It all started with Braden’s dog, Chewy. Aptly named, the Baker’s family pet chewed up a then 10-year-old Braden’s expensive hearing aids one warm, June night in 2017—for the second time. Born with a bilateral sensorineural hearing loss, Braden, a now 13-year-old Fort Worth, Texas native, has worn hearing aids since he was seven months old. It turns out, Chewy has expensive taste as custom hearing aids can run from $1,000 to a whopping $6,000 dollars per pair.

Once Braden and his mom, Ashley, found the chewed-up hearing aids, Braden’s mom talked with him about how expensive hearing aids are and how to take care of them. She mentioned that not everyone has the means to replace them when accidents happen. Often, like in Braden’s situation, insurance doesn’t cover the cost of replacement hearing aids. 

In fact, according to ASHA, only 22 states offer some kind of coverage for children who need hearing aids, and only 5 states offer coverage to adults. That doesn’t include any hearing screenings, appointments, fittings, or replacement hearing aids if you dog happens to get ahold of them. 48 million Americans have some form of hearing loss, yet not all of them have access to hearing aids due to cost alone. 

This fact sparked something in Braden. “I was really sad that something like that could happen. It was okay because that kind of inspired me to do what I do now. It also kind of made me sad that there were other kids in the world that couldn’t afford [hearing aids],” Braden says. It was then that he decided to do something to help others like him who needed hearing aids. He filmed a short video to share on his mom’s Facebook wall and created a GoFundMe account to raise money for those who aren’t able to afford hearing aids. His original goal was to raise one thousand dollars. Little did he know, this video was the start of something big.

Braden raised well over $130,000 dollars (and counting!) for the Oticon Hearing Foundation through GoFundMe and his own foundation, Hearing the Call. 

Due to all his efforts in raising money for people like him, People magazine featured Braden’s story. Braden also appeared as a guest on The Ellen DeGeneres Show (where Ellen gave Braden an additional 20K for his fund). Ellen says “it’s amazing” that Braden has chosen to do this with his time. Braden says that being on the show was “a bit of a surprise because I wasn’t that big at the time.” Braden was 11 years old when Ellen invited him on the show. “It was super crazy. I was really nervous because I had only given two public speeches. I was super excited; I looked up to her so much.” Braden was also a guest on the podcast, True Stories of Good People presented by GoFundMe. On the podcast, the host deemed Braden a “kid hero” and talked about his journey raising money and giving to others. Additionally, while most kids are asking for the new iPhone for their 11th birthday, Braden traveled to Guatemala to hand out hearing aids to people who needed them. “That’s an amazing thing, that an 11-year-old, for their birthday, wants to go to Guatemala and hand out hearing aids to people who can’t afford them,” says Ellen on her show.

Amidst donations to and press around Braden, the foundation continues to grow. Braden continues to make videos, speak at local TEDx Talks, and receive coverage from news outlets and magazines—all while finishing the 7th grade. 

To other kids wearing hearing aids, Braden wants to remind them: “Don’t ever let it stop you. Don’t ever let [having hearing aids] get you down. It’s like wearing glasses; it’s just another impairment. You should never be sad about that. Don’t let it stop you from doing something you want to do.” 

Katie Marler is a marketing communications associate at Eosera®, Inc. For more information about Braden, visit www.bradenbakerhears.com.