We're excited to let you know that HLAA is competing in the Revlon LOVE IS ON 2016 Million Dollar Challenge! The Challenge, which starts on September 14 at 12 p.m. ET, is a fundraising competition where organizations that support women's health causes compete for cash prize donations from Revlon. The charity that raises the most money during the six-week challenge will win an additional $1 million donation from Revlon. Think about how far $1 million would go toward awareness, education, support and advocacy for hearing loss!
We’ve named the campaign This Isn’t Your Grandmother’s Hearing Loss (Or is it?) to emphasize the fact that while hearing assistive technology has become very sophisticated, denial, stigma, lack of awareness, and cost still exist as barriers to seeking hearing help.
How You Can Help
Join our HLAA team by creating a fundraising page. By reaching out to your network of supporters via email and social media, you can help us make an even bigger impact. It takes less than five minutes to set up a fundraising page – all you have to do is go to HLAA LOVE IS ON Challenge and click 'Fundraise for This Campaign.' Then, send the link to your page by email to your contacts and post on your social media pages.
Every donation makes a difference, no matter how big or small – just go to HLAA LOVE IS ON Challenge and click the DONATE button (active on September 14 at noon). In fact, throughout the Challenge, Revlon will be giving away prizes that you can win if you donate to HLAA; each $25 donation becomes an entry for Revlon products, gift cards, and more.
HLAA: This Isn't Your Grandmother's Hearing Loss (Or is it?) on Crowdrise
Hearing Loss is a Women’s Issue
You may wonder HLAA was selected to compete in the Challenge since we represent all consumers with hearing loss, regardless of gender. Age-related hearing loss, “your grandmother’s hearing loss,” is the number one cause of hearing loss in the U.S., with more 35 million people age 60 and older affected. While age-related hearing loss affects women and men, it disproportionately affects women for a number of reasons1:
- Older age. Women are more likely to live into the decades of 80 and beyond, when hearing loss is very common. For instance, 45 percent of people in the 80+ age group have a disabling bilateral hearing loss (a moderate loss or more in both ears).2
- Lower income, with reduced ability to afford hearing aidsand other forms of hearing health care. Older women have less savings, lower pensions, are more dependent on Social Security for their economic survival, and are more likely to live in poverty.3
- More likely to live alone, and so more vulnerable to the isolation and depression that comes with hearing loss. By count in the 2010 census, 36 percent of older women lived alone, versus 19 percent of older men.3
Sources:
1 Lin, Niparko and Ferruci. (2011) Arch Int Med, Table 1. Note that this table includes all-cause HL in the 60+ age group, for which the total is 38.6 million.
2 Gorman and Lin (2016) Am J Pub Health, Table 1
3 Shriver Center for Poverty Law: Older women and poverty.
Accessed at: http://www.ncdsv.org/SSNCPL_Woman-View-Older-Women-and-Poverty_3-30-2016.pdf