For Families
We invite you to explore our comprehensive resources and educational materials designed to help educate you about your pediatric hearing loss condition or treatment.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding your condition or treatment, please feel free to contact Texas Hearing Institute in Houston, Texas, at (713) 523-3633. To request an appointment, use our secure online appointment request form.
This information is intended for educational and informational purposes only. It should not be used in place of an individual consultation, examination, or the medical advice of your doctor. This information should not be relied upon to determine a diagnosis or course of treatment.
What Is Hearing Loss?
Hearing loss is what happens when a problem develops with one or more parts of the ear, the nerves within the ear, or the part of the brain that controls your ability to hear. Hearing loss can occur in one or both ears.
Those experiencing hearing loss may be able to hear some sounds or they might not hear anything at all. Depending on the severity of the condition, a person may be referred to as deaf or hard of hearing.
Hearing loss is one of the most common birth defects, and there are an estimated 3 out of every 1,000 babies born with this condition. A hearing problem may also develop later in a child’s life. Approximately 3 million children in the U.S. have a hearing loss; 1.3 million of them are under the age of 3.
Transportation Resources
- You must call (877) 633-8747 at least two business days before your appointment.
- You must have your nine-digit Medicaid number, social security number, or client demographic number.
- You must have your doctor's (or other health-care provider's) name, address, and phone number.
- You must have the date, time, and purpose of the appointment.
- Have a current Medicaid card or Medicaid verification letter.
- Have no other way to get to the appointment.
- One attendant is allowed for minors.
Note: There are limitations due to capacity.
- Destination: MacGregor Way @ South Fwy (Stop ID: 2114)
- Fare: $1.25 Full Fare/METRO Q Card
Click here for detailed information and maps METRO. For more information, visit the METRO site or call (713) 635-4000.
- Children’s Medicaid provides free health insurance to children in low-income families.
- American Academy of Pediatrics is a website dedicated to child health and parenting issues.
- Success for Kids with Hearing Loss
Helpful Links
- Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf
- Better Hearing Institute
- Hearing First
- Hear the World
- National Association of the Deaf
- National Institute on Deafness and other Communication Disorders
- Beginnings for Parents of Children Who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing, Inc
- Texas Chapter of Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
- Texas School for the Deaf
- Hearing Health Matters
- Hearing First Community - online community for families on the LSL journey and LSL professionals
- AG Bell Newly Diagnosed Parent Hotline - resource for parents of newly diagnosed children with hearing loss
- Infant Hearing Loss
- Hands and Voices
- American Society for Deaf Children
- Center for Hearing and Communication
- Sound foundation for babies
- Raising Deaf Kids
- National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities
- National Center for Hearing Assessment and Management (NCHAM)
- Clerc National Deaf Education Center
- Baby Sign Language
- Deaf Mentor & Role Model Program
- Family Weekend Retreat
- Texas Hands & Voices Guide by Your Side (GBYS)
- Virtual Sign Language Classes
- Sign It!
- Described and Captioned Media Program (DCMP)
- Sign On with ASDC
- Texas School for the Deaf Statewide Outreach Center
- Lifeprint
- Baby Sign Language Dictionary
- ASL Connect
- ASLNook
- ASDC English ASL Courses
- ASDC Spanish ASL Courses and Support
For Adults and Children
211.org can help connect you with local organizations that provide assistance with basic needs, like food, utilities, rental assistance, and healthcare.
Hear the World is a charitable foundation committed to improving quality of life and promoting equal opportunities for people with hearing loss throughout the world. The foundation has a special focus on projects that support children reaching developmental milestones and realizing their full potential in life, regardless of their hearing loss.
Healthy Hearing provides a guide for financial help and articles about hearing aids and hearing loss.
The Starkey Hearing Foundation’s Hear Now program provides hearing aids for deaf and hard-of-hearing persons living in the United States. Applications are available online.
The Lions Club provides hearing aids to people with limited finances who are legal residents of the U.S. This includes people with green cards.
Hearing Loss Association of America provides information about many national or regional resources for obtaining amplification.
For Children
The Gift of Hearing Foundation works with the medical community to provide financial support for a select number of economically disadvantaged patients to receive cochlear implants.
The Let Them Hear Foundation provides clinical services primarily in Palo Alto and on mission trips around the world, as well as consultations for hearing aids and cochlear implants.
The HIKE fund provides hearing aids, FM systems, closed caption converters, tactile aids, alerting systems, and specialized sports equipment for hearing-impaired children from birth to 20 years of age. An application can be submitted through their website.
Applications are available at the website between April and September.
Oticon’s National Loaner Bank program provides hearing aids for children from birth to 3 years of age, while they wait for their amplification or cochlear implant.
The Global Foundation for Children with Hearing Loss provides training in developing countries to empower families and service providers to help young children use hearing technology and communicate through listening and spoken language.
JTC provides diagnostic and educational programs for families with young children who have hearing loss. It does not offer funds for equipment, surgery, or individual and organizational financial needs. Visit other sections of JTC’s website to learn about onsite and distance services available.
Gives information and resources on several different disabilities to make the transition into the workforce easier, as well as finding out about legal rights.
Gives students with disabilities more scholarship opportunities that will help them pay for their education, as well as other resources to help obtain funding.
