{"id":13355,"date":"2011-02-24T11:04:34","date_gmt":"2011-02-24T16:04:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/?p=13355"},"modified":"2011-02-24T12:06:44","modified_gmt":"2011-02-24T17:06:44","slug":"nfl-stars-aid-hearing-impaired-kids","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2011\/02\/24\/nfl-stars-aid-hearing-impaired-kids\/","title":{"rendered":"NFL Stars Aid Hearing-Impaired Kids"},"content":{"rendered":"

NFL Stars Aid Hearing-Impaired Kids<\/p>\n

David Moye
\nContributor<\/p>\n

Nearly 100 NFL players will compete for Super Bowl rings in Dallas on
\nSunday, but on Thursday 200 people received something even more significant:
\nfree hearing aids.<\/p>\n

As part of the Starkey Hearing Foundation’s Super Bowl Hearing Mission this
\nweek, hearing-impaired kids and adults in Dallas were fitted for hearing
\naids, giving them a chance to fully engage with the world, in some cases,
\nfor the first time in their lives.<\/p>\n

The Starkey Hearing Foundation, the charitable arm of Starkey Laboratories,
\nthe largest hearing aid manufacturer in the United States, sponsored the
\nevent, which is one of many domestic and international missions the
\nfoundation conducts each year.<\/p>\n

The goal, according to Bill Austin, Starkey’s founder and CEO, is to reach 1
\nmillion hearing-impaired adults and children this decade, providing each of
\nthem with their own hearing devices.<\/p>\n

“We will definitely meet that goal,” he told AOL News. “We are averaging
\nmore than 100,000 hearing aids a year.”<\/p>\n

Because the event is in Dallas and it is Super Bowl week, Austin was joined
\nby celebrities such as “American Idol” winner Jordin Sparks and top NFL
\nstars such as Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson, Arizona
\nCardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald and Cincinnati Bengals defensive
\nback Roy Williams.<\/p>\n

For Williams, events like these are truly awe-inspiring.<\/p>\n

“It’s amazing to be part of a child hearing for the first time, and Starkey
\nis doing an incredible thing by allowing myself and other athletes to be
\npart of the children receiving their very own custom-made hearing devices,”
\nWilliams said.<\/p>\n

He also thinks having the event in Dallas during the biggest sporting event
\nof the year is excellent timing.<\/p>\n

“It’s so important that hearing loss receive the attention it deserves,” he
\nsaid. “The lack of access to a hearing aid is keeping many of the
\nhearing-impaired, including children, from reaching their potential in life.<\/p>\n

“The Super Bowl already receives so much attention from the media and the
\npublic that it’s the perfect time to leverage news like this in a positive
\nway,” Williams said.<\/p>\n

Although it’s common to have NFL players appear at charity events during
\nSuper Bowl week, Williams and Fitzgerald are committed to the Super Bowl
\nHearing Mission beyond this week.<\/p>\n

“I am proud of how the football community has come together to lend support
\nto this great cause,” Williams said. “In fact, next month there will be a
\nspecial Starkey Hearing Foundation mission to Africa with myself and more
\nthan two dozen NFL players. We are all so excited about these
\nopportunities.”<\/p>\n

To be fair, no one may be more excited than Austin, who has been doing the
\nHearing Mission for nearly 30 years and has been intent on helping
\nhearing-impaired people since he first considered becoming a doctor back in
\ncollege.<\/p>\n

“You know, 85 percent of what children learn comes through their ears,” he
\nsaid. “It’s the main conduit for how we interact with the world. Ten percent
\nof people have problems with their hearing, but people don’t admit it.<\/p>\n

“It doesn’t get the attention of other problems because it’s not
\ndeath-causing, but when we give someone their first hearing aid, we give
\nthem their life,” he said. “There is nothing like a child who can hear for
\nthe first time because of your hearing aid and then you teach them to use
\ntheir voice to say ‘Mama.'”<\/p>\n

Source:<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.aolnews.com\/2011\/02\/03\/nfl-stars-aid-hearing-impaired-kids\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NFL Stars Aid Hearing-Impaired Kids David Moye Contributor Nearly 100 NFL players will compete for Super Bowl rings in Dallas on Sunday, but on Thursday 200 people received something even more significant: free hearing aids. As part of the Starkey…<\/p>\n

Read more →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[8184,87,19,24,1412,153,8183,523,8180,8182,8181,2473,8185,17],"class_list":["post-13355","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-deaf-news","tag-bill-austin","tag-children","tag-dallas-dfw","tag-deaf","tag-hard-of-hearing","tag-hearing-aid","tag-larry-fitzgerald","tag-nfl","tag-nfl-players","tag-roy-williams","tag-starkey-hearing-foundation","tag-super-bowl","tag-super-bowl-hearing-mission","tag-texas"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p752R-3tp","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":33006,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2016\/02\/26\/starkey-super-bowl-event-sparks-tension-between-deaf-foundation\/","url_meta":{"origin":13355,"position":0},"title":"Starkey Super Bowl event sparks tension between deaf, foundation","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"February 26, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Starkey Super Bowl event sparks tension between deaf, foundation By JEFFREY MEITRODT , STAR TRIBUNE February 26, 2016 Stefanie Ellis-Gonzales was looking forward to picking up free hearing aids for two of her children, a gift worth thousands of dollars, at an event the Starkey Hearing Foundation hosted this month\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Starkey","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Starkey.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1375,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2007\/03\/19\/free-hearing-aids-one-time-offer-from-starkey-dfw\/","url_meta":{"origin":13355,"position":1},"title":"Free Hearing Aids: One Time Offer from Starkey – DFW","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"March 19, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Free hearing aids for Low Income children under 18 years old Starkey will be in Dallas on April 23rd to offer (one time only) free hearing aids to low income children under the age of 18. In order to get the hearing aids a hearing test and ear molds must\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":26610,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2014\/03\/06\/witness-super-bowl-worker-hit-by-ice-falling-from-stadium-suffered-hearing-loss\/","url_meta":{"origin":13355,"position":2},"title":"Super Bowl worker hit by ice falling from stadium suffered hearing loss","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"March 6, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Witness: Super Bowl worker hit by ice falling from stadium suffered hearing loss By JEFF MOSIER - Staff Writer jmosier@dallasnews.com February 26, 2014 A Super Bowl XLV worker struck by falling ice and snow three years ago suffered severe hearing loss and has an \u201calmost violent\u201d ringing in his ear,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In 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