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WBIR Channel 10 produced a story on the Hearing and Speech Foundation's hearing aid program. You can watch the video and read the story by clicking here or you can read the story below. 

LOCAL NON-PROFIT STARTS HEARING AID DONATION PROGRAM

A tiny hearing aid may not look like much, but it could be very expensive.

"It's a range usually from around $1500 to maybe $3500 for just one hearing aid," said audiologist Caroline Roberts with Blount Hearing and Speech Services in Maryville.

Roberts says the high cost can prevent people who need the devices most from being able to hear.

"It's a reality for many people that that's just not something that's affordable or even a possibility," Roberts said.

But last year, the Hearing and Speech Foundation launched a hearing aid recycling program to help people get the devices they need, either at a reduced cost or absolutely free.

"Seventy percent of our patient base lives at or below the poverty level," said Hearing and Speech Foundation Executive Director Megan Venable Smith. "They pay nothing for anything. The doctor visits, the hearing aids, the ear molds, the batteries--we cover everything."

Outdated, broken or damaged hearing aids that are donated to the program can be sent back to the original manufacturer to be used for parts. Roberts says the program has put more than 400 hearing aids on area residents in the first year alone.

"We often take for granted the ability to hear, and for those patients that we see here, oftentimes many of them have lived for years and years with hearing loss and haven't realized what they were missing until something like this program came along to give them the assistance that they needed," Roberts said.

Some recycled hearing aids can be given to patients on the spot, but others are sent to the manufacturer, who also donates refurbishing services.

To donate a hearing aid to the Hearing and Speech Foundation, contact Megan Venable Smith at (865) 977-0981 or simply mail or drop off the device at the office, located at 1619 E. Broadway in Maryville, TN, 37804.