HI SR4

Urges the Department of Taxation to amend the Hearing Examination section of Form N-172 to include individuals with Meniere's disease.

Meniere's disease is an inner ear disorder causing hearing loss, dizziness, tinnitus, and ear congestion, affecting approximately 615,000 individuals in the United States with 45,500 newly diagnosed cases annually.

Current Form N-172 measures hearing loss and speech frequency loss without measuring speech recognition threshold, which fails to account for distorted hearing caused by Meniere's disease.

Proposes amending Section B of Form N-172 to include a speech recognition threshold (SRT) test option of 50% or worse in the better ear as an alternative method to determine eligibility for the state income tax deduction for deaf persons.

Directs certified copies of the resolution be transmitted to the Director of Taxation and Director of Health.