By Adam Finkel
This article is a part of the May/June 2017, Volume 29, Number 3, Audiology Today issue.
The World Health Organization has designated March 3 as World Hearing Day. With this year’s theme addressing the economic impact of untreated hearing loss, a group of 31 audiology students from the Ohio State University and the Northeast Ohio AuD Consortium (NOAC) came to Washington, DC, to deliver this important message to lawmakers and to discuss other issues impacting the profession of audiology. The timing of this Hill day was especially important given that March 3 was early on in the new Congress—an essential time to engage new and returning members of Congress and their staff and build relationships with these individuals.
During an incredibly productive and busy day that included 19 meetings with key legislative staff members, the students were able to draw attention to the World Hearing Day message and connect the theme of the economic impact of hearing loss to two key Academy legislative priorities: the Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) Act and the Hearing Aid Assistance Tax Credit Act.
Students met with congressional offices, including Senator Rob Portman (R-OH) and Senator Dean Heller (R-NV), as well as a number of House offices from Ohio, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Delaware. Senators Portman and Heller are known champions within the hearing health community, with Sen. Portman being the lead sponsor of the EHDI bill and Sen. Heller being the lead sponsor of the Hearing Aid Assistance Tax Credit Act.
For many of the students, this was their first experience directly lobbying their elected officials on the importance of audiology issues. After the experience, Donna Green, a first-year audiology graduate student from Ohio State noted, “I really enjoyed getting to share my field with different representatives. I felt like I was really making a positive impact. Getting to meet with other audiology students gave me a great perspective on the different views and styles of the field. I am so glad that I was able to expand my horizons.”
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