Declare Hearing Aid Awareness Day

May 29, 2017, as Hearing Aid Awareness Day in the State of New York WHEREAS, It is the custom of this Legislative Body to recognize official days that are set aside to increase awareness of serious issues that affect the lives of citizens of New York State; and WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body to memorialize Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to proclaim May 29, 2017, as Hearing Aid Awareness Day in the State of New York; and WHEREAS, Hearing empowers us to live our lives more fully by enabling us to participate more fully in our social, work, and family lives; problems with hearing hinder this ability and can lead to feelings of isolation and even depression; and WHEREAS, May 29th, 1855, the first US patent for a hearing aid was issued to Edward G. Hyde for his invention, the Acoustic Auricle; and WHEREAS, Hearing aids are electrical devices designed to amplify incoming sounds from the surrounding environment; hearing aids are designed to assist hearing impaired individuals to process these incoming sounds; there are over 38 million of these individuals in the United States; and WHEREAS, Hearing aids have been shown by studies to improve the user's social, psychological, and physical sense of well-being; studies have also shown that hearing aids improve individual's self-confidence, concentration, independence, and job performance; and WHEREAS, According to the recently released 37th Annual Report to Congress on the Implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 2015, speech or language impairments was the second most prevalent disability category in 2013 (at 17.9%) for students ages 6-21 served under IDEA, Part B, due to hearing loss; and WHEREAS, According to the Hearing Health Foundation, from 2000 to

2015, the number of Americans with hearing loss has doubled; globally the number is up by 44%; 50 million people in America and 360 million worldwide suffer from hearing loss including 3 in 5 veterans returning from war; and WHEREAS, Hearing aid prices can range from several hundred to several thousands of dollars each; a recent survey published by the Hearing Review found the purchase price of a single hearing aid is generally anywhere from $800 to $4000 per ear; and WHEREAS, It is imperative that there be greater awareness of this serious health condition, and more must be done to increase activity at the local, State and National levels; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to memorialize Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to proclaim May 29, 2017, as Hearing Aid Awareness Day in the State of New York; and be it further RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be transmitted to The Honorable Andrew M. Cuomo, Governor of the State of New York.