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As part of the Starkey Hearing Foundation's Super Bowl Hearing Mission this week, hearing-impaired kids and adults in Dallas were fitted for hearing aids, giving them a chance to fully engage with the world, in some cases, for the first time in their lives.
Starkey Hearing Foundation
Bill Austin, left, is the founder of the Starkey Hearing Foundation, which aims to supply 1 million hearing aids to needy people this decade with the help of celebrities like New York Yankees pitching great Whitey Ford, right.
The goal, according to Bill Austin, Starkey's founder and CEO, is to reach 1 million hearing-impaired adults and children this decade, providing each of them with their own hearing devices.
"We will definitely meet that goal," he told AOL News. "We are averaging more than 100,000 hearing aids a year."
Because the event is in Dallas and it is Super Bowl week, Austin was joined by celebrities such as "American Idol" winner Jordin Sparks and top NFL stars such as Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson, Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald and Cincinnati Bengals defensive back Roy Williams.
For Williams, events like these are truly awe-inspiring.
"It's amazing to be part of a child hearing for the first time, and Starkey is doing an incredible thing by allowing myself and other athletes to be part of the children receiving their very own custom-made hearing devices," Williams said.
He also thinks having the event in Dallas during the biggest sporting event of the year is excellent timing.
He also thinks having the event in Dallas during the biggest sporting event of the year is excellent timing.
"It's so important that hearing loss receive the attention it deserves," he said. "The lack of access to a hearing aid is keeping many of the hearing-impaired, including children, from reaching their potential in life.
"The Super Bowl already receives so much attention from the media and the public that it's the perfect time to leverage news like this in a positive way," Williams said.
Although it's common to have NFL players appear at charity events during Super Bowl week, Williams and Fitzgerald are committed to the Super Bowl Hearing Mission beyond this week.
"I am proud of how the football community has come together to lend support to this great cause," Williams said. "In fact, next month there will be a special Starkey Hearing Foundation mission to Africa with myself and more than two dozen NFL players. We are all so excited about these opportunities."
To be fair, no one may be more excited than Austin, who has been doing the Hearing Mission for nearly 30 years and has been intent on helping hearing-impaired people since he first considered becoming a doctor back in college.
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"You know, 85 percent of what children learn comes through their ears," he said. "It's the main conduit for how we interact with the world. Ten percent of people have problems with their hearing, but people don't admit it."It doesn't get the attention of other problems because it's not death-causing, but when we give someone their first hearing aid, we give them their life," he said. "There is nothing like a child who can hear for the first time because of your hearing aid and then you teach them to use their voice to say 'Mama.'"
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