Hear, Hear PEI has a new home with the PEI Senior Citizens' Federation

Eleven months ago, we came up with the crazy idea of starting a program that would help low income Islanders to get the hearing aids that they needed but couldn’t afford to buy. The concept of a hearing aid recycling program seemed so simple, but it would require the support of many Islanders to make it happen. Knowing the level of support that we would need, we were scared to launch the Hear, Hear PEI Program in case people thought it was a silly idea that they couldn’t get behind. Nobody wants to fail, especially when they know how many people could benefit if they succeed. At the end of the day, we figured that when your heart is in the right place, you can’t go wrong so we launched the program. Well, we needn’t have worried for one second about the level of support we'd receive.

The program took off right away with a steady flow of people coming to our door with hearing aids to donate, Steve Wong with PEI Hearing Consultants coming on board to volunteer his time to work with our clients, Murphy’s Pharmacies putting our hearing aid donation boxes in all of their locations, fair and compassionate folks agreeing to sit on our selection committee, and our fabulous local media helping us to spread the word. In just over a month, we fitted our first applicant with hearing aids and have fit more Islanders since then.

Right from the beginning, our goal (in addition to helping low income Islanders to hear again) was to get the program up and running successfully and then find a really great non-profit organization to adopt it. This would ensure its continued success and growth into the future. We have now met that final goal!

The PEI Senior Citizens’ Federation has officially adopted the Hear, Hear PEI program. We are so pleased to have Hear, Hear PEI under the umbrella of such a great organization. While they are a senior’s organization, they plan to keep the program open to Islanders of all ages, which is great.

Thank you to all who have supported us in our quest to help low-income Islanders to access hearing aids, including our family, friends, community members, and our local media. Extra special thanks goes out to PEI Hearing Consultants and Murphy's Pharmacies for being the community-minded companies that they are; always willing to help out and that includes with the Hear, Hear PEI Program. It meant a lot to know that our family, friends and community were solidly behind us when we started this new program back in January.

We wish you much love, peace and joy this holiday season.

Sincerely,

Rose and Mike Barbour

Contact information for PEI Senior Citizens’ Federation: https://www.peiscf.com/, 902-368-9008, peiscf@pei.aibn.com

Donation of new hearing aids from Signia!

Left to right: Rose Barbour, Steve Wong and Peter Russell

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

A hearing aid recycling program that provides hearing aids to low-income Islanders has recently received a donation of new hearing aids. Peter Russell with Signia first heard about the Hear, Hear PEI program from Steve Wong at PEI Hearing Consultants and wanted to help. “Hear, Hear PEI is doing meaningful work on the Island. It is our pleasure to help with it,” says Russell.

Rose and Mike Barbour, Hear, Hear PEI’s founders, are grateful for this generous donation from Signia, which will allow them to help even more Islanders who apply to their program. “We receive many applications from Islanders who would benefit from hearing aids, but can’t afford them,” says Mike Barbour. “Thanks to the new and used hearing aid donations that we receive, we are able to help some of them to hear again. We couldn’t do any of it without our hearing aid donors.”

Hearing loss has a significant impact on the lives of Islanders. The Barbours are learning all about it through the applications that come in. “Every person who applies through Hear, Hear PEI has a story that really tugs at your heartstrings and you wish you could help them all,” says Rose Barbour. “One applicant shared how hearing loss prevented her from hearing the fire alarm in her building for a full fifteen minutes. That is pretty scary. Today, she is a very grateful recipient of hearing aids through our program.”

Wong, a board-certified hearing instrument specialist with PEI Hearing Consultants, volunteers his time to fit Hear, Hear PEI clients with hearing aids and in their follow up care. “With Steve, we know that our clients are in good hands and that means a lot,” says Rose Barbour. “We also appreciate the many other ways that he supports our program, including promoting it to companies like Signia.”

Islanders who have hearing aids to donate can drop them off at any Murphy’s Pharmacies location on PEI.  The more hearing aids that Hear, Hear PEI receives, the more Islanders they can help.

For information on applying for hearing aids, please contact the Barbours at hearhearpei@gmail.com.

Thank you to PEI Hearing Consultants and Bernafon Canada!

