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To the Editor:—Years of practice as an otologist have convinced me that we have in the plight of the hard of hearing a concealed national tragedy. This experience and the conviction that we are on the threshold of great progress led me to accept the gratuitous position of chief executive of the American Society for the Hard of Hearing.
President Truman's endorsement of the observance of National Hearing Week beginning October 21 next is of great importance, for vast numbers of people, including a substantial percentage of your readers, having hearing defects. As we stand today, far reaching developments in electronics, speech reading and rehabilitation programs offer these people material assistance never before realized.
Will you please give such consideration and space to the copy of the President's letter and the enclosed statements as, in your opinion, their importance justifies?