Bell serves deaf, heard of hearing clients

Tracy Bell, who was born deaf to hearing parents, is the regional manager at Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services South office in Minnesota. This department has been serving the deaf and hard of hearing community since the 1980s. The overall mission of her office is to spread the word that help is available for those who no longer can or who have never heard sounds clearly. Bell’s staff offers various resources for the community, including direct consumer assistance, training and consultation, and a program that provides short-term loans of assistive technology to businesses employing individuals with hearing loss.

Researchers believe it takes about seven years for a person with hearing loss to seek treatment. Many of the people that come into Bell’s office fall into this category and Bell and her staff are committed to helping these people by providing them with information on hearing loss and about recent developments in aids to hearing. Bell’s office is equipped with different aids to hearing that clients can try out. These different aids have helped clients experience improvements in their hearing, which is often an emotional event. Ultimately, Bell wants to help people within this community while spreading awareness of hearing loss and working with people who are deaf, hard of hearing and deafblind.

You can read more about Tracy Bell and her work here.