For Immediate Release
Kristen Dickson, CSEP
March 16 2009
KDPR
kristen@kristendicksonpr.com
214 991 4009
Dallas Hearing Foundation’s Sounds of the Season Gala Committee Raises Awareness about Deafness and Cochlear Implants
Dallas, Texas—The Dallas Hearing Foundation’s Fundraising Committee is seeking sponsorships for their first formal gala, Sounds of the Season, to raise funds for and awareness of cochlear implants, hearing/speaking rehabilitation, and the positive impact of bringing sound to life.
The Fundraising Committee has held a successful fundraising event every year since 2001 and has provided over $1 million in services to improve the lives of individuals with hearing loss. This is the first year that the DHF Fundraising Committee has decided to launch a formal gala event. They have developed 12 sponsor levels named after the 12 nights of the holiday season; the title sponsor level, Drummers Drumming, is $40,000, which provides a hearing impaired beneficiary one cochlear implant surgery, including all exams, surgery, rehabilitation and therapy.
Deafness is the most costly disability in the United States in regards to the cost of education. Special education costs for public deaf education programs average $25,000 per child per year, almost five times higher than the costs for mainstreamed students. Studies show that the individuals who graduate from public deaf educational programs enter adulthood with a third grade reading level and ineffective speaking and writing skills, thereby greatly reducing their employment opportunities. The lifetime cost to society is over $1 million for each deaf person in terms of medical, education, disability and productivity loss.
Other facts on deafness include:
· There are 28 million individuals with hearing loss in the United States. Of these 738,000 are profoundly deaf. 4,000 deaf children are born each year.
· 90% of deaf children are born to normal hearing parents.
· Parents with normal hearing communicate through speaking, and most do not know how to communicate with their deaf child.
· Deaf education programs in the public schools usually teach some form of sign language in order to communicate with and educate the students. As a result, few deaf students become proficient in the English language.
· Graduates of deaf education programs in the U.S. typically have an average of a 3rd grade reading level
· 45% of deaf individuals do not graduate from high school and only 5% graduate from college.
· A small minority of deaf students complete deaf education programs prepared for independence in adulthood; 60% face either unemployment or severe underemployment.
· Deaf individuals earn only 50% to 70% of what their hearing peers earn, losing an average of $320,000 in earnings during their lifetime.
· Over 50% of deaf adults earn less than $25,000 per year.
· 42% of deaf adults between 18 and 44 years of age are unemployed.
· 70% of deaf individuals rely on government sponsored insurance programs such as Medicaid and Medicare.
· Deafness is the most costly single disability in terms of special education costs, averaging $25,000 per year per child, compared to $5,100 for a normal hearing child.
· The average lifetime cost to society of a child born deaf in terms of medical, educational, and productivity losses is $1,020,000.
The major beneficiary of the Sounds of the Season gala is the Dallas Hearing Foundation, which provides financial aid to patients seeking cochlear implants through the Dallas Otolaryngology Cochlear Implant Program. A cochlear implant is a prosthetic replacement for the inner ear that bypasses damaged parts of the ear and electronically stimulates auditory nerve fibers to produce a sense of hearing. The cochlear implant includes two parts: an internal bundle of wires surgically implanted into the cochlea through the skull behind the ear, and an external part consisting of a microphone, connecting cables, and a speech processor that converts sound into electrical impulses.
Facts about cochlear implants include:
· Research has shown cochlear implants to be one of the most cost-effective medical treatments of our day, far greater than coronary bypass surgery or kidney dialysis.
· Children with at least two years of cochlear implant experience are placed in mainstream normal hearing classrooms at twice the rate of deaf children without implants. This saves the educational system up to $200,000 in cost from the first through twelfth grade.
· It costs $40,000 to implant one child during infancy to age three. Project Hope has calculated that for every dollar spent on cochlear implants, society saves $25.00 in specialized services. This calculates to $1 million in savings per child implanted.
· Cochlear implant centers are recouping only 25% to 75% of their actual costs from insurance and government programs, losing up to $30,000 per child implanted.
The Dallas Hearing Foundation is a 501 (c) (3) not-for-profit charitable foundation that provides cochlear implants, hearing aids, auditory-verbal therapy, and educational support services based on financial need. They are dedicated to providing a hearing/speaking life and quality education available to many deaf children and adults. DHF uses revolutionary technologies such as digital hearing aids, cochlear implants, and auditory-verbal therapy.
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For more information about DHF, the Sounds of the Season Gala, or to schedule an interview with DHF President B. Robert Peters, MD, DHF Gala Liaison Melissa Benton, or Sounds of the Season event producer Meredith Commender, please contact Kristen Dickson at Kristen@kristendicksonpr.com or 214 991 4009. Please also visit www.dallashearingfoundation.org, www.dallascochlear.com, www.soundsoftheseason.org, or www.soundsoftheseasongala.blogspot.com. A list of human-interest story leads is also available, including current and past patients.
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