--- title: HR 181. Georgia Hearing Day at the state capitol; February 10, 2025; recognize collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hr181 cite_as: HR 181, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr181 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr181.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr181/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/69994 date: 2025-02-05 status: passed corpus_version: bills-2026-09-13 license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice. up: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026.md previous: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr180.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr182.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 131 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr181.md?full=1 bill_number: HR 181 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: House bill_type: resolution status_date: 2025-02-05 last_action: House Read and Adopted sponsors: - Bill Yearta - Houston Gaines - Robert Dickey - Gerald Greene - Mike Cameron text_version: Introduced has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HR181/2025 upstream_id: 1958437 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - hearing loss awareness - public health - Georgia legislature ceremonial resolutions - audiology --- # HR 181. Georgia Hearing Day at the state capitol; February 10, 2025; recognize ## Text House Resolution 181 By: Representatives Yearta of the 152nd, Gaines of the 120th, Dickey of the 134th, Greene of the 154th, and Cameron of the 1st A RESOLUTION Recognizing February 10, 2025, as Georgia Hearing Day at the state capitol; and for other purposes. WHEREAS, hearing plays a critical role in communication and personal relationships, overall health outcomes, psychological well-being, and safety; and WHEREAS, hearing loss has been tied to cognitive decline, dementia, falls, depression, and isolation. It can be a symptom of an underlying medical condition, including, but not limited to, infections, tumors, otosclerosis, and Meniere's disease and is typically irreversible; and WHEREAS, a study conducted by the Better Hearing Institute concluded that untreated hearing loss has significant income ramifications, including negatively impacting household income by up to $12,000 annually and costing $122 billion in lost earning in the United States; and WHEREAS, noise-induced hearing loss is a preventable and significant, through often unrecognized, health problem among United States adults, and is a growing problem with adolescents due to overamplification of personal listening devices; and WHEREAS, according to the National Institutes of Deafness and Other Communications Disorders (NIDCD), more than 37 million American adults (15 percent) report some trouble hearing, and approximately 28.2 million American adults could benefit from using hearing aids; and WHEREAS, according to the NIDCD, fewer than 30 percent of adults aged 70 and older and 16 percent of adults aged 20 to 69 who experience hearing loss and who could benefit from hearing aids have ever used them; and WHEREAS, the Georgia Society of Hearing Professionals, a chapter of the International Hearing Society, is composed of hearing health care professionals, including hearing aid specialists and audiologists, who are trained and specialize in the identification and assessment of hearing loss, rehabilitation through the use of hearing aids and related devices, and counseling; and WHEREAS, Georgia Hearing Day, founded by the Georgia Society of Hearing Professionals, aims to raise awareness of how to prevent deafness and hearing loss and to promote ear and hearing care across the world. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES that the members of this body recognize February 10, 2025, as Georgia Hearing Day at the state capitol to encourage the citizens of Georgia to protect their hearing and seek the services of a licensed hearing health care professional, such as a hearing aid specialist, audiologist, or otolaryngologist, for regular hearing checks. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Clerk of the House of Representatives is authorized and directed to make appropriate copies of this resolution available for distribution to the public and press. ## Summaries written by Georgia Commons The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the resolution. Quote the text, not the summary. A Georgia House resolution designates February 10, 2025 as Georgia Hearing Day at the state capitol, highlighting hearing loss awareness and encouraging residents to get their hearing checked. ### Plain-language summary This resolution from the Georgia House of Representatives recognizes February 10, 2025 as Georgia Hearing Day at the state capitol. It does not change any Georgia law; instead it states facts about hearing loss, citing studies on its links to cognitive decline, income loss, and its prevalence among American adults, and credits the Georgia Society of Hearing Professionals for founding the observance. The resolution formally encourages Georgia residents to protect their hearing and to seek regular checkups from licensed hearing health care professionals such as hearing aid specialists, audiologists, or ear, nose, and throat doctors (otolaryngologists). It also directs the Clerk of the House of Representatives to prepare copies of the resolution for distribution to the public and press. ### What it does - Formally designates February 10, 2025 as Georgia Hearing Day at the state capitol. - Encourages Georgia citizens to protect their hearing and seek checkups from licensed hearing health care professionals. - Directs the Clerk of the House of Representatives to make copies of the resolution available to the public and press. - Does not create any new law, funding, or regulatory requirement; it is a symbolic recognition. ### Who it affects The resolution primarily affects the Georgia Society of Hearing Professionals and hearing health care providers such as audiologists, hearing aid specialists, and otolaryngologists, whose work it highlights. It also addresses Georgia residents generally, encouraging them to seek hearing checkups. ### Why it matters While the resolution carries no legal force, it publicly draws attention to hearing loss as a health issue linked to cognitive decline, isolation, and lost income, and points Georgians toward licensed professionals for hearing checkups, potentially raising awareness of an often overlooked condition. ### Key provisions - The whereas clauses cite studies from the Better Hearing Institute and the National Institutes of Deafness and Other Communications Disorders on the prevalence and effects of hearing loss. - The resolving clause designates February 10, 2025 as Georgia Hearing Day at the state capitol. - The resolution encourages citizens to seek services from licensed hearing health care professionals, including hearing aid specialists, audiologists, or otolaryngologists. - The final clause directs the Clerk of the House of Representatives to distribute copies of the resolution to the public and press. ## Status - Status: Passed (2025-02-05) - Last action: House Read and Adopted (2025-02-05) - Sponsors: Bill Yearta, Houston Gaines, Robert Dickey, Gerald Greene, Mike Cameron - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/69994 > The history, votes, and amendments (131 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr181.md?full=1