A recent study, Prevalence of Disability and Disability Type Among Adults, US, 2013, conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) examines vision loss, cognition, mobility, self-care and independent living. Hearing loss is the third major public health issue after diabetes and heart disease, yet this study fails to make any mention about hearing loss, or even explain why the study failed to examine the prevalence of hearing loss.

HLAA will not sit quietly by while CDC relegates hearing loss to an invisible disability. We are taking action, contacting both the White House and the CDC to ensure that they rectify this huge error. See our letter to the White House. See our news release.

You can take action too!

Contact: Maria Town, White House Office of Public Engagement, [email protected]

Tell Ms. Town:
People with hearing loss cannot be ignored and must be included along with other disability groups in all studies that impact public policy and programs.

CDC must do a study on prevalence of hearing loss in the states.

CDC must partner with HLAA on future projects regarding people with disabilities to ensure that people with hearing loss are included and studies are presented in an accessible way. “People with hearing loss have been denied communication access in hospitals and doctors’ offices, and by public programs such as Medicare which does not currently cover the cost of hearing aids,” said Anna Gilmore Hall, executive director of HLAA. “The release of the report comes on the heels of celebrations surrounding the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and we are stunned they failed to understand the impact of excluding hearing loss as a disability that needs to be addressed.”