HLAA 2016 Chicago Walk4Hearing (No September Chapter Meeting)

The Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA) Walk4Hearing is the largest walk of its kind taking place in multiple cities across the country. Every spring and fall thousands of walkers – children and their families, young adults, young at heart and everyone in between – form teams and walk in their communities to increase public awareness about hearing loss, help eradicate the stigma associated with it and raise funds for programs and services.

Who Walks?

• People with a passion for hearing loss issues get involved because either they have a hearing loss themselves or they want to show support for someone they know with hearing loss.
• Parents of children with hearing loss walk as families and meet other parents along the way and share experiences.
• Company teams walk to build workplace camaraderie.
• Alliance groups such as schools for children with hearing loss, hospitals, universities and other nonprofit hearing loss-related organizations join the Walk4Hearing to raise money for their own projects.
• Hearing health care professionals walk because they support our cause.

Why We Walk?
We walk because hearing loss is a public health issue in the United States.

• 48 million (20%) Americans have some form of hearing loss
• 26 million have noise-induced hearing loss that could be prevented
• 2 to 3 out of every 1,000 children are born deaf or with a hearing loss
• 60% of the people with hearing loss are either in the work force or in educational settings
• 80% of people with hearing loss who could benefit from a hearing aid do not wear one
• Even a mild hearing loss can cause a child to miss as much as 50% of classroom discussion

Many people do not know where to find information and support they need to adjust to living with hearing loss. When someone has a hearing loss it affects everyone they interact with – family, friends, co-workers, employers, neighbors – we all need to understand the impact of hearing loss and how to communicate with people with hearing loss.