Lion clubs appoint one member to serve as their Hearing and Speech Action and Work with the Deaf chairperson. On the district level, a Lion is appointed as District Hearing and Speech Action and Work with the Deaf chairperson.

Both club and district-level chairpersons develop service projects which aid persons who are deaf or hard of hearing. Before implementing a service project, it is suggested that Lions contact local government and private agencies (including Lions hearing foundations) for the deaf or hard of hearing. This can eliminate the duplication of services. In addition, local agencies that have ongoing projects may be in need of additional assistance.

Lions help educate the public about hearing loss.

• The Lions of Multiple District 105 (British Isles and Ireland), created the Sympathetic Ear Program to increase awareness and understanding of deafness.
• In India, the Lions of District 324-D3 produced pamphlets in regional languages explaining deafness, possible treatments, and job training opportunities.
• The Lions of District 35 (Florida, USA) worked with government officials for the passage of a new state law requiring hearing screenings for newborn babies.
• Lions in Missouri, USA, sponsored billboards that informed the public about hearing and deafness.
• In Alberta, Canada, the hearing chairman for Lions District 37-E, used puppets, coloring books, audiotapes, and videotapes to teach children about hearing loss.

In addition, Lions can:

• participate in health fairs and distribute information about deafness and hardness of hearing. This includes the Lions brochures, Understanding hearing impairments (IAD-08) and Technological devices for people who are hearing impaired (IAD-09). Appropriate for public distribution, these brochures are available in the Publications Library. They can be ordered in large quantities through the Program Development Department at Lions Clubs International at executiveservices@lionsclubs.org.
• Compile a list of local resources including the names of healthcare professionals for diagnosing hearing loss; the names of vendors for the purchase of new or used hearing devices; and vocational training programs.
• create public awareness of noise levels and support noise abatement efforts.
• donate books and other educational materials about deafness and hardness of hearing to the local library.

For general information about hearing, access Understanding hearing impairments (IAD-8) or Technological devices for people who are hearing impaired (IAD-9) in the Resources section.

For additional hearing information, log onto: www.nidcd.nih.gov or contact the Program Development Department at Lions Clubs International Headquarters: programs@lionsclubs.org.