How To Get Involved In Advocating For People With Disabilities

People often ask me how they can get more involved in advocating on behalf of people with disabilities. Being an advocate is great and it is actually really easy to do.  

There are several organizations that people can reach out to and become active with. I have listed some of them below. I have included two organizations that fights for the rights of Deaf and Hard of Hearing individuals. 

1. American Association of People with Disabilities

3. Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund

4. National Disability Rights Network
5. TASH
6. National Association of the Deaf (NAD)
7. Hearing Loss Association of America

There are other ways to make your voice heard. You can contact your state and local elected representative and talk to them about how they can improve the lives of people with disabilities. You can also contact your elected representative in the Senate and in the House in Washington D.C. as well. You can also reach out to the President too. I suggest using this website for help in contacting elected officials at the local, state and federal level. 

But there are also other avenues that people can pursue in advocating on behalf of people with disabilities.

People can reach out to the Bipartisan Disability Caucus so that you can suggest your concerns and share ideas with them. This contains a list of elected officials in Washington D.C. who have a strong interest in helping people with disabilities. You can also contact the House Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice as well. Finally, you can also reach out to the National Council on Disability (NCD).

There are also government agencies that specialize in helping people with disabilities. Below are some websites for you to use such as disability.gov and ada.gov.

There are also legal organizations such as Disability Rights Legal Center (DRLC), Disability Rights Advocate (DRA), and the Disability Rights Law Clinic. People should also be aware that the American Bar Association has a Commission on Disability Rights. There is also the Disability Rights Bar Association (DRBA). For people who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing, there is the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Bar Association (DHHBA).

HB304 Is Bad Law That Needs To Be Opposed Immediately

Right now, the Utah Legislature is considering House Bill 304 (HB304) which allows for the online sale of hearing aids by a licensed optometrist or pharmacist with the use of an online hearing test or appropriate questionnaire.

You read that right. An audiologist or hearing instrument specialist is not mentioned in the bill anywhere.

As someone who is an advocate for the rights of Deaf and Hard of Hearing individuals in the state of Utah who also has a hearing loss that requires me to wear hearing aids everyday, I have grave concerns about this bill. 

While the idea of expanding access to hearing aids to more individuals is a worthy endeavor, allowing hearing aids to be sold online by someone who is not a licensed audiologist will not help clients who need hearing aids.

The reason why this bill is a bad idea is because getting hearing aids is not an easy process. You need to take a hearing test by a licensed audiologist to determine what kind of hearing loss you have. Not all hearing loss is the same and even where two people have the same kind of hearing loss, they still hear things differently. It is important that a client receive counseling by an audiologist about their hearing loss and discuss what kind of hearing aids can meet their needs.

There are many things that can be purchased online such as books, music, furniture and cars. However, hearing aids shouldn't be allowed to be sold online by non-audiologists because this bill has the potential to harm consumers who won't be getting the care they need which leads to further problems for them down the road.

Here are eight reasons why HB304 is bad law:

1) Nowhere in HB 304 is an audiologist or hearing instrument specialist mentioned. It is inappropriate and not within the scope of practice for pharmacists and optometrists to dispense hearing aids. How would state licensing requirements be met?

2) It is not in the best interest of your consumers. It would deny them current consumer protection and quality of care guidelines.

3) The sale of hearing aids is governed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. 21 CFR 801.420 and 801.421 set specific requirements related to conditions for sale, including those related to medical evaluation and referral. The inclusion of hearing aids in HB 304, and the imposition of the bill’s additional requirements on hearing aids exposes the bill to federal preemption

4) An online hearing test or questionnaire is not sufficient to properly evaluate the needs of a person with hearing loss. In 2012, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) handily rejected the use of an online hearing test.

5) The potential risks that result from the omission of a comprehensive hearing evaluation and treatment by a licensed hearing healthcare professional include failure to detect an underlying medical cause of the hearing loss, additional hearing loss as a result of improper fitting and/or programming of hearing aids, and ear trauma sustained as the result of improper fitting and/or insertion of ear molds or hearing aids.

6) Hearing aids and contact lenses are not the same. 15 U.S. Code Chapter 102 governs the availability, use and authority of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission to promulgate rules related to contact lens prescriptions and deliverability.

7) Minnesota Department of Health released a statement stressing the importance of seeing a hearing healthcare practitioner for hearing loss and advised that failure to do so “skirts state and federal legal protections and could result in harm.”

8) Hearing aid user success is directly tied to the adjustment, counseling, and other follow up services. These simply cannot exist through an online delivery model.

Please contact your Utah State House and Senate Representative to urge them to oppose this bill! We would also appreciate those of you who do not reside in Utah to express your concerns about this law.