National program honors individuals who have advanced inclusion and awareness for people with hearing loss

If you know someone who's going above and beyond for the hearing loss community, now's your chance to make sure their work doesn't go unnoticed. Hearing aid manufacturer Oticon, Inc. is accepting nominations for its 2026 Focus on People Awards, a national program that celebrates the extraordinary individuals who have expanded opportunities and made a real difference for people with hearing loss.

Past nominees have broken barriers or fostered inclusivity for the hearing loss community through their professional work or personal conviction. They include teachers who built inclusive classrooms, audiologists who extended care into underserved communities, students who became peer advocates and caregivers who helped families navigate a new diagnosis.

"What we see in the nominations, year after year, is that a single advocate can improve someone's life or reshape how an entire community understands and supports people with hearing loss," said Lisbeth Meng Collignon, Vice President, Marketing at Oticon. "These individuals saw something that needed to change and took it upon themselves to make it happen. The Focus on People Awards brings those stories forward so they can inspire the same kind of impact elsewhere."

The awards are open to anyone 6 or older with or without hearing loss. Nominations will be accepted online through Aug. 5 and evaluated by a panel of hearing care professionals and Oticon customers based on the strength of each nominee's initiative and impact.

Three winners will be chosen and honored in November at a special ceremony. Each will receive $2,500, plus a $1,000 donation from Oticon to a nonprofit of their choice, to help them continue making a difference. Winners with hearing loss will also receive Oticon hearing aids with BrainHearing™ technology.

Since 1997, the Focus on People Awards program has honored more than 300 individuals who have proven that hearing loss doesn't define what someone can accomplish, and whose stories remind hearing care professionals why their work matters. To nominate yourself or someone you know, visit oticon.com/FOP.

About Oticon — Life-changing technology
More than 700 million people worldwide suffer from hearing loss. The majority are over the age of 50 while eight percent are under the age of 18. Oticon's vision is to create a world where people are no longer limited by hearing loss. A world where hearing aids fit seamlessly into life and help people realize their full potential, while avoiding the health consequences of hearing loss. Oticon develops and manufactures hearing aids for both adults and children and supports every kind of hearing loss from mild to profound and we pride ourselves on developing some of the most innovative hearing aids in the market. Headquartered in Denmark, we are a global company and part of Demant with more than 22,000 employees and revenues of around DKK 22 billion. Changing technology. Changing conventions. Changing lives. Oticon — Life-changing hearing technology. For more information visit oticon.com.

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What we see in the nominations, year after year, is that a single advocate can improve someone's life or reshape how an entire community understands and supports people with hearing loss.