NEW GERMAN HEARING ASSOCIATION FOUNDED
Deutscher Hörverband gegründet: „Es ist ein historischer Moment!“
German Hearing Association founded:
“It’s a historic moment!”
The German Association of the Hard of Hearing (DSB) and the German Cochlear Implant Society (DCIG) are joining forces in the German Hearing Association. On 10 December 2022, the two self-help associations met together with state and regional associations as well as other guests for the successful founding meeting in Frankfurt am Main.
The Board of the new organisation consists of Dr. Roland Zeh for the DCIG, Dr. Matthias Müller for the DSB, Susanne Schmidt and Pascal Thomann. Dr. Harald Seidler, President of the DSB until 2019 and member of both associations, was elected Chairman of the Board. Dr Seidler, a medical professional and CI user, is the Vice Chair of CIICA.
The DCIG and the DSB have been working together for years and pursue the same goals: self-help work and political advocacy for hearing-impaired people who are provided with hearing aids. With immediate effect, both speak with one voice with the German Hearing Association. “We already had cooperation agreements in the past, but they were not very lived,” said the new CEO Dr. Harald Seidler. “Now we have the opportunity to really achieve something. The time is ripe. It’s a historic moment!”
“We want to expand counselling, expand campaigns, initiate prevention and shake up the effects of poor or untreated hearing loss. And we want to accompany the care process,” said Dr. Seidler after his election. “We have these great hearing aids and cochlear implants, but we also have a problem: namely, that these great offers are not always properly implemented, adapted and rehabilitated. We know there are a lot of poorly served people out there,” Dr. Seidler said.
In addition, only those who understand the soul of the hearing impaired can work successfully with them. This makes the integration of self-help all the more important. “Self-awareness is at least as important as professional competence.”
Therefore, one of the basic demands of the German Hearing Association is:
“Never again without us about us. We need to be involved in the decision-making process.”
Founding members of the German Hearing Association are:
Deutsche Cochlea Implantat Gesellschaft e.V.
Deutscher Schwerhörigenbund e. V.
sowie folgende Landes- und Regionalverbände:
- Cochlea Implantat Verband Baden-Württemberg e. V.
- Cochlear Implant Verband Hessen-Rhein-Main e. V.
- Cochlea Implantat Verband Nord e. V.
- Deutscher Schwerhörigenbund – Landesverband Brandenburg e. V.
- Deutscher Schwerhörigenbund Landesverband Niedersachsen e. V.
- Deutscher Schwerhörigenbund – Landesverband Nordrhein-Westfalen e. V.
- Deutscher Schwerhörigenbund Landesverband Saarland der Schwerhörigen und Ertaubten e. V.
- Landesverband Bayern der Schwerhörigen und Ertaubten e. V.
- Landesverband Hamburg für Schwerhörige und Spätertaubte im Deutschen Schwerhörigenbund e. V.
- Landesverband der Schwerhörigen und Ertaubten Baden-Württemberg e. V.
- Landesverband der Schwerhörigen und Ertaubten Sachsen e. V.
- Schwerhörigen-Verein Berlin e. V.
Kontakt:
Deutsche Cochlea Implantat Gesellschaft e. V. Deutscher Schwerhörigenbund e. V.
Marie-Curie-Str. 5 Sophie-Charlotten-Str. 23A
79100 Freiburg 14059 Berlin
info@dcig.de dsb@schwerhoerigennetz.de
11 December 2022