Mission

To be the leading centre of excellence for hearing care in Iceland, prevention, education, screening, ensuring early detection and subsequent treatment and rehabilitation.

Member profile

Heyrnar-og talmeinstod Islands is the official centre for audiology and speech pathology in Iceland. The institute operates nationwide and oversees screening, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation for all people with hearing and/or speech impediments. Screening of all infants born in Iceland, total hearing care for individuals 0–18 years of age (free health care and equipment), issuing of hearing aids, management of cochlear implants, rehabilitation, education of public as well as health care personnel. Statistics, research, and more. Development of governmental policy regarding hearing care. The institute is financed by public health care budget.

Mission

AIIMS Jodhpur was established by the Government of India with the aim of correcting regional imbalances in quality tertiary level health care in the country and attaining self-sufficiency in graduate and postgraduate medical education. It is one of the 6 institutions established by an Act of Parliament on the lines of the original All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi which imparts both undergraduate and postgraduate medical education in all its branches and related fields, along with nursing and paramedical training to bring together in one place educational facilities of the highest order for the training of personnel in all branches of health care activity.

The mission is to establish a centre of excellence in medical education, training, health care and research imbued with scientific culture, compassion for the sick and commitment to serve the underserved.

Member profile

Being a tertiary care autonomous medical university under the Government of India, AIIMS Jodhpur is regularly involved in ear and hearing care at all levels including community and public health as well as clinical, training and research activities.

Mission

Alps Hearing Research Forum is primarily engaged in developing affordable technology and thus linked to clinical research and customer orientation with hearing aids. It holds awareness camps and organizes sensitization programmes. It also works for aural habilitation of hearing impaired children. It develops practical training programmes for parents of hearing disabled children and holding mother’s training programmes. The entity works towards the development of affordable hearing aids for severe to profoundly hearing-impaired children. It is also developing affordable low-cost devices for screening hearing and balance related problems.

Member profile

Alps Hearing Research Forum holds free hearing evaluation camps, identifies and segmentizes patients into groups for e.g. geriatric, paediatric, neonates, etc., and is trying newly developed hearing aids in India.

Mission

The entity creates institutional, non-institutional and community-based interventions for the people to help them become independent self-reliant and contributing citizens of the country.

Member profile

Akshay Akruti is a registered non-profit, non-religious organization working towards improving the lives of people with disability and marginalized sections of society. Established in 1996, the organization implements programmes in health, education, and skill development.

Mission

The School for Young Deaf Children serves deaf infants and young children below the age of 3 years.

Member profile

The school provides diagnostic and rehabilitation to children who are deaf and hard of hearing.

Mission

Vision: To achieve excellence in education and make education as a tool for social change for the betterment of the society.

Mission: To spread education globally in the fields of medicine, dental, paramedical, homeopathy, engineering, management and basic sciences.

Objectives: VMRF strives to impart the necessary knowledge and skills to its students thus providing a great employment opportunity and resource and service to humanity as a matter of national importance.

Member profile

The Department of Audiology and Speech Language Pathology was started in 2004 at the Aarupadai Veedu Medical College and Hospital at Puducherry campus of Vinayaka Missions Research Foundation – deemed to be university. It is situated in rural area providing hearing health care mainly for the rural population.

The Department gets able support from the medical college which has a tertiary care hospital.

The Department conducts training programme at graduate level (bachelor in audiology and speech language pathology) since 2004, which is approved by rehabilitation Council of India (a statutory Council of the Government of India) and the Government of Puducherry.

The Department has state-of-the-art audiological testing facilities. It conducts camps and awareness programme on hearing health along with regular health camps in association with the medical college. Hearing health awareness is conducted in the form of road shows, TV talks and distribution of handouts and visiting schools and old age homes.

Mission

To discover and translate new knowledge in the field of medical sciences; to provide cutting-edge, interdisciplinary and compassionate care of the highest quality to improve the health of the people we serve.

Member profile

Free ear surgeries, audiological evaluation and management, free hearing aid distribution, free cochlear implant rehabilitation, newborn hearing screening, speech therapy.

Mission

• Develop need felt world class human resources
• Research that ensures human rights
• Develop clinical services that promote equal opportunities at affordable cost
• Develop cutting edge science and technology to achieve our vision
• Initiate preventive and pre-emptive action to avoid conditions leading to disabilities
• Develop programmes in a whole life perspective and reduce the burden of family members of people with communication disorders
• Create and provide infrastructure, laboratory, library and related facilities as stipulated by university and statutory bodies.

Member profile

One of the primary missions of the Institute is to involve in activities related to public health care and also actively participate in the general ear and hearing care.

• We provide clinical services that promote equal opportunities at affordable cost to general public.
• We are involved in conducting awareness programmes.
• Involved in taking preventive and pre-emptive action to avoid conditions leading to disabilities.
• Conducting camps to identify different communication disorders and followed by rehabilitation.
• Distribution of free services and also free hearing aids.
• Carry out neonatal hearing screening.
• Manpower development
• Research in various aspects of hearing health care.
• The institute runs various Bachelor’s, Master’s and PhD courses in the field.
• Institute runs various certification courses to the professionals for specialization, general public, parents of children with disabilities.

Mission

• To eliminate burdens due to congenital hearing loss in the Region
• Advocacy on early identification of hearing loss and intervention programmes
• To develop a low cost model to serve person with hearing impairment
• To setup a comprehensive audiology clinic to serve the person hearing loss for free of cost

Member profile

Universal Newborn Hearing Screening programme at Government maternity hospitals – so far screened

1. 25 Lakh newborns for hearing (2013 to 2019)
2. Early intervention for the hearing impaired
3. Diagnostic audiological services
4. Auditory verbal therapy with hearing aids and cochlear implants
5. Public hearing health camps at schools and community level
6. Awareness programmes for the public
7. Providing free hearing aids to children with hearing impairment and early intervention

Mission

The role of the Council is to conduct as well as to promote biomedical research in the country. It fulfils this function through intramural as well as extramural research. Intramural Research is carried out by the Council’s permanent institutes/centres/units. As of today, the council has 30 such institutes and centres, each of which works in a highly specialized research area and has acquired a highly respected position in the field.

Member profile

ICMR is research funding agency in India. It works with different partners and stakeholders. Some of the studies supported by ICMR are individual driven, while other studies of national importance are initiated centrally. Hence, ICMR is always looking for the motivated researchers. ICMR scientists require to update their knowledge from time to time, which can be done only when they interact with good researchers and exchange the updated knowledge amongst themselves. So the networking is required not only at national level, but also at international level.

World Hearing Forum is a community of highly motivated researchers at international level. The interaction among them would help us to learn and apply this information for the betterment of our populations. The efficient models or working strategies can be learned at such platforms only. During previous interaction with other researchers, it was learnt that intersectoral and interdisciplinary approach is better than only medically focus approach. The model being used at Pune, India has shown that “mother model” and rehabilitation is an integral part of deafness treatment. Some of the educated and smart mothers having children with hearing loss were trained to teach basics of hearing and speech. On the other hand, children who underwent surgery for cochlear implant, once put under rigorous rehabilitation, can be admitted in normal school under inclusive education. Such models can be shared among such communities benefitting each other.

Mission

ISHA promotes excellence in the speech language and hearing profession and rehabilitation services through advocacy, leadership, unique and continued education, both for public and professional awareness, ethical considerations and outcome monitoring and professional networking and support to research.

Member profile

ISHA envisages professional excellence in speech language and hearing services, safeguarding professional ethics and the interest of professionals and the people with speech language and hearing disorders. ISHA envisages professional excellence in speech language and hearing services, safeguarding professional ethics and the interest of professionals and the people with speech language and hearing disorders.

Mission

The movement is focused on supporting hearing impaired children, which can be improved with the state-of-the-art medical technologies coupled with rehabilitation programme. With proper care and support all such children can, over a period of time, begin to hear well enough to respond to the spoken word and better integrate with society.

Member profile

• Providing hearing aids only to the under privileged by proper scrutiny of their financial status providing hearing aid by doing a complete assessment and giving the write hearing aid as per the need of the individual.
• Carrying out regular assessment of their progress.
• Keeping a complete track record of their growth in the field of auditory language and verbal skill.
• Providing best of hearing aids.

