Operation Loaner Hearing Aids
This innovative program provides loaner hearing aids to children in need. The program is the inspiration of four dedicated chapter members, three of whom are retired San Diego educators-of-the-deaf and the fourth who has deafness in her family. All witnessed the positive impact of hearing aids on communication and learning, and observed how quickly a hearing-impaired person is isolated when devices are not available.
Operation Loaner Hearing Aids is committed to building a bank of loaner devices for infants through 22-year-old students enrolled in the San Diego Unified School District. The program is a unique collaborative effort between Assistance League of Greater San Diego, San Diego State University, and San Diego Unified School District.
Many students go without amplification either because the family cannot afford devices, or because their devices have been lost or damaged. Frequently, repairs or replacements take six months to a year.
Currently, more than 30 young people are wearing loaner hearing aids through this program, enabling them to learn and live fully. Those are many lives changed every day, given back the ability to hear and communicate with their families, their teachers, and their world.
