By Timothy Higdon

Our donors’ commitment to Hearing Health Foundation (HHF) inspires me so greatly. Thanks to their support, 21 major hearing and balance research are active in labs nationwide.

These milestones are made possible by compassionate individuals like you.

The scientific advancements led by HHF will benefit folks like you, your loved ones, and Delane, who saw her mother become more isolated as she lost her hearing. “With no communication, she became invisible,” Delane says.

When, 20 years ago, Delane started to lose her own hearing, she decided she would not let that happen to her. She wanted to remain vibrant and engaged with life—not invisible or isolated. Her audiologist, the same one she still sees at age 90, instructed her to wear her hearing aids all day, every day. 

After a period of adjustment, Delane realizes that her doctor’s advice to train her brain to hear again was invaluable. “My brain began to filter background sounds to a tolerable level, the way the brain and typical ears are supposed to do,” she says.

Delane looks forward to the day when she and others can manage their hearing loss with better technology and treatments. In 2020 HHF will continue groundbreaking work toward new treatments and cures for hearing loss and related conditions and, for several researchers, will have the ability to increase grant awards by more than 233%. 

HHF counts on individuals like you to empower new discoveries. Please consider making an annual gift before the year is over to influence better health outcomes for individuals like Delane. On Giving Tuesday, December 3, all gifts will be matched by a generous, anonymous donor. Your donation is 100% tax-deductible, and HHF pledges to use every dollar wisely.

Delane’s full story appeared in the Fall 2019 issue of Hearing Health magazine.