Indiana Lions Help Hearing-Impaired Infants
Infants in Indiana with a hearing impairment are being fitted with hearing aids, thanks to Indiana Lions and LCIF.

The loaner hearing aid program is allowing children to develop without developmental delays. If a hearing impairment is not treated early, children may lag behind in developing language and cognitive skills.

Indiana Lions Speech and Hearing Inc. purchased 230 hearing aids thanks to support from Lions of Indiana and a US$59,625 grant from LCIF to Multiple District 25. Since July 1, 2001, they have placed loaner hearing aids on 109 children in 27 counties.

The hearing aid program became necessary after the state of Indiana passed a law in 2000 requiring all newborns to be screened for hearing prior to their release from the hospital. However, the state did not appropriate funds to assist infants with hearing loss.

The Indiana Lions Newborn Infants Hearing Aid Loaner Bank is using the new hearing aids to immediately help infants with a hearing impairment. The aids are placed on the children until a permanent hearing aid is purchased by the family or a state agency provides them with one.

The loaner hearings aids are valuable not only because the delay in getting permanent hearing aids but also because it takes as much as four to six months for an audiologist to determine the best type of hearing aid and to perfect a fitting. The loaner program allows parents to try different types of hearing aids. Parents are able to explore their options without the pressure of having to choose one type of aid.

The Indiana Lions are partnering with Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis, which dispenses the hearing aids, and First Steps, an early intervention program run by the state. First Step guarantees funding for any child up to age 3 who needs a permanent hearing aid. So far, 72 of the 109 children who received loaner hearing aids have been given permanent hearing aids.

One child helped by the loaner aid program is Morgan Kincaid (in photo with Michelle, her mother). She received a loaner aid a month after referral. Since then, doctors determined that she needed a Cochlear Implant as well as an aid. The implant also was funded through a program of the Indiana Lions.

The Indiana Lions also operate a loaner bank for adults and children older than 3. The bank has 650 hearing aids currently on loan.