Deafness has no respect of age, wealth or rank it strikes people of all economic, social and age categories with equal frequency.
To help protect the hearing of the public through an early alert system, to increase public awareness not only of the problems of the deaf, but also the capabilities of the hearing impaired. The Lions Clubs of Illinois every year sponsor free hearing screenings for persons 18 and older and 10 17 years with written parental consent, in communities all over the state.
As part of that program, the Sullivan Lions Club is sponsoring a screening from 9 AM to 12 Noon on Tuesday, October 8, 2013 at The Sullivan United Methodist Church.
Hearing loss is probably the single most common chronic disability in the United States, occurring nearly four times as often as blindness. There are nearly 720,000 hearing impaired persons in Illinois alone. Of these, 106,000 are deaf, 26,000 of these were deaf before the age of 19. Unfortunately, the problem is made worse since the deaf are least understood of all handicapped populations.
“For many years,” said Lynn Reed, Sullivan Lions Club President, “many associated deafness and stupidity together, even though deaf and hearing impaired people have IQ's equal to those of the hearing population.
The deaf have shown to be just as qualified as the hearing for job opportunities. They should be shown, and deserve every consideration, "said Reed, Club Hearing Chariman.
He noted that hearing loss takes many forms. In some, the problem is simply that they feel like the sound has been turned down. Others may have trouble in understanding various pitches or sounds. The causes, too, vary a lot, and there are many medical and mechanical treatments to help people with hearing loss.
Since protection of our hearing is so important, we hope that the people of our community will take full advantage of these hearing screenings," said the hearing chairman. "The screening will take but a few minutes and persons who fail the screening are referred to hearing professionals for further evaluation and treatment."
The Mobile Hearing Screening activity is conducted through cooperation of the Lions of Illinois Foundation, the charitable arm of the state's more than 700 Lions Clubs, and is funded primarily from Candy Day, held statewide on the second Friday of every October.
For further information contact:
Publicity Chairman: David Reed
Club Name: Sullivan Lions Club
Daytime Phone: 217-728-2355 Evening Phone: 217-433-0488