NARRAGANSETT - Over the years, Eileen Jones experienced a gradual hearing loss attributed to an ear infection when she was five years old. At age 45, she was suddenly deaf.

She went through the process of receiving a cochlear implant in her left ear that was successful, and gave her back 92 percent of hearing in that ear.

"I was so thrilled," said Jones. "I couldn't believe it. It was a miracle."

A cochlear implant is for people who having sensorineuarl loss, which accounts for about 90 percent of all hearing loss. You can't get a cochlear implant if you have hearing in one ear, according to Jones. There has to be loss in both ears.

"It's like having a bionic ear," she says.

From her own personal experience, she learned that many people with hearing loss don't have adequate coverage through their insurance for the $50,000 to $100,000 cost of the procedure and follow up care.

"It's a crime that deaf people have to go without hearing," says Jones.

Not one to sit still in the face of injustice, she contacted Dr. Daniel Lee, currently a cochlear implant surgeon on staff at Massachusetts Eye and Ear, as well as one of the foremost authorities in brain stem implants, which Jones says is the next step.

She worked to create The Gift of Hearing Foundation in 2004, which she still chairs and on which Lee serves as a medical advisor. Its board is made up of industry experts and business professionals and it is a nonprofit. Its Web site notes that "there are over 500,000 infants, children, and adults in the U.S. with severe-to-profound hearing loss." , Click here to visit the Web site. www.giftofhearingfoundation.org

The Gift of Hearing is run entirely by volunteers and funded predominantly by private donations and a few in kind grants from manufacturers of cochlear implants. Its mission is to promote cochlear implant access and awareness. Volunteers mentor people through the process and help those who might fall through the cracks and need financial assistance.

An important part of the implant process is lifelong follow up after surgery with a cochlear implant audiologist.

Jones anticipates a scarcity of implant audiologists might leave Rhode Islanders underserved.

"My life is running The Gift of Hearing," says Jones who admits to working "pretty much round the clock." When she can steal a minute away, she is active with the General Federation of Women's Clubs of South County. She describes them as an interesting group focused on community service, supporting the arts and environment and social service. She's been a member since 2006.