Speech and Hearing Awareness Month – May 1, 2027

Expected Speech and Hearing Awareness Month Deals

Throughout Speech and Hearing Awareness Month in May, the focus shifts from commercial deals to impactful fundraising and awareness campaigns. Organizations like the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) often partner with corporate sponsors to amplify their message, encouraging donations for research, advocacy, and patient support. Expect hearing aid manufacturers such as Starkey and Phonak to highlight their philanthropic initiatives and offer educational resources rather than direct sales. Many local clinics and universities also host free screenings and informational workshops. We encourage direct support to reputable nonprofits dedicated to improving speech and hearing health.

History of Speech and Hearing Awareness Month

If you have seen the Oscar-winning film “The King’s Speech” in which King George VI overcomes his stuttering, you probably know that speech impairment and communication disorders have long existed despite the newness of its medical field. The history of all speech-hearing illnesses goes farther than even George VI’s time. It was over 2,000 years ago when Hippocrates, a Greek physician, first observed the symptoms of stuttering and aphasia. Around the same time, historians credit Satyrus as the first to combat speech impairments through diction lessons where he instructed his students to exercise breathing control, voice production, and articulation. Moreover, Aurelius Cornelius Celsus was the first to emphasize that the tongue is the origin of speech illnesses, advocating for gargling and eating pungent food as remedies for faulty articulation and other speech disturbances.

It was in the Middle Ages when language disorder was considered a separate entity from other forms of illness. In 1305, Bernard de Gordon wrote the book “Lily of Medicine” in which he described people with speech impairments as those who have difficulty expressing a concept. The progression and advancement of language disorder studies didn’t happen until the 1700s when doctors Johann Gesner in Germany and Alexander Crichton in Scotland documented different types of aphasia, which included the aftermath of a stroke or head injuries.

However, the official modern study of speech and language pathology began in the early 20th century. In 1926, the American Academy of Speech Correction was founded, and speech therapy became widespread over the next 20 years. In the late 1960s, a specific distinction between speech disorders and language disorders was acknowledged and applied to the field. Between 1975 to 2000, the Pragmatics Revolution took place, which included the development of conversations, social interaction, event participation, and other communicative tools, to clinically help patients. This movement has been a vital part of the speech and language treatment that we know today.