hearing dog

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.


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.).


A Patient Care grant provided

Krissy with hearing

aids.


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.


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.


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.


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.


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.


Crickets can hear through their legs.


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.



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.


Shari (with her guide dog

Nora) received a hearing aid through the Patient Care

Program.


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.

Form & Function

The hammer, anvil and stirrup bones are full size at birth and all three

together could fit on a penny.


Only 10% of hearing losses can be reversed by surgery or other medical

treatment…


...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.


An “ear trumpet” was used by people who had difficulty

hearing before the hearing aid was invented.


A Patient Care grant provided Treyton with hearing aids.



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:


Justin received hearing aids through the

Lions Hearing Aid Bank.


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.


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.

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.


Thirty out of every 1,000 school-age children have hearing loss.


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.


In total, more than 28 million Americans have hearing loss. This number could reach 78

million in 2030.

How we help:


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.


A Project Support grant helped to

purchase a hearing screening

machine to test the hearing of Methow Valley

children.


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)!


A Project Support grant helped to purchase an assistive hearing system

for the Cutter Theatre in Metaline Falls.


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:


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.


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.


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.

Disgusting but true...

A giraffe can clean its own ears with its tongue.


Dani’s hearing loss was caught early thanks to the Lions Early

Assessment Program.


This mobile clinic screened 30,000 people in 2006! About 90 percent of those screened were schoolchildren.



Thomas Edison – The inventor became deaf in his early teens, which didn’t

stop him from inventing the phonograph or motion picture camera.


Noise intensity is measured in decibel units. Each 10-decibel increase

represents a tenfold increase in noise intensity.


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.


A whispered voice measures at 30 decibels while a normal conversation

is 60 dB.

How we help:


Each year, our Lions Hearing Aid Bank provides recycled aids free of charge

to more than 300 people who otherwise could not afford them.


The Lions Health Screening Unit gives peace of mind, saves time and money by catching medical problems early,

and even saves lives.


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.


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.


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.)



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.


The Patient Care Program

provided Cody with hearing

aids.


One out of every three people over 65 has 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.


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.


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.


A Project Support grant helped to pay

for Katie’s tuition to become a

certified sign language

interpreter.

the patient care program brought together myrna and austin, her hearing dog

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