Left to right: Steve Wong, Lisa Smith and Rose Barbour

What a nice surprise Mike and I got this week! Steve Wong at PEI Hearing Consultants (our partner clinic) invited us to his office for a meeting. When we arrived, he had brand new hearing aids sitting on the counter for the Hear, Hear PEI program. We were blown away!! Lisa Smith from Bernafon Canada (one of Steve’s hearing aid suppliers who was at his office) generously donated these new hearing aids – an incredible gift – in exchange for our hearing aids that can’t be refurbished or used. This means that every single hearing aid donated to our program will be used to help Islanders to hear as our donors intended. Some can be refurbished while others will be exchanged for new hearing aids. Every donation counts!! A big thank you to Lisa and Steve for making this happen. We are so grateful!

If you have hearing aids to donate, please take them to any Murphy’s Pharmacies location on PEI and put them in our donation box. If you are not on PEI but would like to donate hearing aids, please send an email to hearhearpei@gmail.com to make arrangements. Thank you!

 Rose Barbour with new and used hearing aids donated to Hear, Hear PEI!

How to apply to the Hear, Hear PEI Program

PLEASE NOTE: All of the information below is important so please read carefully!

Do you qualify?

1.      Our Hear, Hear PEI Program is for adults who do not qualify for hearing aid assistance under any other program. In other words, it is a last resort program. If you answer “yes” to any of the questions below, please ask your hearing healthcare professional about other possible sources of funding for hearing aids.

a. Are you under the age of 21 and still in school?

b. Are you in college or university?

c. Are you a veteran?

d. Are you eligible for First Nations and Inuit Health Branch Non-InsuredHealth Benefits (NIHB)?

e. Are you eligible for funding under Prince Edward Island’s Disability Support Program (i.e. under the age of 65 with hearing levels at 50 dB or greater)? Hearing level will be determined at your hearing test.

f. Are you eligible for funding through the Department of Community and Family Services (i.e. 65 years of age or older with hearing levels at 50 dB or greater)? Hearing level will be determined at your hearing test.

g. Are you unable to work because of a long term disability?

h. Did you ever work around loud sounds or have an ear related workplaceinjury?

If you have been denied funding by another agency, you may still apply to the Hear, Hear PEI Program if you provide supporting documents such as a copy of the letter informing you that you were denied hearing aids from another agency. 

2.      Determine if you meet the Program’s financial criteria: Annual HOUSEHOLD income: Single person family - $20,000 or less; two person family - $30,000 or less; add an additional $10,000 income allowance for each dependent child (i.e. two parents with one child = $40,000 or less household income).

How to apply?

1.      If you meet the financial criteria, you will need to get a referral for a hearing test from your family physician, nurse practitioner, public health nurse, or speech language pathologist so that the cost is covered by the Province (we do not cover the cost of hearing tests). A copy of a recent hearing test (less than 12 months old) has to accompany your application form so this is an important step.

2.      When you have your referral, contact PEI Hearing Consultants, our partner clinic, at 902-629-8834 to set up your appointment with Steve Wong for the hearing test. They are located in the Polyclinic Building, 199 Grafton Street, Suite 310 in Charlottetown.

3.      Steve will have our application forms there and will fill in his section of the document after your test is completed.

4.      You will then take the application home to fill in the remainder. Incomplete applications will not be accepted so please be sure to include everything that is required.

Note: You have to be referred by a hearing healthcare professional so our applications are only available through them. Steve Wong at PEI Hearing Consultants is our only partner clinic right now and he has the application. However, if you have a hearing test that is less than 12 months old, your hearing healthcare professional can contact us at hearhearpei@gmail.com to request an application form for you. It will be sent to them so that they can fill in the medical clearance form. Your application will not be considered unless this form is completed.

How are applicants selected?

Hear, Hear PEI has a selection committee that meets regularly to review applications to the Program. All applications are strictly confidential. The number of people we can help will depend on the number of hearing aids that we get donated. Therefore, meeting the criteria does not automatically guarantee that you will get hearing aids. You may have to be put on a waiting list depending on demand.

Are there any fees?

