Formerly the League for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing and the EAR Foundation
Voice/TTY 615-248-8828 · VP 615-290-5147
In the 1920s, a young Middle Tennessee mother named Margaret Lane Washington learned that she was losing her hearing. At that time, Middle Tennessee offered no help for persons who were Deaf or Hard of Hearing. So Mrs. Washington moved to Washington, D.C., where she studied lip reading and became a certified lip reading teacher.
Three years later, in 1927, she returned to her hometown of Murfreesboro and taught her first speech reading class at the Watkins Institute in downtown Nashville. Mrs. Washington's first class of 13 students became the nucleus of today's Hearing Bridges.
From one young woman's determination to help herself grew an organization that has helped thousands of Deaf and Hard of Hearing people in Middle Tennessee and parts of Southern Kentucky. Mrs. Washington remained a guiding light at the League until her death in 1991.
Much has changed during the eight decades of our history. Our name changes, one in 2000, from the League for the Hearing Impaired to the League for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing and in 2009 to Hearing Bridges is one example. Other changes include things such as technological advances including digital hearing aids, medical breakthroughs like Cochlear implants, improved diagnostic techniques, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and an increasing number of people needing help for hearing loss.
Today, due to the ADA, we are a not-for-profit, service-based organization serving the Middle Tennessee area and parts of Kentucky rather than limiting our services to members. We provide services to the unserved/underserved populations.
We carry on the dream and legacy of Mrs. Washington, helping thousands of people of all ages each year. They represent all social and economic backgrounds. What unites them is the common desire to live their lives to the fullest as active and contributing participants in our community.
The late Helen Keller once said that if given the choice between having her sight or her hearing, she would choose hearing. The reason, she explained, is that the loss of sight cuts you off from things. The loss of hearing, however, cuts you off from people.
We work hard to see that no barriers stand in the way of Deaf or Hard of Hearing people reaching their goals. That's been our commitment for more than 80 years. We are as dedicated to this purpose today as we were in 1927.