If you or a loved one has been wearing hearing aids for many years, it is very possible that, much like old glasses, you have several old sets in a drawer. But are they good to anyone else? What should you do with them?
Fortunately, we participate with an amazing organization called the Starkey Hearing Foundation (SHF). Their stated mission is to fit hearing aids on 1 million people by 2020 — people who otherwise would not have the opportunity or means to purchase aids. To accomplish this, SHF sponsors missions around the globe to fit aids. Prior to the fitting missions, they send in teams to screen hearing of the general population, and when they have enough candidates, a team of fitters is sent. While SHF has a paid staff, a majority of the testing and fitting is done by volunteer practitioners around the world. Finally, a follow-up team is sent to conduct follow-up care and train local providers.
But what does this have to do with the original questions? SHF accepts donations of old hearing aids of all makes, models, and styles, and it uses these aids to produce the inventory for those mission trips. If you have old aids, you can visit any SHF participating provider, and they can assist you in donating your aids. SHF will issue a letter of receipt that can be used for your tax purposes as a donation. For more information on SHF and what it does, visit Starkey Hearing Foundation
Chesapeake Hearing Centers, Inc., is a proud partner with SHF and donates a portion of every Starkey aid sold to the foundation to help fund missions. We have sent staff to Mexico, Nicaragua, and this summer will send staff to China. We also participate in its domestic program, HearNow, and its hearing conservation program, Listen Carefully.
For more information or to make a donation, feel free to visit any of our seven locations, or call any of the numbers listed on our home page.