[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 71 (Wednesday, May 19, 2004)]
[House]
[Page H3236]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    BETTER HEARING AND SPEECH MONTH

  (Mr. RYUN of Kansas asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute.)
  Mr. RYUN of Kansas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the month 
of May as Better Hearing and Speech Month.
  I am one of 2 million Americans who have experienced a hearing loss 
personally, but my hearing loss was the result of a birth defect as an 
illness that took place early in my life, and there are many who need 
help as a result of this.
  Today, we are exposed to harmful levels of toxic noise in our 
environment and must be aware of these harmful sounds and do our best 
to protect ourselves from them so that we can avoid problems in the 
future.
  One-third of our seniors have hearing loss. Eighty percent of these 
seniors have not sought treatment, and 75 percent of those needing 
hearing aids do not have them.
  Left untreated, hearing loss leads to isolation, depression, and 
dangerous situations.
  I introduced the Hearing Health Accessibility Act, H.R. 2821, to give 
seniors direct access to audiologists under Medicare. This would 
provide effective care for our seniors with hearing loss because 
hearing aids are expensive, and most insurance companies do not cover 
them.
  I have also introduced the Hearing Aid Assistance Tax Credit, H.R. 
3103. This $500 tax credit would be available once every 5 years to 
children and those over 55.
  I encourage my colleagues to cosponsor these initiatives.

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