Student Hearing Loss in Schools

Having just returned from an amazing conference of the Florida Council of Independent Schools held in Orlando, I’m excited to say it was a great opportunity to share some awesome statistics on student hearing loss with FCIS.  Over 1300 participants signed on for a super-organized program of sessions geared to help students navigate the rough spots on their road through lower, middle and upper independent schools.  Everything from ‘The Art of Playing”  to ‘Secrets of Success for K-5 Hands-on Science’  to ‘Helping Students Succeed.’  The glorious Omni was our host for this wonderful weekend of learning and networking for all manner of attendees who just want to help create a better student life for our young people in Florida.

I saw tons of opportunities to include ways to educate students about causes of hearing loss and ways to prevent it.  In addition, there was a ballroom filled with booths that advertised products and projects designed to make life more well-rounded, manageable and fun for our students.

As founder and president of Empowerment Through Hearing (ETH), I spoke about my own progressive hearing loss, my subsequent cochlear implant and the cool community service projects that ETH has introduced into our area…all in the name of increasing awareness.   My own experience supports the facts that hearing loss can cause isolation, depression and even thoughts of suicide.  It causes dis-ease in the body that makes us vulnerable to debilitating conditions like cancer.  In short, hearing loss deserves our immediate attention and in this epidemic stage is a threat to the well-being of America. 

Please tell your family and friends that hearing loss is a common condition — over 35 million Americans — in people of all ages.  It’s preventable and it’s manageable if we get smart and get tested!

See more about this critical issue on our website: www.hearingconnection.org and read about it in ‘Listen Up!’ the book we published and placed in schools throughout Palm Beach County: www.listenupkids.com.

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