Listen and Learn:
In the United States for every 1,000 children born, 3 will have hearing loss and 40% of those children will be deaf.
According to the World Health Institute, deafness is America’s leading birth defect. Since FHSR was founded in 1958 we have been committed to providing the best care and support necessary to children with hearing loss and their families.
The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association states that the number of Americans living with a hearing loss has doubled in the past 30 years. More than 31 million Americans had hearing loss in 2004. There are 24.1 million individuals with a hearing loss who do not own a hearing aid device. About 60,000 cochlear implants have been implemented in the past 20 years—about one half in adults and one half in children.
One of the fastest growing populations with hearing loss is teenagers. Research shows that one in five teens in the United States has a hearing loss due to high-volume sounds in daily life such as headphones emitting loud music and excessive traffic noise.
The CDC reports that each year more than 12,000 babies are born with a hearing loss in the United States; often the cause is unknown. According to the World Health Institute, deafness is America’s leading birth defect.
In the News
A conversation with FHSR Music Program Coordinator & Merit School Teacher, Sally Blandon
2020-10-26
With all that is happening in today’s world one constant that everyone can relate to is music. In 2019 FHSR made a commitment to bring music classes for deaf/hard of hearing children through our Music To My Ears program (MTME). We started with Early Childhood music classes with our partners at The Old Town School of Folk Music and The Merit School of Music to provide a year of tuition-free music classes for children up to four years of age. In 2020 we expanded our program to include a school-based program where we provide the curriculum music program at Child’s …
Learn MoreIn Memory of FHSR founding Board Member, Louise Hart
2020-10-06
Louise Hart, long time Board Director, passed away peacefully at her home on May 1, 2020 at the age of 99. As a founding member of the Foundation for Hearing & Speech Rehabilitation (FHSR), Mrs. Hart helped to shape the mission of the Foundation and provided an unmatched level of commitment to helping individuals who are living with hearing loss.
Learn MoreEvents
Live from Merit: Music Education for Deaf/Hard of Hearing Children
Thursday November 19, 2020 7:00 pm
Visionary music educators are finding that the benefits of music education are especially beneficial to children who are deaf/hard of hearing (DHH).
Join us for this free virtual seminar hosted by Merit in partnership with FHSR examining the power of music education for deaf/hard of hearing children.
Recent Videos
Resources
Schools/Local Organizations
Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago
Chicago Hearing Society
Child’s Voice
CHOICES
Directory : Illinois Teachers of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
Illinois Department of Human Services – early intervention
Illinois School for the Deaf
Illinois Sound Beginnings
ITDHH – Online Resources
Merit School of Music