Hyperacusis Assistance Fund

People with disabilities and long term health challenges often require financial assistance to pay for different types of equipment, home modifications, and other expenses that enable them to have a good quality of life. Those with visual impairment often need magnification devices, screen readers, braille displays, high prescription glasses, etc. People who have mobility disabilities may require wheelchairs, ramps installed, walkers, grab bars, etc. All states have goverment agencies and often privately non-profit organizations that will have disabled people afford these items. Those with hyperacusis also have costly needs including but not limited to: soundproofing, smart bathtub faucets, smart appliances, hearing protection, and even sometimes assistance with things around the home. Unfortunately the disability agencies and often non profit organizations that help people with more common disabilities pay for the things they need, don’t understand or recognize hyperacusis therefore will not provide financial assistance to cover their unique expenses. 

In order for me to even be able to go into my room without hearing protection, never mind sleeping in there, my parents had to pay to soundproof it. Many people with hyperacusis have lost their jobs due to their condition and cannot afford to pay for soundproofing. If I was paraplegic or quadriplegic they would likely have been able to get some sort of disability home modifications agency to help pay for the installation of a ramp! If hyperacusis was recognized as an actual disability then we likely could have gotten assistance to afford high grade soundproofing for my entire room. There are faucets that enable you to run a bath from another part of the house, which can be very useful for people for whom the sound of water causes them pain. However, with the combination of the faucet itself, another part needed to be installed, and the price of installation is between $3,000 and $5,000! This would be costly for most people, and its just one example of many prices for home medications and assistance technologies that could benefit those with hyperacusis, but they are unable to afford. I know many people who live in environments that are too loud for them, or even people who simply just struggle with basic natural sounds coming in through the windows. Due to the inhumanly low income those on disability receive, they are unable to afford moving to a quieter home and or high quality soundproofing, and as a result live in a state of severe constant pain. There are others who I know don’t live with quiet understanding friends or family that are willing to help them with the tasks of daily living that are too loud for them and as a result literally have to eat raw food, bath once a week, barely have clean clothes and are basically deteriorating. If disability agencies would have these people pay for things like smart microwaves, those people would at least be able to have hot food, bath, and other basic conveniences.

Since currently most disability agencies refuse to help cover the things that people with hyperacusis need, I have started a program called the Hyperacusis Assistance Fund. I have registered Hyperacusis Awareness as a member of the Amazon Partner Program, which means that when people buy selected products a percentage of that money goes directly to help people with hyperacusis pay for the things they need. You may have noticed that we have a new store tab, all of the links to items listed there are a part of our partnership program, as well as products posted on our social media, and purchasing them is the equivalent of donating money to a charity.