The Gift of Hearing Foundation is a 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation initially dedicated to increasing access to cochlear implant (CI) surgery and services for those who have been identified as candidates for this technology.

We accomplish this mission by eliminating the two main barriers to access: cost and awareness of the technology. Although cost is influenced by a number of factors, by applying support to the areas that have not been addressed by other groups or foundations, or that need additional resources, we will ultimately lower costs to the CI patient, and in some cases provide assistance where no other options exist.

Due to the relative novelty of the CI technology and the limited number of medical centers that provide surgery and support, awareness is another key factor to access. The Foundation uses its network to help address this facet by supporting education of both the medical and lay-person arenas and creating an awareness of the needs of CI users. As with the cost barrier, the Foundation seeks to find the areas of awareness that are not being addressed by other organizations or foundations or that need additional support and apply resources to those areas. The Foundation also keeps abreast of areas of research that can impact both the cost and awareness factors and apply funding accordingly within our means.