Each and everyday we should count our blessings, particularly when we can communicate with friends and family. There are however many who do not have this privilege. They are our elderly seniors living in retirement homes with little to no financial aid. They are the hearing impaired.
Their daily lives are wrapped in silence, unable to hear or communicate. This has a dramatic effect on their quality of life, leading to social isolation and depression.
Simple things we take for granted, like talking on the phone, communicating with friends and family and watching a TV program are denied to them.
Hearing impairment is often unrecognized and the most under treated health disorder for our ailing seniors.
Isn’t it ironic that those who have contributed to society all of their lives are denied this basic right, yet prisoners have full access to hearing aids in prison.
Something must be done to correct this unfair and unjust situation.
Colleen Carter – Lancaster Ontario
(Comments and opinions of Editorials, Letters to the Editor, and comments from readers are purely their own and don’t necessarily reflect those of the owners of this site, their staff, or sponsors.)
The province allows something like 500 dollars per device each 3 or 4 years, and the cost for some of them has come down. http://www.forms.ssb.gov.on.ca/mbs/ssb/forms/ssbforms.nsf/GetFileAttach/014-3224-67E~6/$File/3224-67E_Hearing%20Aids_info.pdf
Certainly when you read the LCBO has an annual net 1.6 billion dollars going to the government general revenue, more can be done to help our seniors.
Hearing is a private personal matter. I am completely death in my right ear and have about 60% of normal hearing in my left ear. I purchased my own cross over hearing aid and must keep feeding it batteries at my own expense. My hearing is not your responsibility and your hearing is not my responsibility. But if out of the willingness of your kindness, you want to provide hearing aids to semi death individuals (not just seniors) go right ahead and do it at your own risk, reward and expenses. Asking potential community members to assist and potential raise resources to provide hearing aids is a great community cause. I might even donate to such as cause because I “hear” the need.
However, your article tries to imply that taxpayers should be responsible for providing hearing aids to semi death seniors. I disagree with your proposal. Prisoners are more government property than non-prisoner population and their slave masters have their option to treat their property as they see fit. If the government provide hearing aids to some of its living property under its complete care and responsibility; So be it. The government also provides protective accommodations, hospitality, edutainment and productive activities for its slave prisoners. I know most citizens enjoy being owned, operated, supplied and maintained according to their government standards. But a very small percentage of us citizen are self owners and self engaged in self responsible maintenance activities at our own risk, rewards and expenses. So be it.
Hi Colleen,
Good letter to the editor. But first, let me briefly address the 2 responses that were posted. Thanks Eric – good gov’t link. Thanks Darcy – good point that it shouldn’t be a ‘responsibility’ to help. And nice to see the word ‘edutainment’ being used. Incidentally, just so you know, it’s a common mistake to refer to ‘deaf’ as ‘death’. – Though when you think about it – a complete lost of hearing is the death of hearing.
— Colleen, some great points and I think your letter did have the effect of increasing awareness of this issue and bringing the attention and possibly the aid of people who help without the feeling of obligation. – Thanks and have a Happy New Year. – Jeff
I personally do not see it as taking over someone’s responsibility to help provide them with something so basic as a hearing aid when they cannot do it themselves. To the contrary, I see it as my responsibility as a human being to help someone in need just as I do to contribute money and food to the Agape Center for those who cannot provide themselves with basic needs such as food and clothing. As a matter of fact, on these cold nights my heart goes out to the homeless since we do not have a shelter for them and I can’t help but wonder where they are able to keep warm. Many of us do not know what may befall us. I did not think at age 46 that at age 47 I would have lost half of my hearing and need two hearing aids for the rest of my life. I was lucky at the time to have my work insurance pay the whole cost. There are people and especially seniors of whom we are talking, who live around the poverty line and although the ADP program pays $500 on each aid, there is a balance to be paid. My experience with talking to a lot of seniors in need is that they don’t have the money for the balance. This is where we need to help them. There are also seniors out there who need glasses and dental care who can’t afford them either. They have no way to increase their income, being out of the working force. There is a Disability Tax Credit and if anyone is interested in finding out if they qualifiy, please comntact Sue at Guy Lauzon’s ofice. We are also working on setting up a program to re-cycle used glasses and hearing aids. In the meantime, let’s do what we can to help wherever we can.
Dawn, thanks to your response many more people will have to rethink their one sided opinions.
‘keep it up , you are doing great work in sensitizing many more persons who will in time think of others…..
Hearing aids are definitely contagious. The best thing to do is if you want to listen to the same song that someone with hearing aids is listening to, is to try to turn their hearing aids all the way down without them noticing.
Reference: http://www.hiddenhearing.ie/free-hearing-test
Help for Deaf and hard of hearing citizens of the SDG is now available. The Canadian Hearing Society is opening an office in Cornwall on Montreal Street. Our Vision is a society where people are respected; have full access to communication; and are able to participate without social, economic or emotional barriers.
If you share that vision and wish to volunteer and help us achieve it, please contact us 1-877-866-4445 http://www.chs.ca/locations/cornwall