DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) — Hunter Martin wants you to truly hear him.

His hearing aids allow him to connect to the world around him in school and on the soccer field.

"Whenever I first got these new hearing aids in because of the law that had passed, I heard the ref whistle on the soccer field," he said. "Without them in, I would miss a good 50, 60, 70 or maybe 80 percent of what you're saying."

State lawmakers heard him back in 2018, when he convinced them to pass a law requiring insurance plans to cover hearing aids for kids under 18. Now he's urging lawmakers to pass another bill to cover people of all ages.

House Bill 2443 has already cleared the House after a push from Rep. Sharon Chung (D - Bloomington) . Now Sen. Dave Koehler (D - Peoria) is taking it up in the senate.

"For anyone who has problems hearing, it becomes a problem engaging whether it's education, whether it's society or whether it's your job," Koehler said.

But not all insurance plans are under the jurisdiction of the State of Illinois. Large companies that collect their own premiums operate under federal guidelines instead.

"There are some places that are not going to have that coverage so we have to hope they will address that internally," Koehler said.

That's why Hunter is continuing to lobby lawmakers in Washington.

But for now, he said this bill will help more voices be heard — just like his was five years ago.

"I realized that people who needed hearing aids or had hearing loss did not have access to the right equipment," Hunter said. "I wanted to be the change and make sure everybody was able to hear."

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