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Kelly Landsberg of
Port Richey, Florida is among the outstanding
people with hearing loss honored by the 2009 Oticon Focus on People
Awards, a national competition that recognizes individuals who are helping
to eliminate negative stereotypes of what it means to have a hearing loss.
Kelly’s selection as a winner in the Advocacy Category was announced
at the twelfth annual Oticon Focus on People Awards Ceremony in Houston.
The Awards ceremony was attended by more than 200 leading hearing
care professionals from across the country.
Kelly, who has been hard of hearing since
age three, is a part-time employee of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services
of Florida. She is constantly needed for deaf client
advocacy, working with the
Pasco County Sheriff’s Department,
New Port Richey Police
Department, Pasco
Correctional Facility, Land O’Lakes Jail and various other
correctional and probation
officers. It is not unusual for Kelly to stay at a hospital overnight
with a deaf client, giving comfort and helping to ease communication with
hospital staff. Despite her demanding schedule, the
mother of four finds time each month to host a “Deaf Coffee Chat” at a local
restaurant to provide much needed social time and interaction for her deaf
clients.
The Oticon Focus on
People Awards were created in 1996 by Oticon, Inc., one of the world’s
oldest and most respected
hearing instrument manufacturers. By celebrating
the accomplishments and contributions of individuals with hearing loss,
Oticon, Inc., hopes to call attention to common misconceptions about hearing
loss and motivate people with hearing loss to take advantage of the help
that is available to them. The company’s goal is to
reach out to the 80 percent of an estimated 28 million Americans who could
benefit from
hearing instruments, but who fail to seek professional help.
“Given that hearing
loss is the number-one disability in America, these findings are
significant,” says Peer Lauritsen, president of Oticon, Inc.
“It’s interesting to note that Americans now openly discuss and seek
help for once ‘unmentionable’ diseases and disabilities, but not hearing
loss. The challenge continues to be changing outdated
and hurtful misconceptions of what it means to have a hearing loss.”
Experts say that the stigma associated with hearing loss may explain
why most hearing impaired people wait an average of 10 years before
obtaining a hearing aid despite the incredible advances of recent years,
including the introduction of sleek, discreet hearing instruments that
enable wireless connectivity to the many communication and entertainment
devices that are essential parts of modern life.
For more information
about the Oticon Focus on People Awards and hearing health, log on to
www.oticonusa.com.
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