About Us

At Hearing First, we want all children to have the opportunity to take advantage of access to sound – to power their potential to be whatever they want to be.

Ears are the doorway to the brain and hearing is the foundational building block for children to listen and talk, become healthy readers, and do well in school. We know that early learning is critical to a child's language development and lifetime success. For children who are deaf or hard of hearing to have the same opportunities as their hearing peers and to capitalize on the early period for brain development, they must be able to take advantage of today's resources and technology to access sound.

Our mission is to help families ensure their child who is deaf or hard of hearing has opportunities to reach their full potential through listening and spoken language. We're here to support families through the critical early days and along their journey raising their child, whenever they have questions or just need to connect with someone.

Who We Are

Hearing First supports families and professionals to help children with hearing loss have the opportunity to take advantage of access to sound – a critical building block for future success. Hearing powers language, literacy, dreams, opportunities, and lifetime success. In short, hearing powers a child's potential.

At Hearing First, we want all children born in the United States to benefit from the availability of a newborn hearing screening, the advances in technology, and the early learning services in their communities to power their potential.

 

Our History

Oberkotter Foundation logoIn 2015, Hearing First launched as an initiative of the Oberkotter Foundation to help create a future with limitless opportunities for children who are deaf or hard of hearing—regardless of their hearing status, zip code, or economic circumstance.

The Oberkotter Foundation helps families ensure their children who are deaf or hard of hearing have opportunities to reach their full potential through Listening and Spoken Language (LSL). Since 1985, the Foundation has provided over $500 million in funding to improve listening, spoken language, and literacy outcomes for children with hearing loss and their families.

The Foundation is committed to advancing science and innovation that will improve access to quality audiological and LSL services for children with hearing loss so that they develop age-appropriate listening, talking, and literacy skills.

What We Believe

We believe in starting small and thinking big. We believe in little ones with big plans.

Plans to play ball or ride the yellow bus with their brothers and sisters. Plans to grow up to be doctors, coaches, gardeners, lawyers, singers, writers, teachers, and community leaders. Plans to be parents, mentors, dreamers, and doers.

We believe in a future where children who are deaf or hard of hearing have the potential to be whatever they want to be.

What We Do

Every parent needs to know the status of their baby's hearing first. The earlier a child with hearing loss is identified, amplified, and receiving help, the more opportunities that child will have. Period.

Hearing First helps caring adults support infants and toddlers who are deaf or hard of hearing to have the same listening, spoken language, and literacy opportunities as their hearing friends. For children with hearing loss, the first days, weeks, and months of life are critical.

We support families during this period and all along their journey raising their child. We're here for families when they need information, a resource, a connection with another family, or simply someone to tell them what to do next. We reach families through our community, our social platforms and, importantly, the professionals in their lives.

We equip professionals with the resources, community, and learning experiences they need to improve outcomes for children who are deaf or hard of hearing through listening and spoken language.

Join us and together, we will power children's potential to be whatever they and their families dream they will be.

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