If you are approved to receive donated hearing aid(s), you will be responsible for the following fees:   

$100.00 fee - non-refundable. May be extra cost for custom ear molds.   

Cost of batteries   

Any future hearing aid repair, adjustment or replacement fees

How do I get in touch?

Please contact hearhearpei@gmail.com with any questions about Hear, Hear PEI.

To book a hearing test, please contact PEI Hearing Consultants at 902-629-8834. Reminder: you will need a referral in order to have the cost covered. Many family doctors will write a referral for you if you give them a call. Some may require you to make an appointment with them.

Time to get started! REPOSTED!

The Hear, Hear PEI Planning Committee is excited to announce that we will be ready to start accepting applications for hearing aids this month as we put the final pieces of the program into place. We are very excited to get going!

When we’re ready to officially launch the program we will announce it here and in the media. For now, though, there are some steps that you can take to prepare if you are planning to apply to the Hear, Hear PEI Hearing Aid Assistance Program. They are:

1.      Determine if you meet the Program’s financial criteria: Annual HOUSEHOLD income: Single person family - $20,000 or less; two person family - $30,000 or less; add an additional $10,000 income allowance for each dependent child (i.e. two parents with one child = $40,000 or less household income).

2.      If you meet the financial criteria, get a referral for a hearing test from your family physician, nurse practitioner, public health nurse, or speech language pathologist so that the cost is covered by the Province (we do not cover the cost of hearing tests). A copy of a recent hearing test (less than 12 months old) has to accompany your application form so this is an important step.

3.      When you have your referral, contact PEI Hearing Consultants, our partner clinic, at 902-629-8834 to set up your appointment with Steve Wong for the hearing test.

4.      Steve will have our application forms there and will fill in his section of the document after your test is completed.

5.      You will then take the application home to fill in the remainder. Incomplete applications will not be accepted so please be sure to include everything that is required.

Our selection committee will meet in mid March to review the first round of applications so get your completed application in as soon as possible. We decided to post these steps tonight so that you will have an adequate amount of time to prepare.

Every effort was made to keep the cost of the hearing aid program as low as possible. As a result, we are so pleased to tell you that we are able to offer hearing aids to our successful applicants for $100 a pair!  A custom ear mold may require an extra cost.   

Mike and I would like to extend a huge thank you to Steve Wong from PEI Hearing Consultants and Annie Lee MacDonald from the PEI Chapter of the Canadian Hard of Hearing Association for all of their work and dedication in developing the Program with us. We couldn’t have asked for a better planning committee and we certainly couldn’t have done all of this without them!! Thank you Steve and Annie Lee!

A big thank you also goes out to our hearing aid donors! We appreciate each and every one of you!!

Finally, as always, we are looking for donations of used hearing aids. The number of people we can help each month is dependent on the number of hearing aids we get donated. Please help to spread the word!!

If you have any questions, please email us at hearhearpei@gmail.com.

Thanks,

Rose and Mike

NOTE:  We appreciate all hearing aid donations that we receive through the program and we’ve received many so far!! The kindness of Islanders is amazing and makes us proud. With the quickly changing technology in hearing aids and the different styles available, we will not be able to refurbish the majority of hearing aids that we get. This is completely normal for hearing aid recycling programs. The ones that can be refurbished are behind the ear and less than five years old. However, we are working toward getting credit with manufacturers for the hearing aids that can’t be refurbished. We hope to use these credits to purchase new hearing aids to use in the program to help Islanders. That way, we are using every single hearing aid that is donated. If you’ve donated hearing aids or plan to, please know that you are making a difference and we appreciate it! Every donation helps!

 

Time to get started!

The Hear, Hear PEI Planning Committee is excited to announce that we will be ready to start accepting applications for hearing aids this month as we put the final pieces of the program into place. We are very excited to get going!

When we’re ready to officially launch the program we will announce it here and in the media. For now, though, there are some steps that you can take to prepare if you are planning to apply to the Hear, Hear PEI Hearing Aid Assistance Program. They are:

1.      Determine if you meet the Program’s financial criteria: Annual HOUSEHOLD income: Single person family - $20,000 or less; two person family - $30,000 or less; add an additional $10,000 income allowance for each dependent child (i.e. two parents with one child = $40,000 or less household income).

