A regional nonprofit organization dedicated to helping children impacted by hearing loss will soon be coming to Elizabethton to provide free pediatric hearing screenings for children.

Waiting To Hear will provide the free hearing screenings on Tuesday, May 29, from noon until 6 p.m. at the TLC Community Center, located at 145 Judge Don Lewis Boulevard.

Shannon and Sherry Ball founded Waiting To Hear four years ago after their daughter Sarah lost her hearing at the age of two and received bilateral cochlear implants.

“At the time there were almost no resources for newly diagnosed deaf children in our area, and the information from may physicians was severely outdated,” Shannon Ball said. “Our outcome wouldn’t have been so positive without some serious Divine intervention. We met a family a few days after Sarah was diagnosed who took us under their wing and guided us on a path back to the hearing world. My wife and I wanted to be able to repay the gift by helping other kids and… Waiting To Hear was born.”

Waiting To Hear is entirely volunteer based. The organization began with hosting awareness events and sponsoring East Tennessee State University’s Language Enrichment Camp for children with hearing loss which is held each June at the Nave Center in Elizabethton.

“Then we noticed an increasing trend of insurance companies refusing to cover pediatric hearing aids,” Ball said. “So we started a hearing aid program that provides free aids to uninsured/underinsured kids, also ran out of the Nave Center.”

Waiting To Hear received the Jeff Byrd Grant from Speedway Children’s Charities in November, which is allowing the organization to create a mobile hearing clinic that they will use to provide free screenings at local nonprofits, schools, churches, businesses, festivals, and events.

“Our goal is to identify kids with hearing loss in rural areas that typically slip through the cracks and provide them with access to meaningful sound,” Ball said. “In short, we want to make sure no child is ‘waiting to hear’ due to a lack of resources, or insurance denials.”

For this event, Waiting To Hear is partnering with the TLC Community Center.

The screenings are free for any child under age 18, according to TLC Community Center Director Angie Odom.

“They don’t need to bring any proof of income or anything. They just need to bring their child with them,” Odom said. “They can call and schedule an appointment if they wish or they can just drop in.” Those wishing to make an appointment can do so by calling 423-895-8601.

“It’s an amazing service,” Odom said of Waiting To Hear. “They are able to provide things for kids who need it, and they have been able to help change kids lives.”

Ball said the organization is also currently working on a couple of other local projects.

One is their annual “Breaking the SOUND Barrier” conference on pediatric hearing loss. The event will be held in September here in the Tri-Cities and will bring together world leaders in the field of pediatric hearing loss.

Also in September, Waiting To Hear will host their first Camp H.E.A.R. (Hearing, Empowerment & Adventure Retreat) at Doe River Gorge. The Free camp weekend getaway will be for kids with hearing loss and their families. The kids get to experience a traditional summer camp supervised by hearing professionals familiar with their technology while their families get to network and attend seminars on advocacy and educational issues.