NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE — After being off the road for nearly two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Nashville based 501c3 charity Songs for Sound in partnership with Phonak, launches their Hear the Music Project tour this month offering full-service hearing health services, education and access to care for all.
The Hear the Music Project is a national outreach program that “provides free hearing tests, assistance with audiology referrals through their unmatched Care Team, and teaches ways to prevent noise-induced hearing loss.”
Kicking off in Nashville, Songs for Sound has teamed up with Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) and Charter Schools and will offer local students and staff free hearing screenings via a state-of-the-art DIY software which is taken aboard its mobile experience. A Care Team family advocate will also be available to guide anyone needing support with next steps, including identifying coverage in health insurance and making a match with a local hearing care professional. Finally, the team offers programs for support for a lifetime through its Hardaway’s Hope Program.
The tour will conclude in Florida visiting retirement communities and mature neighborhoods throughout the state serving residents 55 years of age or older. The tour calendar can be accessed here with events added daily.
Providing Hearing Health Education, Awareness and Assistance
Songs for Sound was born out of a passion to help people of all ages understand hearing loss, available solutions, and to help fill in the gaps the Vernon family experienced. Specifically with the MNPS partnership, Songs for Sound aims to ensure that no child is left behind and every student has a hearing screening.
The family receives Care Team support and any student with hearing technology receives lifetime support through the Hardaway’s Hope Program.
“My daughter, Lexi, was misdiagnosed for nearly two years of her life, never even hearing a lullaby. Upon her diagnosis, she was implanted bilaterally with cochlear implants and is living a normal life. However, we wandered searching for answers and had little guidance. So it is with that first-hand experience and love for those going through something similar to what my family did that has propelled the Songs for Sound organization to help ensure any student with hearing loss and their family receive the help they need to live a fulfilling life they deserve.”
–Jaime Vernon, Founder, Songs for Sound
Songs for Sound has hosted over 850 events across the U.S. serving nearly 30,000 Americans. The organization educates, counsels and builds trusting relationships which is their difference. They teach Americans how to navigate hearing healthcare and empower them to take action. Songs for Sound creates a hearing health profile for each individual and are now building their own care team. The care team will continue to counsel individuals after their hearing needs are met to continue a lifelong partnership in hearing health. Songs for Sound’s difference is love and kindness.
“This initiative aligns perfectly with Phonak’s belief that hearing well is essential to living life to the fullest,” said Sandy Brandmeier, President of Sonova USA, the parent company of Phonak. “That’s why we’re so proud to once again partner with Songs for Sounds’ Hear the Music Project. Together, we’ll help improve access to hearing screenings and hearing health care in our local communities and beyond.”
“Hearing health is so important for our students and their academic achievement. We know students who go undiagnosed or missed that have hearing loss, do not perform as well in school as students without hearing loss. Therefore, MNPS is excited to be partnering with Songs for Sound. This is just the needed additional support we have been looking for for our students and their families! With this added support and intervention, we can hopefully close the gap in learning that occurs,” shared Nicole Boyle, Director of Student Health Services, Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools.
“We serve from a place of love and compassion based on one little girl’s story. We are on a mission and engaging Americans into a movement to change the way the world thinks about hearing health.”
–Miranda Weidle, SFS Co-Director and Audiologist
To learn more about her story and the mission, visit SongsForSound.org.
About Songs for Sound
Songs for Sound is a Nashville based 501c3 charity created from a compelling story that strives to protect and restore hearing to improve the lives of the 400+ million people suffering from hearing loss. Songs for Sound wants everyone to #HearTheMusic. To learn more about our story and how to donate visit SongsForSound.org.
About Phonak
Headquartered near Zurich, Switzerland, Phonak, a member of the Sonova Group, was created in 1947 out of a passion for taking on the most difficult hearing challenges. Seventy years later, this passion remains. As the industry’s leading innovator, we offer the broadest portfolio of life-changing hearing solutions. From pediatric to profound hearing loss, we remain committed to creating hearing solutions that change people’s lives to thrive socially and emotionally. We believe in creating a world where ‘Life is on’ for everyone.
At Phonak, we believe that hearing well is essential to living life to the fullest. For more than 70 years, we have remained true to our mission by developing pioneering hearing solutions that change people’s lives to thrive socially and emotionally. Life is on.
Source: Songs for Sound, Phonak