Mission

1. Prevention of avoidable hearing loss on account of disease or injury
2. Early identification, diagnosis and treatment of ear and hearing related disorders
3. Rehabilitation for population those suffering with ear and hearing related disorders
4. Infrastructure strengthening and capacity development in the field of ear and hearing care all over the state of Kerala
5. Hands on training programme for health care workers including the professionals and personnel regarding ear and hearing care
6. Creating awareness among general population related to healthy ear and hearing practice.

Member profile

1. Early identification, diagnosis and treatment
2. Rehabilitation
3. Newborn screening
4. Public awareness programmes – audio-visual adds, using social medial platform, awareness classes, training programmes
5. Screening camps.

Mission

SAKSHAM is committed to the cause of creating a viable socioeconomic, cultural and spiritual environment for persons with disabilities where they could accomplish their dream of self-reliance and lead a respectful life while contributing to nation building.

Member profile

We do universal newborn hearing screening

• to diagnose hearing loss by birth to 3 months of age;
• to provide appropriate intervention by 6 months of age;
• to facilitate early rehabilitation devices, for children identified with hearing loss;
• to provide AVT (auditory verbal therapy);
• for hearing impaired children and speech therapy for children with speech and language disorders;
• to provide awareness to the community regarding hearing loss.

Mission

• To increase the hearing screening rate and to decrease the hearing impairment rate.
• To ensure every newborn is screened for hearing within 24–48 hours of birth.
• To run early rehabilitation through speech therapy to the hearing impaired child at the earliest and to ensure their mainstreaming.
• To run regular hearing screening programme for workers and professionals exposed to noisy environment.

Member profile

We are running free hearing screening services in multiple hospitals of Surat city to ensure that no child is deprived of hearing and speech.

We regularly organize training sessions for teachers and parents of hearing and speech impaired child to ensure proper rehabilitation of the child.

We run regular hearing screening camp for industrial workers and professionals who are working in noisy environment and provide rehabilitation if required.

We also provide hearing screening and rehabilitation to old age peoples of old age home.

Mission

To create awareness in the common public about hearing disorders and the role of audiologists.

Description of work

Conducting free hearing testing camps for the public

Conducting World Hearing Day, World Audiologists Day, Speech and Hearing Week walkathons for public awareness.

Advertising about dos and don’ts of ear and hearing.

Mission

To promote, sustain and provide globally-competitive, ethically sound human resource, quality education, original research, clinical services, and public awareness in the field of communication disorders.

Member profile

The All India Institute of Speech and Hearing is an autonomous institute under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

The major objectives of the Institute are to impart professional training, render clinical services, conduct research and educate the public on issues related to communication disorders such as hearing impairment, mental retardation, voice, fluency and phonological and language disorders.

The Institute is involved in policy-making decisions for individuals with hearing impairment; in training students in the field of speech and hearing at various levels; research in different aspects of hearing impairment; and in community-based activities.

The staff of the Institute are members of various government-related committees. These committees are involved in planning and executing decisions regarding the social, clinical, educational, and employment related requirements of individuals with hearing impairment. A few of these committees include the National Program for Prevention and Control of Deafness, ENT task force of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, SoundHearing 20/30, etc.

The students are imparted theoretical as well as practical training in aspects related to hearing impairment. The training is imparted at the diploma, under-graduation, post-graduation, PhD and post-doctorate levels. The students are also trained on community-based activities. Besides training the students of the Institute, workshops and seminars are conducted from time-to-time for practicing speech and hearing professionals and for the caregivers of individuals with hearing impairment.

The Institute has 11 departments that are providing clinical services, directly or indirectly, for individuals with hearing impairment. These departments are involved in prevention, identification and rehabilitation of individuals with hearing impairment, for clients of all ages. A couple of the departments primarily cater to clients outside the institute.

As part of hearing prevention and screening activities, the institute is linked with various hospitals, schools, philanthropical organizations, industries, and old-age homes. These include government as well as nongovernmental organizations.

The research of the Institute is published as in-house publications (dissertation publications and Journal of AIISH) as well as in national and international peer-reviewed journals. Besides this, the staff and students of the Institute attend and present research papers in national and international forum.

The Institute is involved in the preparation of public education material related to various aspects of hearing impairment. The developed pamphlets are related to prevention, identification and rehabilitation of individuals with hearing impairment.

Mission

To mainstream children with hearing loss by providing hope and empowerment to their parents and primary caregivers and co-creating an ecosystem that fosters a culture of inclusiveness.

Member profile

VConnect Foundation is a parent support group for children with hearing loss founded in 2007 by 2 parents of children with hearing loss who are also experts and practicing professionals in the field enabling children to “listen and speak”. VConnect's purpose is to support, educate, empower, provide hope and guidance to parents in their journey to mainstream their children as successful, contributing members of society.

Aligned to our purpose and in the fulfilment of our mission and vision we have identified 4 key focus areas for our organization – education, mental health, knowledge hub and advocacy. We conduct a number of different activities and programmes through the month based on our key focus areas. Our target audience is primarily caregivers and children with hearing loss but based on repeated requests have now opened it up for professionals in the field too. A brief synopsis of our work is given below:

Education: to integrate children into mainstream schools successfully
Our focus is on the inclusion of our children with hearing loss, for this reason we have created a “Mainstream Guide” and published the same in 4 Indian languages. Besides this we conduct period workshops on the modules of the guide.

1. Apart from this we have collaborated with an expert in the field to conduct a series of workshops called “Shiksha” series, where all the aspects of successful inclusion is worked on starting from the prerequisites of mainstreaming to life skill training, vocational guidance, etc.

Mental health: to nurture the mental health of caregivers and children
Our mental health team works on supporting the mental health and mental well-being of parents/ caregiver and for teenagers. The team also strives to create awareness and sensitization about mental health in the community. The programmes being conducted under this are:

1. Parent peer support sessions which are conducted based on the key ideas of narrative practice for caregivers to help them cope and look after their mental health and mental well-being.
2. Teenager support sessions – peer support sessions for teenagers are conducted under the guidance of our mental health team.

Knowledge hub: to disseminate knowledge to caregivers and professionals for the holistic development of the child
This done through various different ways as given below:

1. “Saath Saath” series is for caregivers and children to participate together and provides an exposure to different skill based, co-curricular activities and creates a strong caregiver and child bond. experts are invited to conducted different activities for children once a month.
2. Music – regular weekly session are conducted for children with hearing loss to learn singing and music which enhances their listening and enables better speech development.
3. Speech and drama sessions have just been introduced for our children to develop confidence, better pronunciations and clarity of speech done in a fun way.
4. Theme-based activities on different themes and festivals are shared every month on our different parent circles. This is done to enable developing of new language and creativity in the children and enhance the caregiver and child bond by creating something together. Their work is then showcased in our children's corner.
5. Vidya series – different experts are invited to provide knowledge and skills to caregivers on different aspects of the child's holistic development. Regular monthly workshops are conducted for the same.
6. Resource centre – a number of different resources are created and are available for free download from our website resource section.

Advocacy: to advocate the need for an inclusive ecosystem
To work towards the above we focus on 2 key areas:

1. Universal newborn hearing screening – advocating for UNBHS by collaborating with different stakeholders including ENT organizations, institutions, hospitals, and the Government to petition and influence policy to make newborn hearing screening mandatory in India.
2. Hamare Adhikar/our rights – conducting workshops for caregivers to create awareness about the rights, benefits and concessions being offered by the Government for children and families. This includes the procedure of availing the same, where to go, etc. Our team creates the resources for the same too in 4 different languages which is available for free download from website resource section.

Mission

Bekol, a non-profit organization established in 1997, is Israel’s leading organization for the deaf and hard of hearing. It is the only self-help centre in Israel that was formed by people with hearing loss. Bekol’s mission is to strive for equal opportunity for people with hearing loss, to promote accessibility in public places, to ease access to hearing aids and assistive listening devices, and to provide information about hearing loss, how it affects their lives and the lives of their loved ones. Ultimately the main goal at Bekol is to assist adults in facing the challenges that arise due to hearing impairment.

