Maryland Walk helped raise almost $610,000 nationally for the 28 million Americans who suffer from hearing loss

On Sunday, October 28, Frederick resident Denise Portis joined more 200 area residents, who suffer or know someone who suffers from hearing loss, for the Hearing Loss Association of America's (HLAA) Walk4Hearing.

The 5K walk that took place in Damascus Recreational Park was the final of 15 walks this year held by the HLAA to raise awareness of hearing loss, hearing health and treatment options. The Maryland walk alone raised more than $39,000 and still expects fundraising to come in over the next six weeks. T he money raised will be divided between the national and Frederick County hearing loss associations. Over the past year, the HLAA has raised a total of $610,000 through 15 sponsored walks across the country. This figure surpasses the national goal by more than $50,000.

Denise Portis (41) who was completely deaf at one time, but can now hear with the help of a cochlear implant - a device surgically implanted that can help restore hearing for those with severe to profound sensorineural hearing loss - was part of the Maryland Dream Team. This was her second Walk4Hearing event in a row and she looks forward to seeing the event continue to grow. She hopes that that within four or five years the HLAA will have 25 to 30 cities participating nationwide, raising close to $2 million every year.

Sensorineural hearing loss is a type of hearing loss in which the root cause lies in the vestibulocochlear nerve (Cranial nerve VIII), the inner ear, or central processing centers of the brain.

About Hearing Loss Association of America

The Hearing Loss Association of America, headquartered in Bethesda, MD, is the nation's largest organization for people with hearing loss. The HLAA exists to open the world of communication for people with hearing loss through information, education, advocacy and support. The HLAA has over 200 chapters throughout the nation and is the voice for people with hearing loss.

Facts on Hearing Loss in Adults

One in every ten (28 million) Americans has hearing loss. As baby boomers reach retirement age starting in 2010, this number is expected to rapidly climb and nearly double by the year 2030. The prevalence of hearing loss increases with age, up to 1 in 3 over age 65. Most hearing losses develop over a period of 25 to 30 years. Among seniors, hearing loss is the third most prevalent, but treatable disabling condition, behind arthritis and hypertension. While the vast majority of Americans (95%) with hearing loss could be successfully treated with hearing aids, only 22% (6.35 million individuals) currently use them. Only 5% of hearing loss in adults can be improved through medical or surgical treatment.

Facts on Hearing Loss in Children

Everyday in the United States, approximately 1 in 1,000 newborns (or 33 babies every day) is born profoundly deaf with another 2-3 out of 1,000 babies born with partial hearing loss, making hearing loss the number one birth defect in America. Newborn hearing loss is 20 times more prevalent than phenylketonuria (PKU), a condition for which all newborns are currently screened. Of the 12,000 babies in the United States born annually with some form of hearing loss, only half exhibit a risk factor - meaning that if only high-risk infants are screened, half of the infants with some form of hearing loss will not be tested and identified. In actual implementation, risk-based newborn hearing screening programs identify only 10-20% of infants with hearing loss. When hearing loss is detected beyond the first few months of life, the most critical time for stimulating the auditory pathways to hearing centers of the brain may be lost, significantly delaying speech and language development. Only 69% of babies are now screened for hearing loss before 1 month of age (up from only 22% in 1998). Of the babies screened, only 56% who needed diagnostic evaluations actually received them by 3 months of age. Moreover, only 53% of those diagnosed with hearing loss were enrolled in early intervention programs by 6 months of age. As a result, these children tend to later re-emerge in our schools' special education (IDEA, Part B) programs. When children are not identified and do not receive early intervention, special education for a child with hearing loss costs schools an additional $420,000, and has a lifetime cost of approximately $1 million per individual.

Facts on Cochlear Implants

Approximately 70,000 people worldwide have cochlear implants. Approximately 25,000 people in the United States have cochlear implants. Nearly half of all cochlear implant recipients are children. Cochlear implants can help an estimated 200,000 children in the United States who do not benefit from hearing aids. The demand for cochlear implants is increasing annually by 20%. Approximately 250 hospitals across the country perform cochlear implant procedures. A recent study on cochlear implants demonstrated that special education in elementary school is less necessary when children have had "greater than two years of implant experience" before starting school. These children are mainstreamed at twice the rate or more of age-matched children with profound hearing loss who do not have implants. The benefits of a cochlear implant to society amount to a lifetime savings of $53,198 per child. By the time a child with hearing loss graduates from high school, as much as $420,000 can be saved in special education costs if the child is identified and given appropriate early intervention.

Hearing Loss Association of America