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Recently, Hearing Health Foundation (HHF) learned that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) conducted a study on the prevalence of disability in the U.S. The study examined vision loss, cognition, mobility, self-care and independent living, but failed to mention hearing loss, the third most common public health concern after diabetes and heart disease.
When asked about the exclusion, the CDC had the following response: “We would have loved to include data on people with hearing loss. The report is based on the BRFSS, which is a telephone survey that doesn’t reach people with hearing loss.” Whatever their reason may be, this oversight demands immediate attention and correction. On behalf of the 48 million Americans with hearing loss, we request that the CDC rethink their methodology of data collection and re-conduct the survey in a more accommodating manner.
HHF is outraged by this gross oversight and finds the exclusion of people living with hearing loss from the report to be a troubling concern. Failure to include hearing loss diminishes the fact that it warrants attention and treatment, as well as neglects to recognize its impact on a person’s quality of life, interactions in school, and ability to work. It also undervalues the effects it can have on one’s health, including but not limited to the increased risk of falls, dementia, and depression. But worst of all, this omission gives the public the excuse to discount hearing loss as a disability; to believe there is no need to protect hearing; and to lack empathy for and fail to accommodate those with hearing loss.
HHF is not sitting back quietly, and neither should you! If you would like to take action with HHF, please sign the petition below. You can also download this letter, sign and return it to us by e-mail or mail (Take Action, c/o Hearing Health Foundation, 363 7th Ave, NY, NY, 10001).
Please forward this message to your friends, families and colleagues and encourage them to take action!
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By Marianne Gravely, Food Safety Technical Information Specialist, Food Safety & Inspection Service, USDA
Be a Seed for Change 
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