Story written by Molly Krygowski

The Ohio State University chapter of the Student Academy of Audiology (SAA) descended upon Capitol Hill, May 28-31, to lobby on behalf of audiology issues. Students were accompanied by the governmental relations staff of the American Academy of Audiology, Kate Thomas and Marilyn Richmond; and Tanya Tolpegin, executive director of the American Academy of Audiology.

The visit marked the third annual student-directed advocacy trip for Ohio State SAA. The Ohio State chapter is the first to embark on an advocacy trip to Capitol Hill, and since then, multiple SAA chapters have taken up the charge to coordinate trips of this nature. The trip is funded through student fundraisers and generous donations from Ohio State’s Department of Speech and Hearing.

“Advocating on Capitol Hill was an indescribable experience,” said audiology student Caitlin Donovan of her first time on the Hill. 

“There is a certain rush you feel when discussing issues that you’re passionate about with our nation’s policy makers.”

During their initial visit to Capitol Hill in February 2013, Ohio State SAA met with the legislative staff of Senator Rob Portman (D-OH), Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Congresswoman Joyce Beatty (D-OH). During those meetings, students asked for sponsorship of legislation that would permit direct access to audiology services for Medicare recipients. One year later, in February 2014, Congressman Jim McDermott (D-WA) and Senator Brown introduced the Access to Hearing Healthcare Act of 2014 (H.R. 4035/S.2046) in the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate, respectively.

The Ohio State University SAA returned to Capitol Hill in May 2014 with a new goal in mind: to gather bi-partisan co-sponsor support of both H.R. 4035 and S. 2046. The group met with the legislative staff of Senator Portman, Congresswoman Beatty and Congressmen Renacci (R-OH), Tiberi (R-OH), Latta (R-OH), Jordan (R-OH) and Wenstrup (R-OH).

During this most recent trip, seven members of Ohio State SAA met with the legislative staff of Senator Portman, Senator Brown, Congresswomen Beatty and Congressmen Renacci, Stivers (R-OH), Latta and Jordan. The students asked for support of the Hearing Aid Tax Credit Act (H.R. 1882/S. 315), which would provide a tax credit of $500 towards the purchase of a hearing aid, available every five years, and the Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) Act of 2015 (H.R. 1344), which will reauthorize EHDI programs over the next five years and make several key improvements to current practices. Finally, students asked legislators to oppose the Veterans’ Access to Hearing Health Act of 2014 (H.R. 353)/Veterans Hearing Aid Access and Assistance Act (S. 564), which grants the Department of Veterans Affairs the authority to hire hearing aid specialists, increasing their scope of practice.

Spenser Miller, a third-year audiology student was among the group of students who traveled to D.C.

“It was a great opportunity to discuss these important issues with our elected officials,” Miller said. “This trip really demonstrated the impact Ohio State Students can have when they work together.”

In the week following Ohio State SAA's trip, two Ohio legislators signaled their commitment to the students' causes. Congresswoman Beatty signed on as a co-sponsor to the Hearing Aid Tax Credit Act and Congressman Stivers is co-sponsoring the Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) Act of 2015.

“The Ohio State Student Academy of Audiology is proud to have played a role in garnering support for these important pieces of legislation over the past three years,” said Molly Krygowski, fourth-year audiology student.

“We will continue to return to Capitol Hill to support these issues as students and future professionals.”