Member profile

Bekol raises awareness about hearing loss and provides Information and support. Its goal is to integrate people with hearing disabilities into the workforce, education, family life, and culture and community through information stations located at hearing centres, an information hotline operated by volunteers, the Assistive Listening Devices Exhibition Center, the FM Lending Program, consultations by audiologists for groups and individuals, workshops, and support and self-help groups.

It is also involved in advocacy for equal rights and accessibility: equal rights, opportunities and social integration. Bekol has been at the forefront of advocating for accessibility and legislation relating to the world of the deaf and hard of hearing.

It strives to increase awareness of the need to provide access and services in all areas – health, education, culture, and representation with the authorities. To reach this goal, the entity employs various methods including disseminating information to the public and assistance to individuals regarding accessibility.

Mission

The entity works on transforming the way hearing health care is perceived and delivered worldwide, making it a natural choice for people to seek the superior care and expertise of our hearing care professionals. It strives to understand the unique needs of every customer, delivering the very best solutions and an outstanding experience.

Member profile

Amplifon is the global leader in hearing solutions and services in terms of retail expertise, customization, and consumer care. It operates under different business models, enabling it to better adapt its offer to the peculiarities of each market where it operates. Amplifon’s Center for Research and Studies (CRS) is a specialized partner to the medical and academic communities and a leader in the fields of audiology and otolaryngology.

Mission

To raise greater awareness on the risk of hearing loss and the importance of adopting correct lifestyles to keep hearing in good health.

To draw the attention of Institutions and address the issue of hearing impairment.

To simplify direct contact between citizens and health professionals.

Description of work

Education and information campaigns on hearing loss promoted in town squares of national territory with focus on free screening carried out with the aid of health workers (see "Nonno Ascoltami" L'ospedale in piazza campaign).

Organization of the "Giornata dell'udito" meeting yearly held in the Ministry of Health headquarters in Rome, in occasion of the World Hearing Day.

Mission

Disseminate information about the possibility for deaf people to hear thanks to cochlear implant (CI) and a proper methodology to train the brain. We sustain scientific research and we disseminate information about the possibility offered by CI.

Member profile

We are a group of 32 European associations from 24 countries, we represent 220 000 CI users. We spread out correct information about the possibility to hear thanks to CI. We inform people and European associations about new research, new possibilities. We created a network of information, a connection among the countries.

Mission

The mission of IALP is to improve the quality of life of individuals with disorders of communication, speech, language, voice, hearing and swallowing.

Member profile

1. Facilitate science, education, and clinical practice through international cooperation and collaboration.
2. Create and share knowledge, skills and information.
3. Provide a platform for international networking and advocacy.

Mission

National Deafness Control Programme

Member profile

Personally, I want the fight against the causes of deafness to be one of the programmes of priority health. The fact of belonging to this international network will undoubtedly allow me to have a technical and moral support to succeed in my mission. On the other hand, I will be one voice among others in the world to plead for this cause to break the silence and reduce the costs for the care (preventive, curative and/or rehabilitation).

Mission

The main aim of Ear Care Nepal is "prevention of deafness, promotion and conservation of hearing in children of Nepal". To achieve this goal our immediate mission is:

1. To conduct school based ear health programmes in community schools of Nepal.
2. To screen all the children for ear diseases and hearing loss.
3. To provide primary ear care education to children, teachers and guardians for prevention of deafness.
4. To provide basic treatment for minor problems at the school.
5. To refer and treat children with major ear problems to the hospital for ear surgeries and hearing rehabilitation.
6. To train and designate special medical personnel called “Community Ear Assistants CEA” to carry on the ear screening programme.

Member profile

Ear Care Nepal is the only organization in Nepal which conducts purely school based ear health programmes in Government schools of Nepal, where the need is highest. Our school ear health programme consists of three major parts: screen, educate and treat.

Ear screening team visits schools during school hour after prior meetings with respective school principals. All children are screened for any ear diseases and deafness. Detail examination is carried out in the children with ear diseases and data is documented properly. Children with ear diseases are treated at site for minor problems and those who require further treatments are referred to tertiary level hospital for management by ENT surgeons from Ear Car Nepal team.

Primary ear care education is delivered to all the school children and teachers using education materials like flip charts, posters, educative manual and animated books. Parents are counselled about ear diseases/deafness and further treatment options are explained carefully about their child’s health for restoration of hearing. Since its establishment in just over 5 years period ECN has screened 56 556 children for ear diseases and hearing loss from 385 community schools and monastic schools and have operated on 583 children for restoration of hearing.

Mission

Shruti's vision is to work for hard of hearing and deafened people to achieve their rights on communication, quality education, good health, social and economic activities. SHRUTI's mission is to make a barrier free inclusive society where social justice and rights of hard of hearing and deafened people are guaranteed.

Member profile

Shruti is advocating on early identification and intervention and recognition on identity of hard of hearing and deafened people. It is also promoting the need of accessibility of hard of hearing and deafened people. Shruti is providing training to teacher and parents, providing counselling, conducting awareness programmes, developing leaflet, brochure and training manuals. It is also working to strengthen and empower hard of hearing and deafened members’ capacity. Shruti is contributing to the creation of a barrier free inclusive society. It is also working to establish a rehabilitation centre and a resource centre where people with hearing loss can access health, information, and education.

Mission

Training ENT surgeons, clinical officers, professionals in audiology and other professionals in the field of ear and hearing care in Eastern Africa to improve the care for deaf and hearing disabled people.

Member profile

Training ENT surgeons in ear surgery by supervising operations and organizing temporal bone courses, Kenya and Ethiopia.

Training general clinical officers in ENT, especially ear and hearing pathology, Kenya and Ethiopia.

Training audiology professionals, Kenya.

Education of school teachers and parents of deaf and hearing disabled children, Kenya.

Mission

EFHOH is a non-profit European nongovernmental organization consisting of/for hard of hearing and late deafened people, parent organizations.

Our mission is a Europe where hard of hearing people can live without barriers and have the opportunity to participate on all levels of society. EFHOH realizes this vision through our actions contacts, and campaigns involving the EFHOH members and our partners, professional organizations at a European level in dialogue with the European Union, the members of the European Parliament, and other European authorities.

Member profile

Improving access to hearing aids, cochlear implants, assistive listening devices (ALDs) and communication support. EFHOH hosts annual a lunch debate in the European Parliament with partners in the hearing aid industry and hearing care professionals.

We have conducted European wide review on access to hearing aids in Europe and published a report State of Hearing Aids Provision in Europe 2018.

Mission

The best care for ear and hearing, now and in the future.

Member profile

The Department of Audiology and Otology of the University Medical Center Utrecht provides medical ENT care and audiological services to a wide range of patients of all ages. This care includes amongst others follow-up diagnosis and treatment after neonatal hearing screening, monitoring of hearing loss during ototoxic treatment and medical treatment of a variety of ear diseases. Hearing rehabilitation is provided with hearing aids, bone conduction devices and cochlear implants. Large research projects include topics such as tinnitus, cochlear implantation and ototoxicity.

The Department is a training centre for ENT specialist and audiologists.

Mission

The mission of the EMC is to reduce the impact of hearing and balance disability in New Zealand and the Pacific Region through excellence in research, community education and the promotion of quality and equitable clinical service. The EMC brings together researchers and clinicians across a number of Academic institutions including The Universities of Auckland, Otago, Canterbury, and Auckland University of Technology. We work with community groups such as the National Foundation for the Deaf and the New Zealand Dizziness, Balance and Vertigo Society to support community education on these disorders to aid prevention and to promote treatment options.

Member profile

The EMC undertakes multidisciplinary research aimed at developing prevention, treatment and interventions for hearing impairment and balance disorders.

Our goals are focused on:

• Investigating: understanding the causes, mechanisms and consequences of hearing and balance disorders.
• Prevention: partnering with community and industry to promote healthy hearing and sound environments.
Treatments: translating basic research findings into diagnostics and clinical therapies.
• New technology: developing and enhancing technologies to prevent and manage hearing and vestibular disorders.
• Training: contributing to the high quality of education of researchers and hearing and balance health clinicians.
• Global health: supporting the development of sustainable hearing services in the Pacific region, focused on primary health care provision and ear and hearing disease prevention, and to promote global hearing and balance health.
• Community: working with community organizations to inform and educate the public about hearing and balance disorders and their prevention.

