Travis Austin compares the annual conference for the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing to the "LeBron James of audiology."

The annual conference for the West Virginia chapter of the AG Bell association connects parents, teachers and health professionals to experts and to the latest research and technology in the field of hearing loss.

"The fall conference - it's our big annual event," said Austin, an organizer for the association. "There's lots of parents and education for parents. It's a neat time to get together and for the kids to see other kids just like them ..."

To prepare for the annual conference in the fall, the AG Bell association will host its fourth-annual Hearing Heroes Golf Tournament on Aug. 9 at the Berry Hills Country Club.

All proceeds from the golf tournament will go toward securing a national speaker at the conference, and to provide continued educational resources to families and individuals with hearing loss.

The AG Bell association is a national organization with about 100 members in the West Virginia chapter.

Learning that a child is hearing impaired can be one of the "hardest times for any parent," Austin said. The decision and the choices of treatment are overwhelming, he said.

Austin's daughter was born deaf, but less than a week after her birth she underwent surgery to implant two small electrical devices that would allow her to hear.

"When we learned she was deaf, I immediately thought sign language, but there are other options," Austin said. "She has cochlear implants and can hear perfectly. She doesn't sign and communicates like any other 3-year-old child would."

The goal of the AG Bell Association is to empower parents, and the more the parents know and understand the more their children are empowered as well, said Cherese Lee, an organizer with AG Bell.

"Our organizations helps families and who are hearing impaired, but want to live in hearing society," Lee said.

In addition to its annual conference, the AG Bell Association also hosts a number of social events.

"Connection is sometimes more powerful than any website or literature available," Lee said. "We get referrals a lot from families that just found out that their child is deaf. We can get those families in touch with other families who have had the same experiences." 

The group also has established a lending library, and a hearing aid loan bank that allows parents or individuals with hearing loss to try out a hearing aid before making a decision on their choice.

Hearing aids costs about $2,500, and most insurance companies do not cover the cost, Austin said. But most insurance companies require people to try out hearing aids before allowing them to explore other options, he said.

The association's namesake, Alexander Graham Bell, founded a similar advocacy group in the 1800s that evolved into today's organization. Bell, the inventor of the telephone, began working on hearing devices as a project to help his wife and mother, who were deaf.

"If [Bell] could see today, with cochlear implants and deaf children sitting in classrooms like any other child, I think he would be really impressed," Lee said.

The Hearing Heroes Golf Tournament will begin at 1 p.m. Aug. 9 at the Berry Hills County Club. Registration is $150 for one person, $600 for a team of four, $150 for a hole sponsorship and $725 for a corporate sponsorship.

The event includes lunch and a sit-down dinner following the golf tournament.

To register for the Hearing Heroes Golf Tournament, e-mail hearingandtalk...@yahoo.com, or call Cherese Lee at 304-881-2583 or Travis Austin at 304-525-7072.

Reach Veronica Nett at veroni...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-5113.