About Hearing Rehabilitation Foundation

The major focus of the Hearing Rehabilitation Foundation (HRF) is to support people with hearing loss who have cochlear implants and hearing aids. Although these technologies have improved greatly over the past twenty years, many people with hearing loss still experience difficulties understanding speech.

HRF is a registered 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization established in 1996 to provide and promote speech communication training for adults and children with hearing loss.

HRF provides training to help people improve their speech perception skills and to maximize the information provided by their technology.

Management Board

HRF has an all-volunteer Board that draws together members with a wide variety of backgrounds.

A number of our Board members have significant hearing loss, and their personal experiences and insights contribute greatly in planning HRF activities.

Several members have extensive experience working in academic institutions, while others bring a wealth of personal experience working with people with hearing loss.

Board Members

Kathy Cienkowski Peggy Ellertsen Martha Anne Ellis Betty Hauck
Myles Kessler Harry Levitt Carol Menton Joe Montano
Mike Reynolds Howard Samuels Ted Simmons Tad Zelski

Geoff Plant volunteers as Executive Director and also serves as President.

Geoff has been a therapist for adults with hearing loss since 1974, first in his native Australia, and in the U.S. since 1993. He was originally trained as a teacher of the deaf , and on occasion still works on the development of speech and listening skills with children with hearing loss. He founded the Hearing Rehabilitation Foundation in 1996.  

Helping People Hear for Over 20 Years

  • Individual training sessions aimed at improving the speech understanding skills of people with hearing loss.
  • Testing and training resources that are now used worldwide. Our training courses for therapists and teachers provide instruction in how to use these materials.
  • HRF hosts the International Adult Aural Rehabilitation Conference every two years. This meeting draws participants from around the world to discuss research and practices in this important area. We have hosted conferences since 2001.
  • Music is often a disappointment for adults with cochlear implants. The HRF believes that music is an important part of our “hearing lives” and provides workshops to improve and encourage music listening.
  • We host live music events for adults with cochlear implants.
  • Geoff Plant, Executive Director, is a regular presenter at professional conferences and consumer forums in the US and internationally.
  • The results of research conducted at HRF have been published in peer-reviewed journals. 

Funding

HRF depends upon donations to support its work. If you would like to contribute please visit Support Us so we can continue to provide these important services.