1. New Eyes for the Needy (eyeglasses and hearing aids)- provides vouchers for the purchase of new prescription eyeglasses and hearing aids for some people.
549 Millburn Avenue
P.O. Box 332
Short Hills, NJ 07078-0332
Phone: (973) 376-4903
2. Nemours Health Clinic - 302-651-4400
3. Lions Club Affordable Hearing Aid Project - Your local club is a good place to start (Lions are now emphasizing hearing loss).
4. Wilmington Hospital, audiology department at 428-2286 May have used hearing aids and other resources.
5. Starkey Hearing Foundation www.sotheworldmayhear.org
6700 Washington Ave.
South Eden Prairie, MN 55344
800-648-HEAR(4327) (Voice - Toll-free)
952-947-4903 (Voice)
952-828-6946 (FAX)
6. U.S. Veterans Administration:
All World War I veterans are eligible to receive free hearing aids. Other veterans can receive free hearing aids if their hearing loss is at least 50% service-related.
Veterans must first contact the Wilmington VA hospital in Elsmere or call the VA benefits office or contact one of their services organizations like the American Legion or Paralyzed Veterans of America.
The Veterans Health Care Act provides free TeleCaption decoders to veterans who have a profound hearing loss that is service-related.
The VA will also provide TTYs and telephone amplification devices to veterans with service-related hearing loss. You can also go online to
www.va.gov or
www.healthevet.gov web sites.
7. Civic/Service Organizations: Many community service organizations receive charitable donations to purchase hearing aids and other devices for low income deaf and hard of hearing people.
Clubs often recondition hearing aids and donate them to needy individuals. You can look in the yellow pages and also under non-profit organizations in the yellow pages or call the Delaware Helpline at 800-464-4357 and they will help you locate them.
The following are several organizations that typically offer this type of assistance:
National Easter Seal Society
March of Dimes
Telephone Pioneers of America
Lions International
Kiwanis Clubs
Rotary Clubs
Sertoma Clubs
Optimist Clubs
Granges
Sorority and Fraternity Service Organizations
Quota Club
8. HEAR NOW (Children and adults)
9745 East Hampden Avenue, #300
Denver, CO 80231
(303) 695-4327 V/TTY
(800) 648-HEAR V/TTY
(303) 695-7789 FAX
9. Miracle-Ear Children's Foundation www.miracle-ear.com
P.O. Box 59261
Minneapolis, MN 55459-0261
1-800/234-5422
Please Note:
1) Used hearing aids are also a good, low cost alternative and if they can obtain a copy of the person's audiogram, they can call different hearing aid dispensers in the telephone book and see if they will sell them a used behind the ear aid (BTE) and just make a new mold.
2) Many states offer hearing aid assistance to children and adults, especially seniors. For example, Nebraska has a model program.
Delaware has a whole Division for the Visually Impaired, which ensures that almost no Delawarean goes without the maximum vision possible.
However, there is no Division for the Hearing Impaired and the Office of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing in Delaware has only one full time information and referral person, technically she is a Public Information Officer and that is Loretta Sarro.
The Office does not have any programs or services for people with hearing loss.
10. Audient Hearing Aid Alliance Program www.audientalliance.org
901 Boren Ave., Ste, 810
Seattle, WA 98104-3534
1-877-283-4368 (Toll Free)
(206) 838-7194 (Fax)
E-Mail
info@audientalliance.org
Eligibility for his program is linked to the federal government's poverty guide income qualification tied to 250% of the federal poverty guideline.
At today's federal poverty level at $9,400/year, and income of $23,500 or less would qualify an applicant for a fully digital behind-the-ear hearing aid and services.
Applicants will be interviewed by an Audient representative and there are hearing care providers that participate throughout the United States.
This program is a partnership with the Northwest Hearing Care, an affiliate of the Northwest Lions Foundation for Sight and Hearing.
11. Children's Variety Club -
www.varietyphila.org
Meghan Evans, Delaware Program Director
Variety Club-Children$rsquo;s Charity
2711 Centerville Rd, Suite 108
Wilmington, DE 19808
(302) 993-0896
This organization helps purchase new hearing aids and assistive technology for qualified children.
12. Oticon Pediatric Hearing Aid Loaner Pending Cochlear Implant Program
Oticon Pediatrics has unveiled a program designed to assist hearing care professionals in providing care for infants and toddlers newly identified with hearing loss.
The Loaner Bank provides hearing instruments for a 3-month period to children under the age of 3 while arrangements for third-party reimbursement are secured or while cochlear implant evaluation is underway.
A range of Oticon hearing instruments will be offered. An EarGear hearing aid retention device will be provided with each loaner hearing instrument order.
To utilize the Loaner Bank, hearing care professionals must have an Oticon account and complete a one-time application to participate in the program. Upon acceptance, practitioners must verify they have completed training on Oticon fitting software and the available loaner hearing instruments.
Hearing care professionals must also submit a request form for each child requesting hearing aids. There is no fee to participate in the program.
For more information about the Oticon Pediatrics Loaner Bank Program, contact Maureen Doty-Tomasula at
mdd@oticonusa.com or phone 888-OTI-PED1 (1-888-684-7331).
