Californians Raise Awareness About Hearing Loss in San Diego

San Diego, California, October 19, 2015 (Newswire.com) - Hearing loss is an invisible and unrecognized public health issue that affects five million Californians.  Hearing loss is on the rise.  Two out of every thousand babies are born with hearing loss.  Hearing loss is also increasing due to noise pollution and aging.  Hearing loss causes isolation and depression.  Unable to communicate, many people with hearing loss become shut-in hermits purely due to their hearing loss.  In addition, there is a huge societal stigma about hearing loss.  Some hearing loss may be treatable, and most people with hearing loss can be helped.

Walk4Hearing is celebrating its tenth anniversary.  Since its inception in 2006, the Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA) Walk4Hearing has raised more than $6 million and has become the nation’s largest and fastest growing hearing loss fundraising and public awareness walk in the country.  Every spring and fall thousands of walkers - children and their families, young adults, young at heart, and everyone in between - form teams and walk in their communities to increase public awareness about hearing loss, help eradicate the stigma associated with it and raise funds for programs and services.  In addition to increasing awareness, the funds raised by Walk4Hearing are used in local communities, for example to support communication access with CART (Communication Access Realtime Translation), to underwrite grants for people with hearing loss to attend educational programs at the HLAA convention, to support student scholarships for college, to enhance outreach efforts, and to remove the stigma of hearing loss through education, information, support and advocacy.  HLAA depends on generous volunteers to raise funds, generate enthusiasm and awareness at each of the Walk4Hearing sites.

The San Diego Walk4Hearing is one of 23 events taking place across the nation this year.  The national fundraising goal for 2015 is $1.4 million, and the San Diego walk goal is $25,000.

The Hearing Loss Association of America, California State Association, Inc. (HLAA-CA) is a nonprofit organization that provides hearing loss information, education, support, and advocacy services to Californians with hearing loss, their families, and their friends.

The walk will commence from Crown Point in Mission Bay, 700 Corona Oriente Road, San Diego.  Registration starts at 9:00 AM, and walk begins at 10:00 AM.  The walk is 5 K (3.1 miles).

Contact: Zina Jawadi, President, [email protected]