Mission

The National Foundation for the Deaf draws the community together to prevent hearing loss and improve the lives and futures of people who are deaf or hearing impaired in New Zealand.

Member profile

We focus on promoting the rights, interests and welfare of the 1 in 6 New Zealanders with hearing loss. We offer people support to communicate effectively, live positively and achieve to their potential.

We do this by collaborating with people who are deaf or hard of hearing, and with professionals in our sector to address issues affecting human rights and quality of life.

We also work to address noise-induced hearing loss, and to promote prevention.

Mission

To promote the science and practice of acoustics in all its branches and so as to give effects to such objects as:

1. to provide for the delivery and holding of lectures, exhibitions, public meetings, classes and conferences calculated to advance the cause of acoustics whether general, professional or technical and to employ lecturers, teachers and other persons for these purposes and to pay expenses, professional or otherwise in connection therewith, as approved by Council;
2. to establish administrative and advisory bodies, committees, groups, sections and divisions as is found necessary or desirable to promote the objects of the Society;
3. to consider the requirements and priorities of research and development in all branches of acoustics;
4. to collect and circulate statistics and other information relative to acoustics in all its branches;
5. to raise the character and status and advance the interests of the science of acoustics and to obtain power to grant legally recognized certificates of competency and grades of membership
6. to represent generally the views and interests of those concerned with acoustics and to preserve and maintain their integrity by imposing strict rules of conduct as a condition of membership and by other means promoting just and honourable practice in such activities.

Member profile

Many of our members are acoustic engineers. We work within New Zealand regulations to control environmental noise levels, transfer of noise within buildings and quality of sound inside communal spaces. We are involved with reviewing and updating legislation that sets rules to ensure reasonable acoustic amenity, and from time to time engage in projects directly related to noise induced hearing loss.

We are a member organization of the National Foundation for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.

Mission

The Pindrop Foundation strives to make world class treatment and early access to cochlear implants to those adults affected by a severe hearing loss in New Zealand.

Member profile

We help to achieve this through:

• Education about severe to profound hearing loss, its impact on an individual’s life and the hearing health benefits of cochlear implant technology.
• Peer to peer support groups.
• Providing information and resources for potential candidates and cochlear implant recipients, their families, and friends.
• Raising awareness amongst health professionals – with information resources for GPs, hospital clinics and hearing health professionals.
• Supporting continued education for hearing health professionals specialising in the field of cochlear implants.
• Advocating and informing Government and government agencies about current issues in severe to profound hearing loss treatment.
• Cochlear implant interest groups – with assistance with cochlear implant consumer representation training and support.

The Pindrop Foundation is here to support and ensure that all those affected by a severe hearing loss have access to this incredible technology.

Mission

Our mission is to improve the lives of hearing impaired Nicaraguans and strengthen the fields of ENT, medicine, audiology and deaf education.

Member profile

MMO sends a team of ENT doctors and nurses to Nicaragua to perform surgeries and provide education for local medical staff in the northern region of the country, Jinotega. Surgery typically includes otology surgeries, cochlear implants on children in under-developed areas.

Audiology: we run a full-time clinic focus our programme in comprehensive audiological evaluations, hearing aid fitting for children and adults, education and training and instructions for in country audiological professionals.

Deaf education: our programme is to enable more deaf students to be educated and have access to better opportunities as adults. MMO founded a school for deaf in rural Nicaragua, our school has a capacity for 30 students that include housing as many of our students do not live nearly, working with the Minister of Education, we have been successful in providing education for hearing impaired students who were previously ignored.

Mission

The Earcare Foundation is established to be a charity with the purpose of creating awareness for the hearing impaired and deaf communities through education and advocacy, as well as bridging the gap between the hearing impaired, deaf and hearing communities.

Member profile

Since the start of the foundation we have focused on working within our community and the State Government by working together to provide a better understanding surrounding the stigma of hearing loss and deafness as well as educating the community on hearing health. In the last 4 years our aim as being to reach out to as many communities with Lagos state to educate and create awareness on the importance of hearing health also to establish a continuous working connection and collaboration with the people in each community and their local government.

Earcare Foundation has visited both government and private owned schools educating students and staff on hearing loss and ear health. We have also provided training sessions with health care staff within the communities on hearing loss, drug abuse i.e. over prescription of antibiotics to patients. The importance of early detection of hearing loss and hearing awareness (hearing health and checks) was provided at community health centres to the health care staff, pregnant women and new mothers.

Earcare Foundation is currently working with three federal universities in Nigeria, (University of Ibadan, Lagos State University College of Medicine and Ahmadu Bello University Zaria) to create a curriculum to teach audiology as well as provide clinical placements with the hospitals in order to provide a service to the nation, which is currently almost non-existent.

We are also working with the Special Projects Unit, Lagos State Ministry of Health to create policies to reduce environmental noise pollution in the state as well as making it mandatory for staff working in noisy environment to wear hearing protection.

Mission

A contemporary faith-based organization devoted to solution-driven scientific engagements for advancing the health and well-being of children with or at risk of avoidable developmental disabilities in sub-Saharan Africa for optimal early childhood development.

Member profile

Primary prevention programmes for avoidable hearing loss in infants including development low-cost intervention services. For example, the Centre pioneered the use of heliotherapy for newborn jaundice.

Conducted the first pilot studies on infant hearing screening in Nigeria in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health involving free services to over 10 000 mother–infant pairs between 2003 and 2007.

Membership (through the Executive Director) of the Technical Working Group of the Federal Government of Nigeria for the development and implementation of a National Ear and Hearing Policy and Programme.

Mission

To make every customer contact an outstanding and pleasurable experience through our people, processes and technology.

Member profile

We aim to deliver hearing care of a consistently high quality in line with recognized best practice, having in place periodic internal and external quality management system driven by competent professional, technical and support staff, who give increased value for costs and also satisfy our clients through continuous improvement.

Our services in audiology include:

• consultation
• complete audiological assessment
• hearing aid trials and fittings
• hearing aid repairs
• supply of hearing aid accessories
• lifestyle products: viz
• custom noise ban (hearing protective device)
• swim plugs
• snore plugs.

Mission

Our mission is to provide absolute best hearing health care services, through prevention, early identification and intervention in helping people hear. For us, all ears are in our hearts.

Member profile

1. Awareness on ear care and prevention of hearing loss.
2. Identification of hearing loss through screening, diagnosis of hearing disorders.
3. Administration of intervention measures such as hearing aids, cochlear implants, assistive listening devices (ALDs).
4. Cochlear implant surgeries/post implantation management.
5. Hearing aids service and repairs.
6. Ear mould/earplugs production.
7. Speech and auditory verbal therapy.
8. Audiological instrumentation sales/service/calibration.
9. Universal newborn hearing screening (UNHS).
10. Hearing conservation projects.
11. Tinnitus management/counselling desirous of collaborating with World Hearing Forum and all other relevant stakeholders in the prevention and cost effective management strategies of hearing loss.

Mission

To promote a standard practice of otorhinolaryngology head and neck surgery and allied professions in Nigeria and beyond.

Member profile

The association holds an annual scientific conference, surgical outreaches, advocacy, awareness campaigns, representation at national and international ear care fora, participation in development of policy and strategic plan documents on ear and hearing care, school hearing screenings during world hearing days and in partnership with willing donors, etc.

Mission

Promote ear and hearing health care in the country and region.

Member profile

Actively promote ear and hearing health care in the country and region, leader in the ear and hearing health care in the region since 1995.

Mission

The entity's mission is to facilitate quality, affordable, accessible and sustainable comprehensive health and education services, rehabilitation of persons with disabilities through integrated approaches and partnership.

Member profile

Comprehensive Health and Education Forum (CHEF) International is registered in Pakistan, under the Society Registration Act, 1860, also registered with the Pakistan Center of Philanthropy. The organization was founded in 2007, with the inspiration to provide inclusive health care and educational opportunities to the underprivileged population especially people with disabilities in Pakistan.

