SRES121APR29

TheWeekInCongress.com

Week Ending April 29, 2005

Senate Resolution 121 supporting May 2005 as “National Better Hearing and Speech Month” and commemorating those States that have implemented routine hearing screening for every newborn before the newborn leaves the hospital.

BRIEF

28 million people in the US have hearing loss. One in every three Americans over 65 have hearing loss. Less than seven million use hearing aids and 30 percent of those who lost hearing don’t have a hearing aid because they can’t afford one, the Resolution preamble said. So, the resolution urges Americans to get their hearing checked and supports hospitals that check a newborn’s hearing before the infant leaves the hospital.

Sponsor: Senator Norm Coleman (R-MN)

Vote: Passed Senate by Unanimous Consent (April 28, 2005)

Cost to the taxpayers: No discernible cost.

MORE INFORMATION

S. Res. 121

Whereas the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders reports that approximately 28,000,000 people in the United States experience hearing loss or have a hearing impairment;

Whereas 1 out of every 3 people in the United States over the age of 65 have hearing loss;

Whereas the overwhelming majority of people in the United States with hearing loss would benefit from the use of a hearing aid and fewer than 7,000,000 people in the United States use a hearing aid;

Whereas 30 percent of people in the United States suffering from hearing loss cite financial constraints as an impediment to hearing aid use;

Whereas hearing loss is among the most common congenital birth defects;

Whereas a delay in diagnosing the hearing loss of a newborn can affect the social, emotional, and academic development of the child;

Whereas the average age at which newborns with hearing loss are diagnosed is between the ages of 12 to 25 months; and

Whereas May 2005 is National Better Hearing and Speech Month, providing Federal, State, and local governments, members of the private and nonprofit sectors, hearing and speech professionals, and all people in the United States an opportunity to focus on preventing, mitigating, and treating hearing impairments: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the Senate--

(1) supports the goals and ideals of National Better Hearing and Speech Month, May 2005;

(2) commends those States that have implemented routine hearing screenings for every newborn before the newborn leaves the hospital; and

(3) encourages all people in the United States to have their hearing checked regularly.

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