January 26, 2024
Hon. Kathleen C. Hochul
Governor, State of New York
Re: Interagency Coordinating Council for Service to Persons who are Deaf, Deafblind & Hard
of Hearing
Dear Governor Hochul:
Thank you for announcing the re-establishment of the Interagency Coordinating Council.
(IAC). Our Hearing Loss Association leaders across New York State are heartened that New
York will soon join 39 other states in addressing the needs of hard of hearing seniors,
working adults, children and their families.
We are reaching out to Chief Disability Officer Kim Hill and her team to pledge our active
support and assistance to increase awareness and understanding of hearing loss — among
lawmakers, health/hospital/rehabilitation and other service providers, the aging and the
general public — and to initiate needed programs and services and advocate for laws and
funding, as needed.
Please understand:
- Hearing loss encompasses a vastly greater population than the deaf and deaf-blind. One
in five people ages 12 and over — roughly 1.5 million New Yorkers — has a hearing loss. - The needs of people with hearing loss are distinctly different, though no more or less
important, than the needs of people who are deaf and deaf-blind. - Hearing loss is the third most prevalent chronic health condition facing seniors, affecting
some one million New Yorkers (one in three over 65; one in two over 75).
- “An estimated US$ 1 trillion is lost each year due to our collective failure to adequately address hearing loss,” according to the World Health Organization.
- Attached is a list of priority needs of the hearing loss community which we are sharing with CDO Hill and her team.
Sincerely,
Peter Fackler
President, HLAA-NYS