As a member of the disability movement in Pakistan, CHEF International has established the Pakistan Institute of Rehabilitation Sciences (PIRS), Islamabad, to bridge the gap in human resources in the field of disability. PIRS is also offering a degree course in audiology besides this has established community ear care centre.

Therefore, every year PIRS arranges a PHPHI course in collaboration with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in Pakistan.

Mission

The entity's mission is the empowerment of persons with disability (with focus on people with hearing disability).

Member profile

The entity works on raising awareness (workshops/seminars/media), advocacy, training, etc. It also includes awareness activities and a hearing assessment campaign on World Hearing Day.

Mission

Our mission is to enhance the quality of life for all members of the community, especially those who are disadvantaged. We invest in educational development and provide innovative training programmes.

Member profile

Family Educational Services Foundation (FESF) was established by like-minded educators. A foundational goal of FESF is to provide high-quality educational services and build capacity in some of the most neglected sectors of Pakistan’s society. FESF has partnered with Deaf Kidz International to conduct a hearing screening programme.

The programme will focus on early detection and intervention on hearing problems for young children in order to provide access to the support they need as soon as possible. As part of the programme, Deaf Reach (DR), a programme of FESF, will design and deliver the parenting programme to teach PSL skills to parents of deaf children. DR will also conduct training sessions on screening and referral processes for lady health workers, design, recruit, monitor and evaluate the programme and provide access to quality education to those identified with hearing loss.

Deaf Reach schools and vocational training centres provide academic as well as vocational education to deaf youth irrespective of their socioeconomic background on a pay as you can basis. Deaf Reach aims to empower the deaf community by providing them with skills that help them actualize their potential and contribute to society.

Seven Deaf Reach schools and training centers provide free education for deaf students and are located in Karachi, Hyderabad, Sukkur, Tando Allahyar, Nawabshah, Jhelum and Lahore. Facilities cover all academic and vocational costs, inclusive of free pick and drop transport in a 40 km. radius, healthy lunch/snacks, books and stationery, uniforms and excursions.

Deaf Reach is the only school system for the deaf in Pakistan with a branch network, and employs over 200 full-time salaried teachers and staff. Deaf Reach focuses on a holistic, community-centred approach, and boasts a 37% female enrolment rate.

Mission

N/A

Member profile

N/A

Mission

To train professionals in health sciences at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels, innovative, with leadership, management skills and ethical values; including an integral formation in the scientific, technological and humanistic areas, with social and environmental responsibility.

Member profile

In the last 2 years the newborn hearing screening has been developed. as well as the cochlear implantation centre.

Mission

Provide an integrated service for the detection and treatment of people with hearing difficulties through a correct adaptation of hearing aids and an effective process of auditory–oral re-education.

Member profile

Through our points of attention, we are a leading entity in Paraguay in the detection and early intervention of hearing difficulties, focused on the adaptation of hearing aids and auditory-oral re-education, for an optimal integration of hypoacusics in society.

Mission

One of the fundaments of the modern society is the extraordinary development of interpersonal contacts, availability and exchange of information, progress in technology and information instruments. An important qualification for that progress is the degree of development and use of the organs of hearing, voice and speech and of the language communication. Thus all scientific and medical activities in that field acquire higher importance. For the last 20 years development of our abilities to prevent, diagnose, treat and rehabilitate hearing, voice and speech disorders has been the effect of work of various specialists in the fields of acoustics, bioengineering, cybernetics, pedagogy, genetics, audiology, phoniatrics, otolaryngology, rehabilitation and others. Our multidisciplinary team contributed largely to that progress. It has the intensive collaboration with numerous Polish and foreign research centres on all continents. That efficient scientific exchange has been formalized in various associations, teams and research groups.

One of our scientific and medical challenges was carrying out the first in Poland and in Central and East Europe surgery restoring hearing to the totally deaf person. The surgery was performed by Prof. H. Skarzynski on 16 July 1992. That event was an extremely strong incitement for implementing in Poland further progressive technologies, materials and programmes. Very quickly this specialty in Poland has matched the level of the best international centres.

It was thanks to many factors, such as:

1. an enormous public interest reflecting the scale of this problem in the society;
2. determined organizational activities including the launch, by Prof. H. Skarzynski in 1993, of the second of that type in Europe, the Diagnostic-Treatment-Rehabilitation Center for the Deaf and Hearing Impaired, Cochlear Center”, and later on its basis, the research and development unit – the Institute of Physiology and Pathology of Hearing in 1996;
3. health care system reforms that, although not fully satisfactory for everyone, enabled verification of actual demand for different modern medical services and created a chance to open in the Institute new clinics and research teams.

Continuous development and progress, that are necessary to maintain fast participation in contemporary world’s achievements in science in medicine, depend on the development of research and development, clinical and particularly IT infrastructure. All these elements have been taken into consideration while constructing and organizing, following the initiative and project of Prof. H. Skarzynski, the new health care and research and development unit on the measure of the 21st century – the International Center of Hearing and Speech in Kajetany near Warsaw. The particular mission of the World Hearing Center is tied to our chances and aspirations in the united Europe. The ORL clinic team performs the largest number of hearing-improving surgeries in the world every year. Moreover, new programmes have been launched:

• research of new, universal methods of early detection and intervention in cases of hearing, voice, speech and balance disorders;
• introducing in Poland new tools and methods of diagnostics and therapy in collaboration with several centres in Austria, Australia, Belgium, France, Germany, Switzerland and USA;
• diffusing on the international forum our original achievements, implemented for the first time in modern medicine, such as the treatment of the partial deafness.

Clinical programme of the entire team of the Institute of Physiology and Pathology of Hearing encompasses the wide cooperation with all EU countries regarding the optimization of costs and effectiveness of therapy in relation to problems such as: deafness and profound hearing loss, speech disorders in stuttering, voice disorders, tinnitus, vertigo and balance dysfunctions, possibilities of the reconstructive surgery in treatment of the congenital and acquired ear malformations. Particularly important from the point of social and economic point of view was the educational programme developed in the Institute, including education of specialists in different fields, parents, family and caregivers, especially of children with hearing and speech disorders, and adults with tinnitus and balance disorders. Unprecedented effectiveness of these activities was aided by the wide-scale implementation of new and economical methods of communication with involved parties through the internet during:

• regular distance learning programmes including universal lectures and trainings was well as individual tailor-made programmes of e.g. home rehabilitation;
• regular communication with interested specialists during the long-term continual education programmes with participation of the most prominent world’s specialists in each field;
• popularizing regular, open as well as tailor-made to order specialist consultations on-line;
• further widening of the teleconsultations’ system, presently implemented on a micro scale in the Institute of Physiology and Pathology of Hearing, even now bringing unparalleled therapeutical and economic results for the health care system and for patients;
• regular presentations of new, tested, economically justified diagnostic and therapeutic standard procedures, which have a great influence on popularization of knowledge and formation of the health awareness;
• popularizing the Institute’s achievements during the presentation surgeries performed Prof. H. Skarzynski and his team in special courses Window Approach Workshop and presentation of surgical techniques during the global LION meetings.

An exceptional achievement of the programme developed for the Institute of Physiology and Pathology of Hearing is that many eminent scientists from the entire world decided on opening the regular cooperation and joined the Institute’s Scientific Board and, what is particularly important, are looking to conduct joint research, implementation and clinical projects with the Institute in Poland. It is an unparalleled chance for new discoveries though confronting the enormous material available in Poland with the experience of leaders of EU research and development programmes. It is a great opportunity for showing our abilities to the united Europe, especially in the field of widely understood rehabilitation. In the fields of diagnostics, treatment and rehabilitation of the disorders of hearing, voice, speech and balance we have already achieved a lot. In order to facilitate the acquisition of the EU funds and to promote Polish science abroad, we undertook such initiatives as:

• preparation and signing, in Warsaw, of the European Scientific Consensus Statements on early detection of hearing, voice, speech and vision disorders;
• popularizing the idea of the Institute in Poland in such way as to not waste time for pointless discussions “is it worthwhile?”, “are we able to?”, “can we afford it in such difficult time?”, etc.;
• with the significant participation of the media the history of the creation of the World Hearing Center should be publicized as the example of the efficient organization of the modern Polish health care programme and the real transformation.

