March 3rd was World Hearing Day!
This year’s theme for World Hearing Day is “From Communities to Classrooms – Hearing Care for Every Child.”World Hearing Day is an annual day to raise global awareness on preventing deafness and promoting proper ear and hearing care. Organized by the World Health Organization (WHO), this event highlights ear care as a critical public health issue. The 2026 theme, “From Communities to Classrooms: Hearing Care for All Children,” focuses on early identification and prevention of hearing loss in children.
Over the last two weeks, members of AAO-HNS Government Affairs and American Academy of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery, advocated on Capitol Hill in Washington DC during Congressional Advocacy Day, advocating for legislation that would help improve hearing healthcare for children, like Ally Tumblin, and for legislation like Ally’s Act, H.R. 4606 and S. 3400 this week in DC!
Standing on the steps of the U.S. Capitol, these physicians represent more than their practices. They represent the patients and families who rely on access to high-quality ENT care every day. By meeting with lawmakers, they are sharing real patient stories and advocating for policies that protect access to care, advance hearing health equity, and strengthen the future of our healthcare system. Thank you to the dedicated members and medical professionals for lending their expertise and their voices on behalf of patients and thank you for advocating for support of Ally’s Act, H.R. 4606 and S. 3400! Your support and advocacy for this bill alone would help give hundreds of thousands of children and adults better quality lives with better access to bone anchored hearing systems and cochlear implants when it comes to private insurance coverage for these hearing devices! Thank you for your advocacy! A special thank you to Dr. Amelia Drake of Chapel Hill (ENT), Dr. Rahul Shah (CEO of the American Academy of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery (AAOHNS) and Harry DeCabo (Director of Advocacy AAOHNS) for your support of Ally’s Act!
ASHA – the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association also advocated for Ally’s Act on Capitol Hill in support of World Hearing Day! ASHA, along with speech therapists, advocated for how important hearing health care is and how important it is for children and adults to be able to benefit from hearing device technology, newborn hearing screenings and therapy services that help prevent the risk of speech delays and help improve the quality of life for those individuals who have hearing loss. A special thank you to Josh Krantz, Director of Federal Affairs at ASHA and Jerry White, Director of Federal and Political Affairs, for their advocacy in fighting for legislation that is needed, like Ally’s Act, H.R. 4606 and S. 3400. In addition to these congressional advocacy days on The Hill with meetings, many within the community made calls and sent emails to their Congressmen and Senators, asking them to cosponsor Ally’s Act, sharing their stories and explaining why this bill is needed and has been needed for decades. Many requested that their Representatives help with getting a hearing for our bill!
Video of Melissa and Ally Tumblin by ASHA
Passage of Ally’s Act would allow the children and adults within our community to be able to thrive in their communities and live a better quality of life. After all, hearing is essential to everyday life, allowing our loved ones to be able to contribute to society and be able to provide for themselves. Bone Anchored Hearing Device Systems and Cochlear Implants give children and adults their lives back! When these hearing device systems are the only hearing devices that these individuals can benefit from, it is unacceptable for private insurers to determine who gets to hear and who does not when these devices are medically necessary and needed. Ally’s Act would close the loop hole for private insurers to deny coverage for BAHS and CI hearing device implant systems for both children and adults from birth to age 64. These hearing device systems are already covered by Medicaid and Medicare.
Thank you again to everyone who is advocating for Ally’s Act, H.R. 4606 and S. 3400 to pass!
Melissa Tumblin
Ear Community
