The newly inaugurated Lions
Hearing Center of Southeastern Michigan will benefit hearing impaired
people across the state through education, treatment and service. The
center, which is located in the University Health Center, is a
partnership between local Lions Clubs, Wayne State University and the
Detroit Medical Center. Approximately 1 in 10 Americans
suffers from some degree of hearing loss, and many of these people are
underinsured. “Among the major goals of the hearing center is to raise
funds to help needy patients get hearing aids or cochlear implants,”
said Dr. Robert Mathog, professor and chair of otolaryngology at WSU and
chairman of the board of directors for the Lions Hearing Center of
Southeastern Michigan. “We are trying to meet the needs of the
medically underserved in the area.” Hearing
treatments can be very expensive. Depending on the degree of loss,
hearing aids can range from $250 to $3,000 and cochlear implantation
procedures average $35,000. The Lions Hearing Center hopes to assist
with those costs in addition to providing free infant hearing
screenings, community education, and a mobile testing unit that can
offer early detection of hearing problems to people throughout the
state. Support for hearing research is planned for the future. At
the center’s inauguration last fall, Detroit Mayor Dennis Archer
thanked everyone involved for improving the services and health care
available to the hearing impaired people in the community. Although
other Lions Clubs have similar outreach activities underway throughout
the country, this is the first program of its kind in Michigan. For more information on the services available, call the Lions Hearing Center of Southeastern Michigan at (313) 745-4664. |