The accomplishment of these goals is not only a positive prognostic for the further development and integration, but also, what is more important, it should be an opportunity to make room for the civic initiatives in this field. For many visitors of the World Hearing Center it was hard to believe that a unit with such a comprehensive programme of activities was created, more, that it was created outside so called central investments, using only own means with help from the EU funds.

Member profile

The main goal of the Institute of Physiology and Pathology of Hearing (in Polish: Instytut Fizjologii i Patologii Słuchu) is to minimalize the number of patients suffering from different hearing disorders. To achieve it we co-organize a lot of hearing screening programmes in Poland and abroad. We intensified our activities in this area after the signing of the European Scientific Consensus on hearing, sight and speech screening in pre-school and school-age children. It was a great support of activities during the Polish Presidency and an important argument to adopt the "EU Council Conclusion on the early detection and treatment of communication disorders in children, including the use of e-health tools and innovative solutions". The Consensus was signed by representatives of 27 countries, mostly national representatives associated in the European Federation of Audiology Societies.

One of the main achievements in this field is to create the International Consortium of Hearing Screening, which was established in cooperation with leading national and foreign units. The Consortium successfully implements the "Programme of early detection of hearing disorders in order to equalize education opportunities of children on four continents”. The Consortium consists of medical centres from such countries as Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Senegal, Tajikistan and Côte d’Ivoire. Today we are continuing our steps through organizing hearing screening programmes on four continents, national programmes for early detection of hearing problems (e.g. projects of the "Hearing screening programme for first graders from primary schools in the Masovian Voivodeship in the 2017/2018 and 2018/2019 school year" or the programme “First Health”), world, continental or international conferences and congresses (such as 32nd Politzer Society meeting with 2nd World Congress of Otology in 2019) and other.

The ”First Health” Program is an initiative of Prof. Henryk Skarżyński launched in 2016 and implemented on an increasingly large scale. The third edition of the Program began in June 2018 at the Polish Television building and the building of Polish Radio and lasted throughout the summer until mid-October 2018. The purpose of the “First Health” Program was among others creating pro-health attitudes in the Polish society. Screening gives us the possibility to check large populations in order to detect early disorders and various diseases, and help patients as soon as possible. Thanks to screenings, at a very early stage we can detect diseases that could otherwise be undiagnosed over the years.

Mission

The Institute of Sensory Organs (in Polish: Instytut Narządów Zmysłów) was established in 2008. The main mission of the Institute is to design, conduct and implement the research and scientific works in the scope of prevention, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation, related to diseases of the sense organs, especially hearing impairments. The improvement of the quality of patients’ lives is the most important goal to achieve by the Institute. Another goal, which is realised by the Institute, is sharing knowledge, own experience and train professionals, providing them the best and valuable examples from own practice. Accordingly, the Institute organizes and co-organizes congresses and conferences, trainings, workshops and courses, both international and national, to help professionals. The Institute also publishes two specialized journals for professionals and one for both, professionals and patients.

Moreover, the Institute coorganizes pilot hearing screening programmes and tele-solutions (such as teleconsultations, telediagnostics, telerehabilitation, telefitting and other) in four continents. To above aims, the Institute cooperates with leading national and international specialists and scientific entities.

Member profile

The Institute of Sensory Organs was created in 2008 and since than it has been involved, on the initiative of members of the Management Board, in organizing and performing pilot screening programmes on four continents: Africa, Asia, Europe and South America. So far screening programmes have been carried out in the Republic of Moldova (Chisinau), Romania (Bucharest), Ukraine (Odessa), Russian Federation (Krasnoyarsk), Tajikistan (Dushanbe), Kyrgyzstan (Bishkek), Azerbaijan (Baku), Armenia (Yerevan), Kazakhstan (Almaty), Senegal (Dakar), Côte d’Ivoire (Abidjan), Ghana, Congo, Rwanda (Kigali), Tanzania (Moshi), Cameroon (Yaoundé), Nigeria (Lagos), Colombia (Bogota), Brazil (Campinas). It is also worth to notice that the research team from the Institute, in collaboration with other leading centres in Poland, co-created a diagnostic medical device – the Senses Examination Platform. The development of the device was preceded by an analysis of the then state of otorhinolaryngology, screening of the sensory organs’ programmes, especially hearing, and the incidence of diseases related to the sensory organs, including hearing. The Platform is a portable device for screening of the sensory organs. With the help of the Platform it is possible to detect a range of hearing, sight and speech dysfunctions. The device enables to conduct audiometric testing for air conduction, hearing screening for frequencies 1000, 2000 and 4000 Hz, the hearing in noise test, visual examination based on contrast differentiation test, colour vision and stereoscopic vision tests, speech test, gap detection test, and dichotic digits test. The Platform also includes the "Questionnaire" module, which allows you to conduct a survey – to collect information about the subject. In addition, the Platform is equipped with a system that allows sending test results to the central system via the Internet. In that way, it is possible to conduct research in various regions of the country and in various countries around the world. Now, the Institute takes part in co-creating a multipurpose sensory examination capsule – a diagnostics and rehabilitation capsule.

The Institute also coorganizes numerous national screening programmes. Since 2017, the Institute has been coorganizing the implementation of the global screening in the Masovian Voivodeship, which takes place within 37 projects of the "Hearing screening programme for first graders from primary schools in the Masovian Voivodeship in the 2017/2018 and 2018/2019 school year". Ultimately, up to the end of the project, i.e. by the end of 2019, a total of over 81 000 school age children will have a possibility to be tested, and over 67 000 parents, guardians and school employees will be involved in educational activities. Hearing screening tests are carried out in four cities (Ostroleka, Plock, Radom, and Siedlce) and 33 districts. The Members of the Management Board, especially Director of Science and Development, Prof. Piotr H. Skarzynski, participate in different debates, forums and other meetings, including WHO meetings the main goal of which is to discuss current status of hearing and hearing disorders, otorhinolaryngology, audiology and phoniatrics in general, such as:

• WELCONOMY Forum in Toruń, 18-19.03.2019, Toruń, Polska; Multi-country workshop on the ear and hearing care in the European region, WHO meeting, 16.10.2018, Moscow, Russian Federation; 9th Mazovia Development Forum, 17–18.10.2018, Warsaw, Poland; European Technology Forum, 26-27.09.2018, Katowice, Poland; 3rd Stakeholders’ meeting for World Health Organization programme on prevention of deafness and hearing loss, 03-04.07.2018, Geneva, Switzerland;
• WELCONOMY Forum in Toruń, 12.03.2018, Toruń, Poland; III Health Challenges Congress, 08–10.03.2018, Katowice, Poland; Seventieth session of the World Health Organization Regional Committee for South-East Asia, 06-10.09.2017, Male, Maldives and more.

Moreover, the Institute co-organizes numerous congresses, conferences, workshops and courses, mostly world or international meetings (for instance, 2nd Scientific Conference “Guidelines for otorhinolaryngology, audiology and phoniatrics” (9–11 March 2017, Zakopane, Poland), XII International Tinnitus Seminar (22–24 May 2017, Warsaw, Poland), 1st World Tinnitus Congress (22–24 May 2017, Warsaw, Poland), and the XXV International Evoked Response Audiometry Study Group Biennial Symposium (21–25 May 2017, Waraw, Poland), The 4th International Symposium on Otosclerosis and Stapes Surgery (06–07 April 2018, Cracow, Poland), the 32nd Politzer Society Meeting with 2nd World Congress of Otology (28 May–1 June 2019, Warsaw, Poland), and XXXV World Congress of Audiology (19–21 April 2020, Warsaw, Poland).

Mission

Towarzystwo Otorynolaryngologów, Foniatrów i Audiologów Polskich (in English: The Society of Polish Otorhinolaryngologists, Phoniatrists and Audiologists) is a new society of Polish otorhinolaryngologists, phoniatrists and audiologists who deal with different aspects of otorhinolaryngology and the related fields. The Society was found in 2017. Activities undertaken by the Society are devoted to the following fields of professional and scientific practice: otolaryngology (including paediatric otolaryngology), audiology, phoniatry, logopaedics, surdopedagogy, special education, rehabilitation, telemedicine and the related fields.

