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New York Yankees Help Starkey Hearing Foundation Deliver the Gift of Hearing to New York Area Children and Adults in Need

NEW YORK, June 28, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- For the second year in a row the New York Yankees have stepped up to the plate to help the Starkey Hearing Foundation deliver the gift of hearing to more than 175 hearing-impaired children and adults from the New York City area. The Starkey Hearing Foundation New York Yankees Hearing Mission was held today at Yankee Stadium and included a special visit by New York Yankees Pitcher CC Sabathia, Manager Joe Girardi and former Yankees pitcher and coach, Mel Stottlemyre, who were present to witness the moment some of the patients could hear for the very first time.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110628/NY27652-a)

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110628/NY27652-b)

Working alongside a team of Starkey Hearing Foundation audiologists and staff to assist in the hearing aid fittings of the recipients, who ranged in age from four to 80, were Sabathia, Girardi and Stottlemyre. Each was paired with at least one recipient during the mission, sharing the emotion with parents as their children were able to hear their voices for the first time thanks to their new, custom-made, digital hearing aid courtesy of the Starkey Hearing Foundation. Patients receiving hearing aids hailed from all five boroughs and Long Island. In one case, a 14-year-old boy from Brooklyn who was both deaf and blind was able to hear for the first time; while two mothers and daughters also each received their first hearing devices.

In addition to being fitted with their own custom-made, digital hearing aid, each recipient's hearing device was programmed for optimal hearing. They were also provided with a generous supply of batteries, as well as instruction and counseling on how to care for their new device, all courtesy of the Starkey Hearing Foundation.

"The Starkey Hearing Foundation's mission is to bring the gift of hearing to those in need that they may be able to realize their full potential," said Bill Austin, Chief Executive Officer of Starkey Laboratories and Founder of the Starkey Hearing Foundation. "We thank the New York Yankees organization and our New York mission partners and volunteers in helping us make a difference in a child's quality of life and future just by opening them up to a new world of sound."

The Starkey Hearing Foundation New York Yankees Hearing Mission is one of dozens of missions conducted each year by the Foundation both domestically and internationally. Hearing missions are the primary way the Starkey Hearing Foundation realizes its goal so the world may hear. In turn, the Foundation has set a target of reaching 1,000,000 individuals in need by the end of this decade.

According to the Starkey Hearing Foundation, hearing loss is pervasive - affecting 34 million Americans - or one in 10. Yet, with the help of a hearing device, hearing loss can often be corrected in a majority cases, giving an individual the opportunity to better connect with their family, the community and the world around them.

To download a b-roll package from the Starkey Hearing Foundation New York Yankees Hearing Mission, please visit: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/33776874/Starkey%20Foundation%20Final.mov

About The Starkey Hearing Foundation

The Starkey Hearing Foundation is striving to change the social consciousness of hearing and hearing loss prevention. Hearing loss affects one in 10 Americans, and 70 million children worldwide, yet many do not have access to the hearing devices that can help correct that disability. The Foundation now delivers approximately 100,000 hearing aids annually through hearing missions in countries stretching from the U.S. to Vietnam. Since 2000, the Foundation has supplied more than 500,000 hearing aids to people in need and is striving to achieve its goal of distributing over one million free hearing aids in this decade. In addition to giving the gift of hearing, the Foundation also works diligently to promote 'safe hearing' through two unique programs - the recently launched Listen Carefully campaign, aimed at preventing hearing loss among teens and young people; and the Sound Matters(TM) program, which with the help of partners such as Best Buy, the GRAMMY Foundation and others within the music and entertainment industry, seeks to raise social awareness of healthy hearing, prevention of hearing damage, and regular hearing check-ups. For more information on the Starkey Hearing Foundation, visit www.starkeyhearingfoundation.org.

    Contact:            Rosalie Hagel / Zlata Faerman
                        M. Silver Associates Inc.
                        954-765-3636
                        Rosalie@msilver-pr.com
                        zlata@msilver-pr.com

SOURCE Starkey Hearing Foundation