Site Last Updated: May 21, 2007    

The Alabama Ear Institute (AEI) is a 501 (c) (3), public, not-for-profit foundation that was founded in 1991 in Birmingham, Alabama. AEI is dedicated to touching and improving the lives of children, adults and their families who are deaf or hard of hearing. We have particularly focused on the needs of newborn children and infants who are born with hearing loss and easing the journey they and their families take down an unfamiliar road to a successful outcome.

The number of Americans affected by hearing loss today exceeds 28 million. Each year 3-4 babies of every 1000 newborn babies have some degree of hearing loss. Unfortunately, statistics indicate that when the degree of childhood hearing loss is severe or profound, it is not identified until after 2 years of age and the delay in identification is even greater when the hearing loss is mild or occurs in only one ear. Many young children with hearing loss fail to develop appropriate listening and communication skills. Upon entering school they lag behind their peers and much time and attention is needed just to catch up to grade level. Serve to profoundly deafened children in many instances graduate from our high schools reading at a third or fourth grade level, the average age level being 3.6 months. This accounts for many subsequent problems with unemployment, under employment, further education, and social development in the community. Additionally, as much as 30% of children with hearing loss develop it between the ages of 2-5 years of age, so constant vigilance is necessary to be able to identify he loss as early as possible so that appropriate intervention and treatment measures may be institute. Older individuals acquire hearing loss or balance problems and experience a variety of difficulties in adjusting and coping vocationally, educationally, and socially as well.

The Alabama Ear Institute, through its programs of education, research, and service, hopes to alter the age of hearing loss identification, bring about improved intervention methods, and better serve individuals with hearing loss.

Our mission is to touch and improve the lives of children and their families, as well as adults, who are affected by hearing loss or deafness, by way of education, research, and family-centered, culturally-competent service programs.

We also serve as an advocate for those affected with hearing loss by providing the most complete and updated informational resources available for understanding and study of the topic, and, remain active in the process of public policy development in regard to issues surrounding deafness.