The primary objectives pursued by the Society are:

1. To affiliate individuals, whose activities and subject areas are dedicated to the development of the fields of interest to the Society.
2. To spread knowledge about the scientific advancement across these fields and promoting public awareness of them, especially in the circles of medical students, doctors, medical personnel and medical technicians.
3. To encourage the Society members to carry out scientific work, and to participate in the professional training of doctors in the fields of interest to the Society.
4. To cooperate with central and regional public administration bodies, professional self-governments and associations in order to provide the adequate standard of clinical management and treatment in otolaryngology (including paediatric otolaryngology), audiology, phoniatry, logopaedics, surdopedagogy, special education, rehabilitation, telemedicine and the related fields.
5. To organize and support research and scientific works dedicated to the fields of interest to the Society, as well as to cooperate with other institutions and associations in these areas.
6. To pursue and support various forms of training and education-related activities for the benefit of representatives of medical or medicine-related circles to broaden their knowledge and practical skills in the above-mentioned fields, including the granting of a patronages.

Member profile

The Society takes numerous activities in the field of ear and hearing care and public health. First of all, the Society coorganizes screening programs in Poland and abroad. One of the most important activities in this field is performing hearing screening test in Poland. Since 2017 the Society has helped with implementing global screening in the Masovian Voivodeship, which takes place within 37 projects of the "Hearing screening programme for first graders from primary schools in the Masovian Voivodeship in the 2017/2018 and 2018/2019 school year”. Ultimately, up to the end of the project, i.e. by the end of 2019, a total of over 81 000 school age children will have a possibility to be tested, and over 67 000 parents, guardians and school employees will be involved in educational activities.

Hearing screening tests are carried out in four cities (Ostroleka, Plock, Radom, and Siedlce) and 33 districts (Bialobrzegi, Ciechanow, Garwolin, Gostynin, Grodzisk, Grojec, Kozienice, Legionowo, Jeziorki, Makow, Minsk, Mlawa and Nowodwory, Ostroleka, Ostrow, Otwock, Piaseczno, Plock, Plonsk, Pruszkow, Przasnysz, Pultusk, Radom, Siedlce, Sierpec, Sochaczew, Sokolow, West Warsaw, Węgrow, Wolomin, Wyszkow, and Zwolen, and Zyrardow).

Mazovia has become the first region in the world where the programme covering the entire population of children starting school education has been implemented in clinical practice. The Society has also taken part in the implementation of the hearing screening programme for first graders of primary schools in the area of the capital city of Warsaw and co-run the programme "First Health". Other screening tests, in collaboration with the Society, were performed in Kazakhstan, Almaty, April 2017 and Nigeria, November 2017.

Moreover, the Society takes part in organizing many prestigious congresses, both Poland-wide and worldwide, such as, the 2nd Scientific Conference “Guidelines for otorhinolaryngology, audiology and phoniatry”, XII International Tinnitus Seminar, 1st World Tinnitus Congress, and the XXV International Evoked Response Audiometry Study Group Biennial Symposium, The 4th International Symposium on Otosclerosis and Stapes Surgery (06–07 April 2018, Cracow, Poland), the 32nd Politzer Society Meeting with 2nd World Congress of Otology (28 May–01 June 2019, Warsaw, Poland), and XXXV World Congress of Audiology (19–21 April 2020, Warsaw, Poland)

Mission

Implementation of Universal Newborn Hearing Screening in Portugal, provide National recommendations regarding early diagnosis and appropriate audioverbal rehabilitation, coaching new screening programmes, provide technical support and professional formation for screening and rehabilitation professionals. Lobby for Hearing prevention, early rehabilitation in children.

Member profile

Training of professionals to assure a national network of local screening programmes that can refer infants and children to tertiary centres with audiological skills to early diagnose and rehabilitate deaf and hard of hearing children.

Counselling National Health Authorities and Professional Scientific Associations in the field of Ear and Hearing problems.

Providing training of professional involved. Help finding philanthropic donors for getting the audiological equipment for screening programmes.

Our action enabled to establish a National Screening program before the official Guideline of 2015 (DGS) that recommended Universal Screening.

Lately GRISi started lobbying also for the needed attention towards elderly people hearing health.

Mission

OUVIR is a registered nongovernmental and non-profit association, founded on 11 March 2011. It represents and defends the general, individual and collective principles of its members, with hearing aids and implants users, living in Portugal. OUVIR has a main objective, which is to provide the right living conditions to all people with hearing loss and minimize the physical, psychological, social and vocational impact that the disability causes. In addition, it provides clarification and information to the families and the general population on how to scope and deal with the loss of hearing.

Member profile

OUVIR strongest points are giving information and orientation to anyone who seeks its support. Actually, OUVIR works arduously in divulging the association (permanently), creating the approach to the strategic organizations/companies/governmental entities and ministries. It also searches for new volunteers who are willing and available to spread OUVIR’s essence. However, OUVIR feels that it is possible to do a lot more for its members and people with hearing loss, fights ambitiously for the divulgation of its project. For that reason, it’s been making all the necessary efforts and already has a very important partnership network.

Mission

APtA is a non-profit, professional association, which carries out its activity throughout the national territory, independently from any political and/or religious organizations, and aims to promote, by itself and in conjunction with other organizations, the technical, scientific and socio-professional progress of audiologists.

Member profile

Development of activities, aimed towards the general population, that allow for the development of knowledge about hearing health. Work together with official health entities and other relevant associations and entities. Development of training and awareness actions. Active participation in international associations in the field of audiology.

Mission

Enhance the communication ability, quality of life and welfare of individuals by delivering quality and professional audiology services.

Support and empower people with hearing difficulties and their families by enhancing education, practice and policy system.

Maintain high standard and improve professional competency with integrity, quality, and professionalism.

Advocate and improve national policy with mutual relations and leaderships.

Member profile

The Korean Society of Audiologist (KSA) serves for the certified audiologists in Korea and represents their voices. The KSA is the nation’s largest and distinct society of audiologists. We enhance professional excellence, high ethical standard, best practice, and quality of education in order to provide the best hearing care services and management for people having hearing and communication difficulties. Our membership consists of the certified audiologists across various professional settings such as hearing aid centres, hearing aid and cochlear implant manufacturers, hospitals, and research and educational institute.

Mission

With love of God, free humankind from hearing loss

Member profile

1. Collection and analysis of the Korean National Big Data of Hearing.
2. Making the standard Korean hearing threshold according to sex and age.
3. Developing the therapeutics of stem cells for hearing loss.

Mission

Our mission is to provide effective leadership for the health sector by focusing on evidence-based policy-making; planning; monitoring; evaluation; collaboration and regulation. The Ministry of Health establishes national priorities for health and ensures an enabling environment for the delivery of a broad range of high quality, people-centred services from a mix of public and private providers.

Member profile

Developing policies on hearing health.

Initiating and promoting national programmes on hearing health.

Developing and promoting standards in hearing health care.

Oversight of national hearing screening programmes.

Mission

To provide best audiological and rehabilitative services for hearing impaired children.

Member profile

Our work covers all areas of current paediatric audiology: newborn and school-age hearing screening, diagnostics, amplification, CI, rehabilitation, parents’ education, supporting of colleagues from other institutions, increasing social awareness.

We provide medical care for all children with hearing loss who live in St Petersburg - nearly 4000 children. The staff number is 70 people, including audiologists, ENT, paediatricians, neurologists, speech-language therapists, psychologists, nurses, etc. We follow evidence-based medicine principles and international guidelines in our practice. Our Center also conducts many scientific studies, involved in several international workgroups (e.g. EFAS school-age hearing screening workgroup).

In 2020 we conducted an audit of the newborn hearing screening in maternity wards, children's hospitals in St Petersburg, which led to significant increase of screening and diagnostics coverage, decreased age of identification of hearing loss.

Each month we carry out a parents' school to improve their knowledge about hearing loss, hearing aids, CI and rehabilitation.

