Suffield Family Walks to Raise Awareness About Hearing Loss

Corrine and Ryan Walters of Suffield, CT will be walking in the fifth annual Hartford Walk4Hearing will on Saturday, June 13th.

The Walters’ two boys are deaf and hear with cochlear implants, Chase, age 2, and Jackson, age 4. Their deafness is due to a recessive gene called connexon 26. “We walk to raise awareness about hearing loss for those around us and to teach our boys that they are supported by so many generous and kind people, says Corrine Walters. “There is nothing they can’t do because of their hearing loss.” Both of my boys are doing great with their implants, but we also sign for fun. Or I should say that I try to sign and my four year old corrects me,” says Walters.

The Walter’s got involved in the Hartford Walk4Hearing in 2012 when Jackson was only 11 months old. “Finding out that he was deaf was a bit of a surprise to us, to say the least, and it was a time of feeling very lonely and fragile. We knew nothing about hearing loss. The Walk showed our family and friends just how many people in our area were affected by hearing loss. When we looked around the Walk that day, we finally felt like we fit in….nobody was staring at my family…nobody was asking what is on my kids’ head…nobody was saying horrible things like ‘I’m sorry’…it was an uplifting experience,” says Walters.

The Walk4Hearing is a 5K Walk to raise awareness of hearing loss and create a greater understanding of hearing loss, and eliminate the stigma of hearing loss. The Walk4Hearing also provides a vehicle for local charitable and educational organizations to raise funds that further the causes of education, information, support, and advocacy for people with hearing loss. In its first four years, the Hartford Walk4Hearing has raised over $315,000, and has attracted hundreds of Walkers each year.

Hearing loss is the third most common public health issue in the U.S., behind arthritis and heart disease. There are approximately 48 million people in the U.S. that have some degree of hearing loss. Hearing loss is not limited to our senior citizens. It is estimated that 30 school children per every 1,000, have a hearing loss. Hearing loss is becoming the most common “war wound” among our troops returning from the wars in the Middle East.

In Connecticut there are three local HLAA chapters. The Connecticut chapters are Hear Here Hartford HLAA Chapter (Wethersfield, CT), HLAA Eastern CT Chapter (Storrs, CT), and HLAA SW Con

Local corporate sponsors for the Hartford Walk4Hearing include United HealthCare, Sprint Connecticut Relay, Hartford Hospital Hearing & Balance Center, Relay Connecticut, Connecticare, Travelers Insurance Company, New England Center for Hearing, Hearing, Balance & Speech Center, Miracle Ear, Quick Captions, The Law Office of Terry Bedard. On a national level, sponsors include CapTel, Med-El, hi Health Innovations, IntriCon, Advanced Bionics, Cochlear Americas, and Hamilton CapTel, Regal Entertainment Group.

The Walk will begin at 10:00 am (registration 9:00 am) from Mortensen River Front Plaza, 300 Columbus Boulevard, Hartford, CT. The Walk4Hearing website is at www.walk4hearing .org You can register as a Walker, form a team, and make a donation on the website.