Agency update: Sunshine Cottage

For parents of a young child with hearing loss, their major concern is communication. How can children learn to speak if they can’t hear what others say? 

Sunshine Cottage School for Deaf Children focuses on enriching lives and improving listening, language and speech, and a big part of that is fitting students with the proper hearing devices. That’s where Impact San Antonio comes in.  

Sunshine Cottage received a 2020 High Impact Grant to purchase new, state-of-the-art hearing technology to expand their Hearing Aid Loaner Program, which allows children to “try out” devices for a time before deciding whether to buy them.  

“Hearing equipment can range from $1,800 to $6,000,” said Miriam Elizondo, director of development for Sunshine Cottage. “A child with hearing loss must have immediate and consistent access to sound. Because a child’s hearing can change, we prefer they borrow hearing aids until their hearing loss becomes more stable. Then the parent can purchase a personal hearing device that is most beneficial for the child. 

“Other reasons a child would borrow hearing equipment would be if their equipment needs repair or they are waiting for surgery. Every child in our program with a hearing loss has utilized the Hearing Aid Loaner Program.” 

Last year, 295 children participated in the loaner program. The school has 489 hearing devices, 45 of which were funded by the Impact SA grant, Elizondo said.  

Covid has not had a major impact on the loaner program, she said. “There have been a few slight delays of bigger pieces of equipment due to the pandemic, but we have not experienced other delays.” 

The school, which was founded by Dela White in 1947, focuses on helping children learn through a stimulating environment, targeted education and the use of hearing devices. But even new, up-to-date devices still need to be upgraded every few years, Elizondo said.  

“Most children will upgrade the technology but stay with the same hearing equipment,” she explained. “Because hearing aids are compared to computers, children’s listening devices need to be upgraded every three to five years.”  

Parents express gratitude for the opportunity to test equipment before buying it, Elizondo said.  

Parent Lori L. said: “The Hearing Aid Loaner Program helped us make a decision for our daughter that (will affect) her for the rest of her life.”