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Local agencies sometimes receive donations or private funds to assist with various needs. Speech and hearing centers may provide hearing aids at a reduced rate for clients who have used their services for audiological assessment. The United Way may fund local speech and hearing centers. Check your telephone book for local programs and inquire about funding.
- Child health centers
- Speech and hearing centers
- Organizations for older adults
- Deaf community centers
- Organizations for deaf and hard-of-hearing people
- Religious organizations/institutions
- Hearing aid banks
Resources for Children & Adults | Resources for Children | Funding Toolkits | Resources for Adults | Civic/Service Organizations
Private Resources for Children and Adults
AUDIENT Program
President: Mike Langhout
901 Boren Ave, Suite 810
Seattle, WA 98104-3534
Voice: 206-838-7194
Toll Free: 1-877-AUDIENT (1-877-283-4368)
Fax: 206-838-7195
E-mail: info@audientalliance.org
AUDIENT, an alliance for accessible hearing care, is designed to assist income qualified hard of hearing people nationwide to access quality hearing aids and related care at significantly reduced costs. The AUDIENT program was developed by the non-profit Northwest Lions Foundation for Sight & Hearing and made possible through the help of dedicated providers and suppliers.
Easter Seals
230 West Monroe Street, Suite 1800
Chicago, IL 60606
Voice: 800-221-6827
TTY: 312-726-4258
E-mail: info@easter-seals.org
Easter Seals provides referrals to local programs for financial aid for devices or services and also provides financial aid for assistive technology. State and federal laws determine referral requirements and funding opportunities.
Heart Springs - Kansas
Donor Hearing Aid Program
8700 East 29th Street North
Wichita, KS 67226
Voice: 316-634-8750
Toll Free: 800-835-1043
The Heart Springs Donor Hearing Aid Program is available only to residents of the Wichita, Kansas area. The goal of the program is to place amplification on those individuals who are in need, but are unable to purchase new hearing aids. A full hearing evaluation is provided and if necessary, one or two reconditioned behind the ear hearing aids. The cost to the client is $100, which covers the expense of the ear molds.
Hear Now
The Domestic Program of Starkey Hearing Foundation
The Starkey Hearing Foundation
6700 Washington Avenue South
Eden Prairie, MN 55344
Phone: 800-769-2799
Fax: 952-828-6946
E-mail: joanita@sotheworldmayhear.org
Hear Now is a national non-profit program committed to assisting deaf and hard-of-hearing persons with limited financial resources who permanently reside within the United States. The work of Hear Now is supported through the contributions of many benefactors. Hear Now receives no government funding. All donations – money, time, hearing aids – allow the program to survive and give the gift of hearing domestically.
Travelers Protective Association Scholarship Trust for the Deaf and Near-Deaf (TPA)
3755 Lindell Boulevard
St. Louis, MO 63108
Voice: 314-371-0533
The Travelers Protective Association of America established the TPA Scholarship Trust for the Deaf and Near Deaf in 1975 to provide financial aid to children and adults who suffer deafness or hearing impairment and who need assistance in obtaining mechanical devices, medical or specialized treatment or specialized education as well as speech classes, note takers, interpreters, etc. and in other areas of need that are directly related to hearing impairment.
Hope for Hearing Foundation & Hearing Aid Bank
806 West Adams Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90007-2505
E-mail: director@hope4hearing.org
Hearing aids are made available by the Hope for Hearing Foundation & Hearing Aid Bank for use by the hearing impaired who have no other resources for attaining an instrument. The Foundation/Bank does not dispense hearing aids but will refer to a licensed hearing aid dispenser. For those who can afford it, a $50 donation is accepted to cover the cost of a custom-made earmold and dispenser consultation. Hope for Hearing has recently moved to the John Tracy Clinic in California.
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Private Resources for Children
Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf, Inc.
3417 Volta Place, NW
Washington, D.C. 20007
Voice/TTY: 202-337-5220
TTY: 202-337-5221
Fax: 202-337-8314
The AG Bell Association offers financial grants to foster the rehabilitation, education, and enrichment of children who are deaf and hard-of-hearing. Please note that AG Bell's programs support individuals only and not organizations.
Children of the Silent World
P.O. Box 2425
Cridersville, OH 45806
Children of the Silent World is an organization founded by parents of a hearing impaired child to assist other families.
Disabled Children's Relief Fund
P.O. Box 7420
Freeport, NY 11520
516-377-1605
Disabled Children's Relief Fund (DCRF), a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, provides disabled children with assistance to obtain wheelchairs, orthopedic braces, walkers, lifts, hearing aids, eyeglasses, medical equipment, physical therapy, and surgery. Blind, Deaf, Amputees, and children with Cerebral Palsy, Muscular Dystrophy, Spastic Quadriplegia, Encephalitis, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Spina Bifida, Down's Syndrome, and other disabilities receive assistance. DCRF focuses special attention on helping children throughout the U.S. that do not have adequate health insurance, especially the physically challenged. In some cases, DCRF may be the last resort.
