Who We Are
League Firsts
1910 The League is born.
1914 The League hired its first social worker.
1922 An Education Clinic was started. The League initiated lectures on hearing conservation and deafness prevention.
1925 The League started the first Deafness Prevention Clinic to focus on hearing aid use, hearing conservation and deafness prevention.
1927 The first hearing survey was conducted by the League in the public schools of New York City. This detection program was later made mandatory by state legislation.
1930 A fund was established by the League to aid people of limited income to purchase hearing aids which has expanded and continues as an active service to this day.
1934 The League began giving city-wide hearing tests to school children.
1935 The League introduces a guidance clinic for children who are hearing-impaired.
1936 The League was instrumental in the passage of legislation mandating hearing testing of school children.
1937 The League initiated an experimental program of hearing and speech therapy for children under five, an innovative approach which is widely recognized.
1944 The League aided our soldiers with the dedication of the Veteran's Sounding Post. This program became the model for the Veteran's Administration.
1947 A foundation grant allowed the League to start an auditory training project. It was designed to teach children the most effective use of their hearing aids.
1950 The League organized a Parents Association for the purpose of educating parents on the problems of children who are hearing-impaired.
1959 A five-year study of non-peripheral (central nervous system) hearing disorders in children was undertaken by the League. This was supported by grants from foundations and individuals. A binaural hearing aid study (wearing hearing aids on both ears) was initiated to evaluate the benefits of binaural amplification.
1968 The first program in the nation for computer-based instruction of children who are deaf and hard of hearing was developed by the League. A foundation grant made possible the purchase of the "talking typewriter."
1969 The League was granted an operating certificate pursuant to article 28 of the Public Health Law for otological, speech therapy, audiology and psychological services.
1972 The League was the first to put a completely equipped Mobile Audiological Test Van on the streets of New York. More than 250,000 children and adults have had hearing screenings through the mobile community outreach program since its inception.
1974 The League was accredited in Audiology and Speech Pathology by the American Board of Examiners and the American-Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA). The League and Dr. Samuel Rosen conducted a study on the effectiveness of acupuncture for treating hearing impairment.
1975 The League began to dispense hearing aids for its patients on a not-for-profit basis.
1976 The League started to perform audiometric services for industry.
1977 The League became an accredited member of the International Association of Counseling Services, Inc.
1981 "Project Main Channel" the first preschool therapy program utilizing the verbo-tonal approach was instituted at the League.
1982 The Mental Health Services program of the League was approved as an outpatient clinic treatment program by the New York State Office of Mental Health.
1985 The New York League for the Hard of Hearing marks 75 years of service to over one million infants, children, and adults.
1990 The League established the first demonstration apartment implementing communication training within a simulated home environment. It also educates students and professionals in techniques for stimulating and eliciting language at home.
1991 advocates for better communication (a.b.c.) a volunteer consumer organization, is established to help fulfill the mandate of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
1991 Hasbro Cochlear Implant Training Institute (CITI). A national training institute and resource center was created for parents of children who have received the cochlear implant and for professionals working with this population.
1992 To reflect its national scope and mission, the League changes its name from New York League for the Hard of Hearing to League for the Hard of Hearing to reach out nationally to help people who are deaf and hard of hearing.
1992 Anti-Noise Campaign. A program designed to educate school children about the dangers of exposure to excessive noise in the environment was created. After testing in schools in New York and New Jersey, reaching over 40,000 students, the program has been expanded to include schools nationwide.
1993 Established the first Museum of Hearing in the Northeast.
1993 Created a mentoring program for secondary school for students with a hearing loss who are offered help in employment with hearing-impaired employees as role models.
1993 National Adult Cochlear Implant Rehabilitation Center (NACIRC) is founded. A national center for the rehabilitation of adults who have received a cochlear implant.
1995 The Center for Health Care Access (CHCA) is established. It helps to ensure accessibility in health care facilities for people who are hard of hearing, deaf, and deaf-blind in accomodation with the ADA.
1996 Through a generous foundation grant, the League establishes a formal program of Applied Research.
1996 Inaugurated the Tokimeki Livephone System - a custom fit wide area amplification system developed by Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corporation combining bone and air conduction - at Carnegie hall in 1996 in cooperation with the International Business Communications Council.
1996 Generous contributions from individuals enable the League to fully computerize its facilities and get onto the internet and world wide web to provide access to information on a global level.
1997 The Fund For New Technology (FNT) was initiated. The three components of the program: The Hearing Aid Center, The Assistive Devices Center and The Accessibility Center will provide the hard of hearing and deaf community access to the advanced technology that exists and new technology as it is developed. They will also a resource center for businesses to consult and receive training and assistance in making their companies in compliance with the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act).
1997 Cochlear Implant Support Group (CISG) was established to provide an open forum for anyone supportive of and interested in Cochlear Implants, or individuals who are considering a Cochlear Implant. It is the first of its kind in this field.
1997 Tinnitus Clinic - The League began a Tinnitus Clinic using an approach based on the highly successful habituation program developed at the University of Maryland.
1997 Bridging the Gap began. To promote non-traditional employment opportunities for deaf or hard of hearing individuals in retail, with training provided by the League's Career Development Department, deaf and hard of hearing people are hired to work in front-line positions at 11 Gap Stores in New York. Due to its huge success, the program has now evolved beyond the New York area.
1997 Real-time captioning (C.A.R.T) is instituted at all of the League's public meetings and events.
1997 The League and a.b.c. advocated successfully for Broadway and other professional theatrical performances to be open captioned, allowing deaf and hard of hearing people to enjoy the theater.
1998 Turning Points - An annual Workshop for Deaf or Hard of Hearing Adolescents who have been mainstreamed and communicate orally, and their Families, was inaugurated.
1998 Hearing Education for Family & Friends (HEFF): A free service was begun to help the families and friends of people who are deaf or hard of hearing better understand hearing loss; develop effective communication strategies; share and develop coping methods; and to educate them about the unique challenges people who are deaf or hard of hearing face.
1998 The Business Advisory Board is established to provide working professionals with hearing loss an opportunity to use their creative and business skills; networking opportunities that can be helpful to them and their companies; and provide a forum whereby they can exchange ideas relating to job market trends and opportunities for persons who are deaf or hard of hearing.
1999 The League began a study of the barriers to the delivery of HIV/AIDS primary care and to prevention education about HIV to deaf and hard of hearing people in New York State with a grant from the New York State Department of Health AIDS Institute.
2001 United Hearing and Deaf Services, Inc. in Broward County, Florida, merged with the League. The facility, now known as the League for the Hard of Hearing – Florida, allows us to bring our quality services to an even-wider population each year (26,000 in total).
2002 The League acquires an Auditory-Steady-State Response System (ASSR) - the newest and most advanced method of testing hearing in young infants.
2003 The League moves to new state-of-the-art facilities at 50 Broadway, New York, NY 10004.
2003 The League hosts a support group for people diagnosed with NF2 (Neurofibramotosis Type 2).
2005 The League launches Project PATH (Preschool Access to Hearing), which tests preschoolers across New York City for hearing loss.
