Advocacy Milestones

From ADA to OTC and Beyond

Since 1979, HLAA has strongly advocated for legislation to ensure communications accessibility and anti-discrimination for people with hearing loss. This timeline includes many significant disability laws that our organization and community helped to usher in.

1973

• The Rehabilitation Act protects people with disabilities in federally funded programs, including schools, hospitals, welfare and government employment (Section 504).
• The U.S. Access Board was created as an independent federal agency promoting equality for people with disabilities through accessible design and developing accessibility standards.

1979

• Hearing Loss of America (HLAA) founded by Howard E. “Rocky” Stone, originally as Self-Help for Hard of Hearing People, Inc. (SHHH).

1986

• The Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA) prohibits discrimination against and mandates accessible services for airline passengers with disabilities.

1988

• The National Institutes of Health (NIH) added a new institute, the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), dedicated to research for treatments of hearing loss and other conditions. HLAA was among the organizations that advocated for this.
• Hearing Aid Compatibility (HAC) Act requires the use of technical standards to ensure wireline telephone compatibility with hearing aids, with subsequent updates for evolving technology (see below).
• The Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988 (FHAA) included people with disabilities as a protected group against discrimination in housing.

1990

• Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) – HLAA advocated for key accessible communications provisions in this landmark legislation that protects people with disabilities from discrimination in many areas of public life, employment and transportation.
• The Decoder Circuitry Act requires all televisions 13” or larger to have built-in captioning after July 1993. HLAA actively supported this legislation.

1996

• Telecommunications Act of 1996 – HLAA joined with other organizations to ensure language requiring that services and equipment be accessible to people with disabilities.

2000

• Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) Act – Established important programs across the United States that diagnose infants and children with hearing loss through screenings and provide early intervention services. HLAA community members actively advocated for this program nationally and in states across the country.

2003

• HLAA helped achieve a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) ruling that required an increasing percentage of wireless phones to be hearing aid compatible (HAC).

2010

• The 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act (CVAA) updated federal communications law to increase the access of persons with disabilities to modern technology, such as digital, broadband and mobile communications.
• The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) issued the “2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design” that included expanded coverage for assistive listening systems and required hearing aid compatible receivers in public places.

2016

• For the first time, the FCC establishes a commitment to ensure that telephones achieve 100% hearing aid compatibility (HAC).

2017

• The Over-the-Counter Hearing Aid Act designates a new category of hearing devices sold over the counter to adults with mild to moderate hearing loss.

2022

• The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) releases its final rules on over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids, based in part on comments from HLAA. The first devices are introduced to the market in October.
• HAC for Wireless Phones – HLAA collaborated with cellphone manufacturers, service providers, researchers, the hearing aid industry and other consumer groups on an HAC Task Force Report filed with the FCC to ensure hearing aid compatibility for all cellphones.

2024

• The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Reauthorization Act of 2024 is signed into law, including key safety and communication provisions for air travelers with hearing loss and other disabilities supported by HLAA and other organizations.
• The FCC finalizes its rule making captioning display settings “readily accessible” and customizable on televisions and video programming within two years of publication in the Federal Register.
• HLAA worked with the FCC to ensure captioning, among other accommodations, was included in its interoperable videoconferencing platforms rule, adopted in September.
• In October, the FCC released its final rule to make 100% of cellphones hearing aid compatible (HAC), after decades of advocacy by HLAA and other disability organizations.