2.      If you meet the financial criteria, get a referral for a hearing test from your family physician, nurse practitioner, public health nurse, or speech language pathologist so that the cost is covered by the Province (we do not cover the cost of hearing tests). A copy of a recent hearing test (less than 12 months old) has to accompany your application form so this is an important step.

3.      When you have your referral, contact PEI Hearing Consultants, our partner clinic, at 902-629-8834 to set up your appointment with Steve Wong for the hearing test.

4.      Steve will have our application forms there and will fill in his section of the document after your test is completed.

5.      You will then take the application home to fill in the remainder. Incomplete applications will not be accepted so please be sure to include everything that is required.

Our selection committee will meet in mid March to review the first round of applications so get your completed application in as soon as possible. We decided to post these steps tonight so that you will have an adequate amount of time to prepare.

Every effort was made to keep the cost of the hearing aid program as low as possible. As a result, we are so pleased to tell you that we are able to offer hearing aids to our successful applicants for $100 a pair!  A custom ear mold may require an extra cost.     

Mike and I would like to extend a huge thank you to Steve Wong from PEI Hearing Consultants and Annie Lee MacDonald from the PEI Chapter of the Canadian Hard of Hearing Association for all of their work and dedication in developing the Program with us. We couldn’t have asked for a better planning committee and we certainly couldn’t have done all of this without them!! Thank you Steve and Annie Lee!

A big thank you also goes out to our hearing aid donors! We appreciate each and every one of you!!

Finally, as always, we are looking for donations of used hearing aids. The number of people we can help each month is dependent on the number of hearing aids we get donated. Please help to spread the word!!

If you have any questions, please email us at hearhearpei@gmail.com.

Thanks,

Rose and Mike

NOTE: Some people were having problems sharing this post on Facebook because Facebook seems to have flagged it as spam. I reposted this above so please share the new link instead. Thanks!

PEI’s Hearing Aid Recycling Program update

Thank you so much for visiting our blog and staying informed about this important project for Islanders with hearing loss. We are so happy to provide an update on how things are progressing.

The Hear, Hear PEI program was mentioned on Accessible Media Inc.’s (AMI) regional radio show out of Halifax on Monday.  I (Rose) will be interviewed this Thursday for the Kelly & Company radio show out of Toronto. This is certainly a great opportunity to spread the word and perhaps get hearing aids donated to our program. At the very least, it will raise awareness about the need for such programs across Canada.

The hearing aid donations continue to come in! Some hearing aids will get refurbished and refitted for another Islander, when possible, some will be used as parts, if needed, and we hope that some will allow us to get credit with suppliers toward new hearing aids. We are going to make the best use possible of all hearing aids that are donated.

We had two meetings today that were very inspiring. The first was with Steve Wong from PEI Hearing Consultants. Steve is a Board Certified Hearing Instrument Specialist who is eager to get the hearing aid recycling program going on the Island. He reached out to us right away when he heard about what we were trying to do.

The second was with Annie Lee MacDonald who is the president of the PEI Chapter of the Canadian Hard of Hearing Association. Annie Lee was happy to learn that we were looking to start a hearing aid recycling program and wants to help in whatever way she can to get it going.

Steve, Annie Lee, Mike and I will be getting together for a meeting in the near future to begin the planning process. In the meantime, we are each going to be doing some research and gathering information to take to the table. Mike and I have several meetings and phone calls set up this week with people who can provide input and/or guidance. Steve and Annie Lee have been reaching out to their networks as well. When we get together, the four of us will develop a program that will help ensure that Islanders who need them will have access to affordable hearing aids.

Mike and I are so pleased to be working with such compassionate and professional individuals like Steve and Annie Lee, and look forward to having other professionals and community groups join us in bringing the gift of hearing to Islanders.

We welcome the opportunity to meet with audiologists, hearing specialists, non-profits, businesses or any other individuals or groups that would like to help in some way with this project. Please email us at hearhearpei@gmail.com.

We are also still accepting donations of hearing aids! Please let us know if you would like to donate.

Thank you,

Rose and Mike