Since its original inception as the Louisville Deaf Oral School in 1948, Heuser Hearing Institute (HHI) has been tireless in serving the hearing needs of Kentuckians. During the recent COVID-19 pandemic, we became aware of how dramatically underserved many rural Kentuckians are when it comes to hearing healthcare. As a result, HHI identified service level gaps in education and employment for the deaf and hard of hearing in the state of Kentucky. Determined to improve those outcomes, we began a dialogue with the governor and state legislature about expanding HHI’s services and developing a program to address the hearing healthcare gap apparent throughout the state.
Out of that discussion, the KY HEARS program was born, and state funds were allocated to enable HHI to develop a program designed to address the need for improved and expanded hearing healthcare services across Kentucky. The KY HEARS project was granted initial funding for the span of two years. During that time we have held mobile clinics in over 18 counties and provided hearing healthcare clinics, participated in health fairs, distributed resources and educational materials, and conducted outreach to over 10,000 Kentuckians. We continue to work with amazing partners that include the Kentucky Commission on the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Circuit Courts of Kentucky, and several local Health Departments.
AVAILABLE SERVICES: Hearing Screenings, Connections with Vocational Rehab, Diagnostic Hearing Tests, Connections with KCDHH, Vestibular Treatment, Balance Treatment, Community Technician Training, Cochlear Implants Information/Resources, Patient Continuity of Care, Pediatric Hearing Tests, Community Resource Referrals, Hearing Aid Diagnostics
The goal of the KY HEARS is to remove barriers to care, helping Kentuckians gain equal access to hearing healthcare that can improve student education and reduce employment gaps for those with hearing issues.
