The McGuire’s team on site during a Habitat for Humanity “wall-raising”. From left, David Carr, Lisa Roselli, Andrea Ferrara and Frieda Toback.
CHARLOTTE, NC 4/7/2008 – A team of hearing specialists from Long Island company McGuire’s Hearing and Audiological Services recently demonstrated that hearing care professionals do indeed make an important difference. The McGuires team joined hearing care professionals from across the country who volunteered to help construct a Habitat for Humanity home in Charlotte, NC that will benefit a deserving family. The wall-raising for the Habitat home, sponsored by leading hearing device manufacturer Oticon, Inc., took place during the annual convention of the American Audiology Association in Charlotte.
McGuire’s representatives David Carr, Lisa Roselli, Frieda Toback, and Andrea Ferrara, joined dozens of others in helping construct the new home.
“It was exciting to see the amount of work that could be accomplished in such a short time with everyone pitching in,” said David Carr, owner of McGuire’s. “But nothing matched the excitement to know we could do this for a mother and her four children who are in need. For them, this was an important step on the way to finally having a home of their own.”
The McGuire’s team and other volunteers also used their time at the Habitat construction site to educate the general public about the importance of hearing protection. “As you can imagine, it gets pretty noisy with the hammering and drilling on the worksite and we wanted to use this opportunity to demonstrate the importance of hearing protection during construction or any noisy activity around the house, such as mowing the lawn or using a leaf blower,” Carr explained. “Over the course of the construction, we distributed hundreds of ear plugs and information on the importance of protecting your hearing.”
The team from McGuire’s pointed out that working around loud equipment, or even engaging in activities such as listening to an iPod with too loud a volume, can contribute to hearing loss. “Luckily, the advanced technology digital hearing solutions now available provide a range of features to enhance speech understanding,” Carr noted. “But an important part of our work as hearing care professionals is also helping people maintain their hearing health for as long as possible.”
Hearing loss is one of the most common health problems in the United States. It is estimated that over 28 million people, one in every ten Americans, has hearing loss. Hearing care professionals, like McGuire’s, provide a vital link to hearing health by evaluating hearing loss and helping individuals choose hearing solutions that suit their particular hearing loss.
“Helping this family was a great opportunity for us to give back to others,” noted Carr. “It also gave us the chance to educate others about hearing health, which is always on our radar screen,” he added.
McGuire’s Hearing and Audiological Services has offices in Riverhead, Southampton, Patchogue, Greenport and Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx. For more information on hearing health and hearing solutions, contact McGuire’s at 1-866-447-5115 or visit www.mcguireshearing.com.