BILL ANALYSIS
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THIRD READING
Bill No: ACR 169
Author: Carter (D)
Amended: As introduced
Vote: 21
WITHOUT REFERENCE TO COMMITTEE OR FILE
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 73-0, 6/24/10 (Consent) - See last page
for vote
SUBJECT : Hearing Aid Awareness Month
SOURCE : Hearing Healthcare Providers of California
DIGEST : This resolution proclaims the month of June as
Hearing Aid Awareness Month.
ANALYSIS :
This resolution makes the following Legislative following:
1. More than one out of every 10 Americans, or 36 million
individuals, have a hearing loss; and one-third of these
are persons over the age of 65 years.
2. Over the last generation, the hearing loss population
grew at the rate of 160 percent, primarily due to the
aging of America.
3. Hearing aid adoption continues to increase slowly, and
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now includes one in four persons with hearing loss, yet
less than one in 10 persons with mild hearing loss and
four in 10 persons with moderate to severe hearing loss
use amplification.
4. Advances in hearing instrument technology allow modern
hearing aids to dramatically improve sound recognition
capabilities.
5. A study by the National Council on the Aging showed that
hearing instrument users are likely to report
improvements in their physical, emotional, mental, and
social well-being.
6. The same study indicated that family members and friends
are more likely to notice these benefits than the actual
users themselves.
7. Hearing aids differ in design, type of circuitry, size,
and amount of amplification.
8. Hearing aids come in a wide variety of styles from the
compact miniature sizes that fit in the ear canal to
larger body style aids; other styles fit into the outer
portion of the ear, and still others are worn behind the
ear.
9. Hearing aids now function beyond amplification alone,
and new technology has made it possible for some hearing
aids to reduce unwanted background noises, amplify only
specific frequencies, or mask noises generated in the
ear itself.
10.Health care professionals engaged in the practice of
testing human hearing and in selecting, fitting, and
dispensing hearing aids include physicians,
audiologists, and hearing instrument specialists.
11.It is beneficial to consumers to be aware of the variety
and benefits of appropriate hearing instrumentation.
This resolution proclaims the month of June as Hearing Aid
Awareness Month.
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FISCAL EFFECT : Fiscal Com.: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 6/30/10)
Hearing Healthcare Providers of California (source)
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Beall, Bill
Berryhill, Blakeslee, Block, Blumenfield, Bradford,
Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero, Charles Calderon, Carter,
Chesbro, Cook, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon, DeVore,
Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani,
Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gatto, Gilmore, Hagman, Hall,
Harkey, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill, Huber, Huffman,
Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Lieu, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal,
Ma, Mendoza, Miller, Monning, Nava, Nestande, Niello,
Nielsen, V. Manuel Perez, Portantino, Ruskin, Saldana,
Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Audra Strickland,
Swanson, Torlakson, Torres, Torrico, Tran, Villines,
Yamada, John A. Perez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Bass, Tom Berryhill, Conway, Fuller,
Norby, Salas, Vacancy
CTW:do 6/30/10 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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