Utah Boy Scout Troop Cycles 314 Miles, Raising Awareness of Cochlear Implants

CENTENNIAL, Colo., June 7, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Cochlear Americas, the world's leading implantable hearing solutions company, announced today that it will support Utah-based Boy Scouts of America Varsity Team 770 in its 314 mile trek across the state of Utah to help raise awareness of cochlear implants.

Troop member Jaden Paxton – 14 years old – is leading the charge to raise awareness of cochlear implant technology, stepping up on behalf of his younger brother, Chance, who went deaf at one year old. After trying hearing aids, Chance received his first cochlear implant at 6 years old and his second one shortly thereafter.

"I've seen how much Chance's cochlear implants have helped him be a normal, everyday kid, not limited by his deafness," said Jaden Paxton. "By raising awareness, the more people that hear about cochlear implants, and that they really work, the more people can benefit from them."

After training for three months, Varsity Team 770 will set out on its summer camp adventure, which will be a 314 mile journey spanning the course of four days. The ride will begin in Pleasant Grove, UT on June 11th and will end at Lake Powell in Bullfrog, UT on June 14th. The 24-man team will wear Cochlear cycling shirts to help raise awareness of advanced treatments for hearing loss.

"We are excited to support Jaden and his Boy Scout troop in their efforts to raise awareness of cochlear implants," said Chris Smith, President of Cochlear Americas. "What these children are doing is truly monumental given the effect of hearing loss in the United States and the fact that there are millions of people looking for an alternative solution to hearing aids."

Hearing loss is the third-most common physical condition in the United States (after arthritis and heart disease).(1) Approximately 1.2 million people with hearing loss are candidates for cochlear implants, yet fewer than 6 percent have been treated.(2,3)

About Cochlear Implants

Cochlear implants are a proven medical option for children as young as 12 months old with profound hearing loss in both ears and for individuals who are two years or older with severe-to-profound hearing loss in both ears who obtain little or no benefit from hearing aids. They are electronic devices, which bypass damaged hair cells in the inner ear, or cochlea, and stimulate the hearing nerve directly.

About Cochlear

Cochlear is the world leader in advanced hearing technologies. Since launching the first multichannel cochlear implant system 30 years ago, Cochlear Limited and its U.S. headquarters have brought the miracle of sound to more than 250,000 people with hearing loss across the globe. For more information about Cochlear Americas products, please visit www.cochlearamericas.com.

(1) Hearing Loss Association of America. Retrieved from: http://www.hearingloss.org/content/basic-facts-about-hearing-loss. Accessed June 5, 2012.

(2) Blanchfield, B.B., et. al. (2001). The severely to profoundly hearing-impaired population in the United States: Prevalence estimates and demographics. JAAA. 12, 183-189.

(3) Internal Cochlear™ data on file (June, 2009)

SOURCE Cochlear Americas