MINNEAPOLIS, MN (September 27, 2007) - This summer, hearing loss patients across the country have seen that the condition affects people young and old. Miss America 2005, Deidre Downs, spent the past four months traveling the country and sharing her personal story about hearing loss—and she's helped others learn that technology today means treatment is effective and beneficial. She even gave some well-deserving people ReSound Azure hearing aids.
From San Diego, CA to Tarrytown, NY. Downs visited children's hospitals, audiology centers and school picnics as a part of Sound Effects, an education campaign developed by ReSound last year. Downs threw the first pitch at a Cincinnati Reds game on August 12 and then attended the Annual Cincinnati Children's Hospital Audiology Department Picnic where she played with patients of the hospital and discussed her experiences as a hard-of-hearing child with parents. ReSound sponsored her travels and contributed to individual events in order to support community hearing loss programs. In St. Joseph, MI she launched "Looping America," a program that promotes the use of audio induction loops to assist hearing aid users in environments that are often troublesome. Preschool children and parents in Raleigh, NC meet with her at an annual class picnic. Hearing aid users and their families in five states heard history while learning about Azure, the first hearing aid to offer natural hearing from all directions.
"My experiences with hearing loss coupled have allowed me to help children, parents and others learn that this doesn't have to interrupt life," says Downs. "Thanks to ReSound, I have been able to meet and talk with so many interesting people this summer."
Downs was born with a hard-to-treat genetic form of hearing loss that has affected her since kindergarten. Her story is a testament to the end of stereotypes associated with hearing aids and the important effect proper treatment has on suffers' lifestyles. Downs is now a medical student it is vital for her to be able to follow the conversations from all directions. She says Azure has greatly increased her ability to interact with professors, classmates, friends and families. She says, "For the first time in my life, I'm hearing like a normal person hears. It's wonderful."
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About ReSound
Based in Bloomington, MN, ReSound is the hearing instrument innovation leader. The hearing solutions provider regularly tops the industry with user-friendly technologies that improve quality of life through hearing assistance. The company developed and launched open-fit technology solutions and the world's first rechargeable hearing aid-- Pulse. Other ReSound products include Metrix, AiR, Pixel and Plus5. For more information on the complete family of ReSound hearing instruments, visit www.gnresound.com, or the ReSound Web Channel on Audiology Online.
