MGH Community News

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHT: BOSTON GUILD FOR THE HARD OF HEARING

Unfortunately this program lost funding in 2003.

The Boston Guild for the Hard of Hearing (a.k.a. - the Boston Guild) is a private, nonprofit organization founded in 1916, whose mission is to lessen the effects of hearing impairment and to conserve hearing. They provide a wide range of diagnostic, rehabilitative, educational, preventative, and counseling services to adults and children affected by hearing loss.

Services include:

Audiological assessments (home visits available for those who are home-bound)

Aural rehabilitation - including speechreading classes, early intervention hearing screenings, hard of hearing peer support groups and monthly closed captioned movies

Demonstration and dispensing of assistive listening and alerting devices

Hearing aid evaluation and dispensing - this includes a wide array of hearing aides and hearing aide batteries at the lowest possible cost. The Boston Guild asserts that cost should not be a barrier and that all clients who seek a hearing aid from them will receive one.

Information & Referral - general information about hearing loss and where to obtain additional assistance

A mobile audiological testing vehicle - offers free hearing screenings to the public, within the Route 128 belt. The testing vehicle's schedules are not publicized, so please call the Boston Guild for more information.

Though the Boston Guild provides services primarily to New England residents there is no geographic residency requirement. The only other eligibility requirement is that the applicant must be income-eligible to benefit from their needs-based services such as free- or low-cost hearing aids.

To contact the Boston Guild for services and/or more information, please call them at (888) 464-8453, (617) 254-7300, or (617) 254-7755 - TDD/TTY. Their office hours are Mon-Fri, 9AM-5PM. Their website at www.bostonguild.org , is currently under construction, but check back often, as it will be back up soon. This program is listed in IRis.

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