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DEAFNESS RESEARCH FOUNDATION |
The Deafness Research Foundation (DRF) is America's only voluntary health
organization committed to curing and preventing all forms of hearing loss
and making life long hearing health a national priority.
During its 45-year
history, DRF has awarded over $22.5 million through more than 1,850
research grants. This seed money has led to dramatic innovations that
promise to increase options for those living with hearing loss, as well
as protect those at risk. These innovations include the diagnosis and
treatment of otitis media (middle ear infections), the cochlear implant,
implantable hearing aids, breakthroughs in molecular biology and hair
cell regeneration. In addition, in 1960, the Deafness Research
Foundation created the National Temporal Bone Banks Program (NTBB) to
encourage individuals with ear disorders to pledge their temporal bones
at death to scientific research. This was a crucial step in the
establishment of the National Temporal Bone Hearing and Balance
Pathology Resource Registry by
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD).
To read more about DRF visit:
www.drf.org
NATIONAL CAMPAIGN FOR HEARING HEALTH
DRF's National
Campaign for Hearing Health, a multi-year public education, government
relations, and advocacy initiative to ensure that all Americans — especially
children — will benefit from these breakthroughs. By advocating for
detection, prevention, intervention, and research, the Campaign promotes a
lifetime of hearing health for all Americans: babies, children, teens,
adults, and seniors.
A principal goal of the campaign is to place
into the national consciousness the idea and expectation that all hearing
loss and tinnitus can be ended and that private funding for the research to
achieve that end is an important national priority.
The NCHH will focus first on babies and
children, promoting hearing tests and early intervention for all
newborns.
Second, the Campaign will educate Americans
and lawmakers about the dangers of toxic noise — noise that causes
temporary or permanent damage to hearing — emphasizing the need to
protect our hearing by wearing ear protectors in noisy environments,
practicing volume discipline, and advocating for toxic noise
control policy.
Third, DRF wants to make hearing devices
available to all by pushing insurance companies to cover cochlear implants
and other high-quality assistive hearing devices, especially for
children.
Fourth, by expanding the field of
otolaryngology and the supporting funding networks, DRF strives to
greatly
accelerate and increase research and encourage major scientific
breakthroughs.
The National Campaign for Hearing Health
will educate individual Americans, health organizations, medical care
providers and makers of public policy to ensure America's hearing health
for the future.
To read more about DRF's National Campaign
visit: www.drf.org |
