Southern California Fires Bring Personal Loss, Highlight Disaster Preparedness for People with Hearing Loss

HLAA Los Angeles Chapter Community and Corporate Partners Respond

Since January 7, the nation has watched in horror as residents and firefighters in southern California continue to battle raging wildfires. As news outlets have reported, two major fires, in the Pacific Palisades and Altadena areas of Los Angeles, have killed at least 28 people and destroyed more than 15,000 structures over more than 60 square miles.

We’ve all seen the heartbreaking images of desperate people fleeing the flames, then returning to piles of ashes where their homes or businesses once stood. Even as onlookers, we feel a sense of vulnerability watching the L.A. fires rip out-of-control through entire communities.

A destroyed building on the Palisades Charter High School campus. (Los Angeles Times)

Originally an L.A. native, I now live a safe distance away, in Oceanside, California. Feeling helpless, I was shocked to see one of my childhood neighborhoods decimated, with many beloved parks, shops and buildings simply gone. My high school in 10th grade, now called Palisades Charter High, was nearly destroyed, and the list of classmates, friends and their families who have lost their homes is growing longer each day. Even two weeks later, the sheer scale of this devastation remains incomprehensible to me and so many others.

As a person with severe hearing loss, I felt another level of terror watching the disaster unfold. I maintain close ties with the Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA) L.A. Chapter, where I’ve been a member for nearly 10 years. For the past two years, I’ve worked for the HLAA national office, along with another L.A. Chapter member, Tim Browning, who thankfully is also safe. As is common with HLAA Chapters across the country, members bond closely through our shared hearing loss experience, advocacy and events.

Along with coverage of the destruction came accounts of people fleeing without their hearing aid chargers, lost or damaged equipment, or forgotten components of the devices—hearing aids and cochlear implants (CIs)—that connect us with the world. These were more than stories in the news to Tim and me—these were people in the hearing loss community, including our friends and fellow chapter members, and we felt desperate to help.

Barry and Kimberly Hope-Levine pose in front of their newly purchased house in Altadena, CA, November 2024. (The same home is pictured at top, following the Eaton Fire.)

We shared information, resources and tips to help people with hearing loss in the fires, through our national newsletter and social media channels. Stories came in, including this one from Barry Alan Levine, who commented when he came across an HLAA Instagram post:

“My wife and I got married in October. One month later we bought and moved into what we whole-heartedly believed would be our Altadena ‘forever home’. A mere six and a half weeks later, it burned to the ground. We left in such a panic as the flames raged down the mountainside visible from our front door, we took virtually nothing with us. Just our cat, our passports and in my case, two pairs of hearing aids.”

HLAA Los Angeles Chapter Provides Support

The ruined home of two HLAA L.A. members in Altadena.

The HLAA L.A. Chapter Steering Committee, headed by President Wendi Washington, reached out to check in with local members on social media. “We learned that several chapter members or their families lost homes in both fires, and many have been displaced,” she says. “So, we quickly pivoted to do everything possible to help people with hearing loss affected by the fires. We donated funds to a married couple who are both U.S. Army veterans and longtime chapter members whose home burned down, and we’ve changed the focus of our monthly meeting this Saturday to be an open discussion for people who may just need to talk and share their fears and experiences. We know firsthand that many of us may be more vulnerable during such disasters. This has been a really difficult time, but I’m proud of our community for coming together with so much support, which is really the one thing we do best.”

Dr. Ray Goldsworthy, who lost his home in the Eaton Fire in Altadena, represents gold sponsor USC Caruso Department of Otolaryngology at the 2024 Long Beach Walk4Hearing.

The chapter is compiling a list of local resources and sharing information provided by the national office from hearing equipment manufacturers who are providing support to fire victims on its website.

Chapter member Raymond Goldsworthy, Ph.D., a USC professor who wears a cochlear implant and sponsored the 2024 Long Beach Walk4Hearing, says about the loss of his home, “Aside from the immediate shock and devastation, the worst part of this has been the anxiety of loss on the community scale. My daughter’s school also burnt down as did pretty much my entire neighborhood. More than losing a house, we’ve lost our home and community. Yet, we’re uplifted by the incredible support we’ve received from our personal and professional communities, including HLAA, which plants seeds of hope and resilience for the renewal process to follow.”

Preparing for Disasters with Hearing Loss

The International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction published a study last year that found people who are deaf or have hearing loss are at greater risk in emergency situations. A helpful lesson from this disaster, as well as others like Hurricane Helene’s flooding of Asheville, NC, and the now more commonly occurring disasters across the nation, is the need to prepare, especially for people with hearing loss and other disabilities. Because we may face additional challenges, having a plan in place is key.

Hearing Aid and Cochlear Implant Manufacturers Help Fire Victims with Missing Equipment

Many hearing aid and cochlear implant manufacturers, as well as audiologists and hearing aid specialists, are standing by to help replace missing devices and related items; some free of charge. Anyone evacuated from the L.A. fires without critical hearing equipment should contact their hearing care professional (HCP) immediately. If they are unable to help, reach out directly to these companies. HLAA Hear for Life corporate partners Starkey, ReSound, MED-EL and Cochlear are among the manufacturers offering support to disaster victims for damaged or lost equipment.

Starkey

• Starkey offers to replace theirs or any brand of hearing aids at no charge to L.A. fire or Hurricane Helene victims. Reach out to your HCP or email StarkeyCares@starkey.com.

ReSound

• ReSound will repair/replace damaged or lost hearing aids free of charge, waiving all fees and foregoing claim paperwork, for their patients in the affected areas. Contact your HCP, email consumerhelp@gnresound.com or call 888.735.4327.

Cochlear

• Cochlear Americas is committed to supporting recipients who lost CI equipment in the fires. Contact their ProCare service team at customer@cochlear.com or call 800.483.3123.

MED-EL

• MED-EL provides 24/7/365 customer service support for troubleshooting, orders and warranty replacement services. Email us@medel.com or call 866.633.3524.

Advanced Bionics

• Advanced Bionics is replacing core cochlear implant components lost in the fires. Contact customerservice@advancedbionics.com.

Phonak

• Phonak devices and accessories lost will be replaced at no charge. Contact your HCP or call the consumer hotline: 800.679.4871.

Signia

• Signia will replace hearing aids at no cost to patients. Your audiologist can contact their Signia representative for assistance at: 800.766.4500.

Widex

• Widex devices will be replaced under the “disaster relief loss/damage policy.” Ask your HCP to contact their Widex representative.

Oticon

• Oticon will replace lost or damaged hearing aids that are up to three years old at no cost to the patient. To request support, please ask your audiologist to complete a “Disaster Relief Claim Form” and email it to TransactionalExcellence@oticon.com.

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If you or someone you know has a hearing loss, visit hearingloss.org for resources. Find a local chapter or Walk4Hearing near you. For questions, contact HLAA at inquiries@hearingloss.org.