III
107TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. CON. RES. 358
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
MAY 1, 2002
Received and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and
Pensions
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Supporting the goals and ideals of National Better Hearing
and Speech Month, and for other purposes.
Whereas the National Institute on Deafness and Other Com-
munication Disorders (NIDCD) reports that approxi-
mately 42,000,000 people in the United States suffer
from a speech, voice, language, or hearing impairment;
Whereas almost 28,000,000 people in the United States suf-
fer from hearing loss;
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Whereas 1 out of every 3 people in the United States more
than 65 years of age suffers from hearing loss;
Whereas although more than 25,000,000 people in the
United States would benefit from the use of a hearing
aid, fewer than 7,000,000 people in the United States
use a hearing aid;
Whereas sounds louder than 80 decibels are considered po-
tentially dangerous and can lead to hearing loss;
Whereas the number of young children who suffer hearing
loss as a result of environmental noise has been increas-
ing;
Whereas every day in the United States approximately 33 ba-
bies are born with significant hearing loss;
Whereas hearing loss is the most common congenital disorder
in newborns;
Whereas a delay in diagnosing a newborn’s hearing loss can
affect the child’s social, emotional, and academic develop-
ment;
Whereas the average age at which newborns with hearing loss
are diagnosed is between 12 and 25 months;
Whereas more than 1,000,000 children received speech or
language disorder services under the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.) dur-
ing the school year ending in 1998;
Whereas children with language impairments are 4 to 5 times
more likely than their peers to experience reading prob-
lems;
Whereas 10 percent of children entering the first grade have
moderate to severe speech disorders, including stuttering;
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Whereas stuttering affects more than 2,000,000 people in the
United States;
Whereas approximately 1,000,000 people in the United
States have aphasia, a language disorder inhibiting spo-
ken communication that results from damage caused by
a stroke or other traumatic injury to the language cen-
ters of the brain; and
Whereas for the last 75 years May has been celebrated as
National Better Hearing and Speech Month in order to
raise awareness regarding speech, voice, language, and
hearing impairments and to provide an opportunity for
Federal, State, and local governments, members of the
private and nonprofit sectors, speech and hearing profes-
sionals, and the people of the United States to focus on
preventing, mitigating, and curing such impairments:
Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring), That Congress—
(1) supports the goals and ideals of National
Better Hearing and Speech Month;
(2) commends the 41 States that have imple-
mented routine hearing screenings for every newborn
before the newborn leaves the hospital;
(3) supports the efforts of speech and hearing
professionals in their efforts to improve the speech
and hearing development of children; and
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(4) encourages the people of the United States
to have their hearing checked regularly and to avoid
environmental noise that can lead to hearing loss.
Passed the House of Representatives April 30, 2002.
Attest:
JEFF TRANDAHL,
Clerk.