Adult musicians with hearing loss may be interested in some of the opportunities provided by the Association of Adult Musicians with Hearing Loss (AAMHL). A nonprofit organization based in Rockville, MD, the Association was founded as a resource for musicians with hearing loss to discuss the challenges they face in making and listening to music. The Association also helps organize public performances by adult musicians with hearing loss who might not otherwise have the opportunity to participate in concerts.

Wendy Cheng, the organization’s founder and president, uses bilateral cochlear implants (CI) for her own hearing loss. She explained that AAMHL was established to help overcome the prevailing attitude in the hearing healthcare industry that making or performing music is not a worthwhile endeavor for people with hearing loss, especially if they are adults.

An avid violin player for many years, Cheng was cautioned by her cochlear implant audiologist that after activation of her CI device, she shouldn’t expect to hear her violin quite as well as she would hear spoken language. This was discouraging news for Cheng, who decided to switch from violin to viola when she realized that hearing and discriminating notes two octaves above middle C was impossible with her implant.

The AAMHL’s membership is comprised primarily of amateur musicians and adult music students, and includes a smaller number of audiologists and music professionals, as well as music educators. In the organization’s early days, members performed in libraries and nursing homes. They have since put on two performances in New York City, one in 2010, and one in 2014. AAMHL members also have performed in a church in New Jersey. In May 2015, the group will give its first performance for the public in Washington, DC.