Until Everyone Hears the Music

When Lexi was diagnosed as being deaf, 14 months of tirelessly asking for answers had gone by. Lexi had been missed. No newborn hearing screening, repeated trips to the pediatrician who passed it off as “she’s fine. She heard the noise in the hallway. Some kids don’t talk until 18 months of age.” Finally, Lexi’s mom Jaime received the referral to Vanderbilt and learned Lexi was profoundly deaf.

Fortunately, Jaime worked for Vanderbilt University in Development at the time. She would go back and forth at lunch to Lexi’s therapy sessions as she attended Mama Lere Hearing School. However, Jaime’s heart was so burdened even though she was observing a miracle in the making. “What about other children who are missed? What happens in less fortunate areas of our country?”

The statistics were astounding. Enter Songs for Sound (SFS). Jaime’s heartache of when Lexi squirmed to lullabies and was told she COULD hear, to the moment Jaime sang those same lullabies into Lexi’s cochlear implant processor mics until her head fell onto her mom’s shoulder when Jaime KNEW she could hear.

What began as an awareness and fundraising event charity grew to a nationwide mission with global goals. Now, Songs For Sound has five programs:

The Hear the Music Project
Hear the Music Kids Camp
International Missions – focus on Jamaica
Jace Chapman Family Fund
Hear the Music Benefit Concerts
(Coming Soon) The Sound Network

To date, Songs for Sounds has provided over 19,000 free hearing screenings also providing packets of electronic and print information tailored to hearing levels. SFS has toured over 600 events nationwide and visited over 25 states. They have also provided a free camp for 64 families and served 75 kids and staff at the Jamaica Christian School for the Deaf.