The Hike Fund, Inc.
c/o International Center for Job's Daughters
233 W. 6th Street
Papillion, NE 68046-2210
The purpose of the Hike Fund is to provide hearing devices for children with hearing impairments between the ages of newborn and twenty years whose parents are unable to meet this special need financially. An estimate of 100 children are provided with hearing devices each year.
Let Them Hear Foundation
1900 University Avenue, Suite 101
East Palo Alto, CA 94303
Phone: 650-462-3143
Fax: 650-462-3144
The Let Them Hear Foundation was established in 2003 and is a registered 501(c)(3) corporation in the State of California. This Foundation offers a Cochlear Implant and Pediatric Hearing Aid Program providing services to patients in Northern California and around the world.
Miracle Ear Children's Foundation
P.O. Box 59261
Minneapolis, MN 55459-0261
Voice: 800-234-5422
Miracle-Ear centers nationally provide new or reconditioned "Miracle-Ear" hearing aids and services free of charge to families with hearing-impaired children (up to 16 years old) and an income level that does not allow them to receive public support. Eligibility for hearing aids and other services requires disclosure of complete financial information for individuals residing in the same household.
The Pediatric Hearing Aid Loaner Bank (Oticon)
Oticon, Inc.
29 Schoolhouse Road
Somerset, NJ 08873
Phone: 800-526-3921
Fax: 732-560-0029
The Hearing Aid Loaner Bank is a new program offered by Oticon Pediatrics and provides hearing aids for children, birth to three, who are in need of immediate amplification and are waiting for 3rd party reimbursement.
Funding Toolkits for Parents
The following are "toolkits" prepared by parent groups, state agencies, and other associations that may assist in locating resources.
The Parent Funding Toolkit for Families of Children who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing in Colorado
This Funding Tool Kit [PDF] is the collaborative effort of three family support groups: Family Voices, Colorado Families for Hands & Voices, and the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf, Inc. The parents who compiled this information all have children with a hearing loss and wanted to help identify funding sources to pay for hearing aids and/or related expenses.
Answers for Families: Funding Toolkit
Funding Toolkit for families in Nebraska
Assistance in covering the costs associated with hearing aids, cochlear implants, and other needs of children who are deaf or hard of hearing.
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Private Resources for Adults
The AgrAbility Project
1146 ABE Building
West Lafayette, IN 47907-1146
Voice/TTY: 800-825-4264
E-mail: bng@ecn.purdue.edu
The AgrAbility Project assists agricultural and agribusiness workers who have hearing loss. Education and assistance are available to accommodate disabilities, eliminate barriers, and create a favorable climate among rural service providers for people with disabilities (including hearing loss).
Civic/Service Organizations
Many community service organizations receive charitable donations to purchase hearing aids and other devices for low income deaf and hard-of-hearing people. Clubs often recondition hearing aids and donate them to needy individuals. Below is a listing of the national offices for several service organizations. Start by contacting the national office of the civic organization and ask how to locate the local chapter. Funding resources may not be available at all local chapters. Eligibility requirements and availabity of funds may change without notice.
Civitan International
I Civitan Place
Birmingham, AL 35213-1983
Phone: 205-591-8910
Toll Free: 1-800-CIVITAN
Lions Clubs International
300 22nd Street
Oak Brook, IL 60521
Phone: 708-571-5466
Auditory equipment is furnished to schools with hearing-impaired students, and scholarships are issued to youngsters with this disability. Lions conduct screening programs for children and adults, support a variety of rehabilitation services, and provide and repair hearing aids for the needy.
BPO Elks of the USA
2750 N. Lakeview Avenue
Chicago, IL 60614-1889
Phone: 773-755-4700
Knights of Columbus
Headquarters
1 Columbus Plaza
New Haven, CT 06510
Phone: 203-752-4000
E-mail: info@kofc.org
Ruritan National, Inc.
P.O. Box 487
Dublin, VA 24084
Toll Free: 877-787-8727 call to locate a local club
Local clubs fund needs in their communities. Individuals should work directly with local clubs. Ruritan clubs are only located in the eastern U.S. (Kansas to the Atlantic Ocean, New York State to Florida).
Sertoma International
1912 East Myer Boulevard
Kansas City, MO 64132
Phone: 816-333-8300
Kiwanis, International
3636 Woodview Place
Indianapolis, IN 46268-3196
Phone: 317-875-8755
Toll Free: 800-549-2647
Pilot International
244 College Street
P.O. Box 4844
Macon, GA 31213-0599
Phone: 912-743-7403
The main objective of this organization is to promote the awareness and prevention of brain-related disorders, and improve the lives of those affected by such disorders through education, volunteerism, financial support, and research.
Quota International
1420 21st Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20036
Phone: 202-331-9694
Quota International provides funding for infant hearing screening programs.
Rotary International
1 Rotary Center
1560 Sherman Avenue
Evanston, IL 60201
Phone: 708-866-3000
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Federal Resources | State Resources | Funding Plans
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