Regional school for deaf collecting hearing aids

McALLEN — The hearing aids McAllen Memorial High School sophomore Jesse Mendez wears are his world.

They may not provide him perfect hearing, but they do amplify sound and connect him to his environment.

Without them, “I feel a little confused and I’m lost,” the 15-year-old recently said.

Jesse is one of hundreds of students the McAllen Regional Day School Program for the Deaf serves who rely on hearing aids.

Because the devices are so important, the program’s administrators have decided to collect behind-the-ear hearing aids for the students and batteries for the instruments.

They plan to give some hearing aids to students who do not have hearing aids and keep some on loan for those who need to use one while their aids are repaired.

Alma Garza and Julie Herrera — coordinator and supervisor of the program, respectively — have had students lose hearing aids they took off to play sports, or break them and even throw them out.

Some families of students can’t afford to purchase them and don’t qualify for government assistance to pay for them or replacements.

“We have students from Mexico (who have) no hearing aids. We have some students who don’t qualify for renewal,” Garza said.

They’ve only received a few so far, not nearly enough to cover the few dozen students who would benefit from receiving a hearing aid.

“We thought we would get a response right away. One teacher kept getting requests for hearing aids and batteries,” Garza said.

The regional day school program provides educational services to about 300 students from 19 school districts from Roma to Mercedes. Students either receive services at their home campus or at four of McAllen school district’s schools: Escandon and Sanchez elementary schools, Brown Middle School and Memorial High School.

The school began seeking donations last year but none came in. Some people brought in hearing aids that are worn in the ear. But the school can’t use them because those hearing aids are specifically molded for the original owner’s ear, she said.

“A hearing aid is very, very necessary for anyone with mild to profound hearing aid loss,” said Esther Kelly, a hearing loss resource specialist who works out of the Deaf Action Center in Dallas.

Their ability to hear more sounds with the hearing aids can be life-saving; they can hear an ambulance siren coming from behind while they’re driving, or the high-pitched beeping of a smoke detector in their home.

At the school, students can hear sounds from the intercom. They might not be able to decipher what is said, but at least they’re more aware of their surroundings, Herrera said.

“Even if they can hear the bell ringing, fire alarm anything, even if they can’t understand what is going on, any kind of environmental sounds they can learn to pick up is a benefit to them,” Herrera said.

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The program is collecting all behind-the-ear hearing aids and batteries, sizes 675 and ZA13. For more information, call (956) 971-4500.

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Jennifer L. Berghom covers education and general assignments for The Monitor. She can be reached at (956) 683-4462.