Many of you might remember Yat Li, who was featured in our Young Adult Spotlight back in April 2018. This is Yat’s journey and introduction to his new project: Acoustic Wear.
A sample of the shirts offered – it certainly speaks volumes!
PSP: How did you come up with the idea to create Acoustic Wear?
Yat: One day, I googled hearing disability youth one day, stumbled across the CHHA-BC Youth Peer Support Program, met Bowen & Joy, and they invited me to a public forum on hearing loss and aging in June 2018. At the time, I had little to no clue what the forum was about because up until early 2018, I did not have any hard of hearing friends or acquaintances alike. It’s been a very interesting upbringing for me. I was never adverse to making friends with anyone in the HOH community but I hadn’t met any!
At this forum, the topic of bridging the gap between youth and hearing health struck me. I felt
that during the discussions, there weren’t much effort made to promote the importance of getting a regular hearing test let alone teaching the community an effective way to communicate to people with a hearing loss. This led me to ask the questions:
What is being done in the community to create public awareness about hearing health? We see the focus placed on mental health with local events like Bell let’s talk.. what about hearing health? It’s obvious from the studies that hearing loss can lead to isolation, exclusion and mortality.
Logos such as “Pardon Me?” are popular options for the tee!
The response was that our community is not big enough to compete with corporate sponsored
events like Bell Let’s Talk to raise awareness for mental health. This hit me hard because I also
think hearing health is just as important, especially the fact that it has mental health ramifications
if not treated properly.
During the event, I spoke with Bowen about the need to create a platform for the hard of hearing
community to effectively communicate in a fun and relaxed way that they have a hearing loss
and they’re proud of it. Hence, Acoustic Wear was born.
PSP: Fantastic! What a great story! Are bulk orders available? How long does shipping take?
Yat: Each shirt is $24.99 CAD. 5% of proceeds go to the Canadian Hard of Hearing Association BC Chapter and another 5% goes towards an organization that helps fund hearing aids. Custom bulk orders are available. Shipping takes 1-2 weeks depending on where you’re from. Shipping is a tad bit quicker in North America. But if you’re ordering from anywhere else, don’t worry! The slightly longer wait is worth it 🙂
PSP: Awesome. Now, we’re wondering if you can give us a quote on what Acoustic Wear means to you and hard of hearing people.
Yat: Acoustic Wear inspires wearers to openly converse about hearing health, especially empowering youth and people with hearing loss. Sharing happiness one soul at a time!
You can order the t-shirts at www.acousticwear.com, and if you’d like, share pictures on Instagram: www.instagram.com/acoustic_wear. A new, long sleeved shirt will be out shortly (just in time for Fall!), along with a new tag line aptly titled: “Hear I Stand“.
Note: if you’re a CHHA-BC Member, you’re eligible for free shipping using the code: CHHABCFREESHIP