National Association of the Deaf

The National Association of the Deaf (NAD) urged the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to retain the Hearing Aid Compatibility (HAC) rule that gives six million consumers with hearing loss a chance to have access to digital wireless telephones.

Self Help for Hard of Hearing People (SHHH), together with the NAD and Telecommunications for the Deaf Inc. (TDI) submitted comments to the FCC in response to Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association's,(CTIA) Request for Reconsideration of the Hearing Aid Compatibility Rule. Nancy J. Bloch, NAD executive director commented, "The NAD strongly believes that millions of deaf and hard of hearing people who wear hearing aids and cochlear implants should be ensured full access to digital wireless phones used in the mainstream today."

The FCC partially lifted the exemption for digital mobile phones from the Hearing Aid Compatibility Act of 1989 in August 2003. The final rule requires that companies have two hearing-aid-compatible phones available in two years and handsets accessible to telecoil users in three years.

To view the joint SHHH-NAD-TDI comments, go to: http://www.nad.org/infocenter/newsroom/nadnews/20040409fcchaccomments.pdf