In 2019 we conducted hearing screening project at the school for blind children and identified significant number of children with hearing loss.

Recently we conducted multicentral study of hearing function in children after COVID-19 (the first publication on this topic in the science).

We concluded all our experience in the handbook "Organization of audiological services for children" (2021).

Mission

All people with impaired hearing feel confident and comfortable in society. Society understands and respects people with hearing loss and deaf culture.

Mission: People with impaired hearing are provided with all possible methods of hearing aids, rehabilitation, communication and learning.

Member profile

We support families with children with hearing loss, provide access to rehabilitation, promote the concept of an accessible environment for the deaf and hard of hearing people, support the culture of sign language, attract public attention to the problems of people with hearing impairment. the following UN Sustainable Development Goals:

• good health and well-being;
• quality education;
• reduced inequality.

Mission

The National Research Centre for Audiology and Hearing Rehabilitation (NRCAHR) is the leading institution in the country in the field of audiology and hearing rehabilitation.

The mission of the NRCAHR is to conduct the basic and applied research and training in the field of prevention, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of hearing loss and deafness.

The NRSAHR was established in 1988 and the results of its 30 years research and clinical work was realized in the development and introduction of the Newborn Universal Hearing Screening and programme of cochlear implantation.

Member profile

The Centre provides diagnostic rehabilitation services for patients with hearing loss. NRCAHR is one of the largest cochlear implant centres in Europe.

The NRCAHR also provides scientific and methodological guidance to the Regional Audiological Centre (more than 250 in the country).

The Education division of the NRCAHR delivers a range of accredited programmes to medical audiologists, acousticians, speech therapists. The Centre is also active in teaching and training to countries in our region, especially into Armenia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan.

The community initiatives and programmes aim to reduce the growing numbers of people suffering from hearing loss through awareness programmes and education.

The NRCAHR actively participates in the World Hearing Day, initiates the events all other the country. During last 2 years NRCAHR as a WHO collaborating centre is actively working with WHO. In June 2018 was organized training course for trainers, in October 2018 in Moscow – WHO multicountry workshop on ear and hearing care in the European Region.

Mission

To identify critical global ORL care needs and communication disorders, to propose ways to prevent and treat individuals with them and to set priorities among these needs according to their impact on society.

Member profile

Responsible for the World Congress every 4 years.

To provide an overview of otolaryngological services and needs on a global basis. These vary from country to country and region to region.

Lobby with international agencies both on behalf of those who require treatment of ORL disease and are providing services to these people.

Help in developing national and international plans and awareness for the prevention of hearing loss and hearing impairment.

Continuing medical education.

Greater central resources.

Partner to WHO.

Mission

The mission of the entity is a world where children who are deaf have universal access to early identification, hearing technology, audiological support, therapeutic services, and, ultimately, functional spoken language. It aims to mobilize and develop resources to advance spoken language acquisition and whole-child development for every deaf child through early identification and by supporting and promoting the impactful work of the Carel du Toit Centres.

Member profile

The Carel du Toit Trust serves to raise awareness about early identification of hearing loss, especially newborn screening and raises funds to support the work of the Carel du Toit Centres – where deaf children learn to speak through the use of appropriate hearing technology and auditory/verbal development of language, through experiential learning. The Trust also funds various outreach projects e.g. 3E (Eyes and Ears) using Hear-X technology, children in ECDs in informal settlements are screened for vision/hearing impairment and are referred for further diagnostic testing. The Carel du Toit Trust has information days, and goes to schools and businesses to educate them about ear and hearing care. Furthermore, the Trust funds the salaries of hearing screeners (who are mothers of deaf children) to screen all newborns in a public academic hospital, the Tygerberg Hospital.

Mission

The Department of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences ascribes to the greater mission of the Faculty of Health Sciences of the University of Cape Town which is as follows:

• respond to the health care needs of South Africa and beyond;
• educate health professionals, educators, and scientist for life;
• undertake research that is relevant to the needs of our country and beyond;
• promote health equity through promoting health professional standards in the delivery of quality health care;
• to be socially responsive to the needs of the people of our country and beyond;
• to develop interventions to reduce the risk of ill health, disability, and mortality.

Member profile

The Department of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences trains undergraduate audiologists and speech therapists, provides clinical services to underserved areas as part of student training and social responsiveness.

Provides professional capacity building through short courses and seminars for qualified audiologists. In public health, we do the following:

• Collaborate with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine to run a course on public health planning for hearing impairment.
• Teach public health as a core course for undergraduate audiologists.
• We are involved in public health related research with our postgraduate students that enrol for Masters’ programmes.

Mission

The Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology, University of the Witwatersrand endeavours to maintain and grow its international reputation and a history of academic excellence through the fostering of ongoing development of its academic and clinical staff, research, publications, and advances in the field through published research and professional activity at the local, national, and international levels. It also seeks to achieve excellence in clinical services which are an example to the region and, through published research, to the world.

Member profile

The Department advances the formation of contextually responsive and attuned graduates in audiology, recognizing the multifaceted aspects of communication, ear, hearing, and audiological care. It also drives research and enquiry which are necessary for practice, policy, and theory. Moreover, it provides clinical services to people with deafness and their families and communities through the clinic based at the university as well as at outreach clinics in areas of constrained resources.

Mission

Services: the NWA programme will use its resources and expertise to reduce the negative impact of hearing impairment on the health, lifestyle and communicative abilities of individuals with hearing loss and their families through:

• prevention of the onset of ear and hearing problems through appropriate community education programmes on ear and hearing health;
• the early identification and management of ear and hearing problems;
• an active research programme that focus on an evidence-based model for the inclusion of audiological services as part of integrated health, child and community care in rural South Africa.

Member profile

As per the mission of the Ndlovu Wits Audiology (NWA) clinic and outreach programme the objectives of our programme are to:

1. Expand the comprehensive audiological services, as part of the PHC package of services for the prevention, identification, diagnosis and management of hearing loss from nine to 12 settlements in the Elias Motsolaedi Local Municipal area.
2. Plan, implement, monitor and evaluate the health promotion campaigns on ear and hearing health in a rural community in South Africa
3. Build capacity of the local communities to implement early communication intervention for children and their families, through the training of teachers, health personnel and community members.
4. Maintain an active research programme by focusing on an evidence-based model for the inclusion of audiological services as part of integrated health, child and community care in rural South Africa.

Mission

The Clínica Universidad de Navarra is a center of the University of Navarra, of Christian inspiration.

Its mission is to integrate assistance, research and teaching in an excellent clinical practice that puts the patient and their needs at the centre of the activity.

The Clinic seeks to improve its professionals through good clinical practice as a way of serving society.

Member profile

The entity focuses on education of professionals who collaborate in the management of patients with ear and hearing problems with a high standard of excellence.

It collaborates with hearing health programmes from other countries: III National Congress of the Hearing Health Program High Risk Social Security Fund, organized by the Ministry of Health. Pan American Organization of Health, Panama.

It also conducts research for advances in cochlear implants and hearing aids and to improve access to hearing tests in remote communities through the tele audiometry.

The entity runs a continuing education programme by videoconference with the ENT Department of the Clinic Reina Fabiola University, Argentina.

It supports care of national and international patients with diagnostic and surgical procedures of high technology with monitoring and control.

Mission

The aim of CIBER, a public research consortium set up at the initiative of the Instituto de Salud.

Carlos III (ISCIII) is to further excellent research in biomedicine and health sciences done in the National Health System and in the science and technology system. To this end, efforts and interdisciplinary and multi-institutional research are combined with a preferential dedication of financial resources around knowledge networks formed by centres and research groups reporting to different administrations and public and private institutions.

At the present time, the CIBER has a staff of more than 900 persons and almost 6000 attached researchers, integrated into 400 research groups, spread out at different centres, linked to 104 institutions in the consortium, belonging to different administrations, institutions, and autonomous communities, in the public and private sectors.

The CIBER’s scientific programme is arranged around the following thematic research areas: bioengineering, biomaterials and nanomedicine (CIBER-BBN), cardiovascular diseases (CIBERCV), diabetes and associated metabolic diseases (CIBERDEM), epidemiology and public health (CIBERESP), fragility and healthy aging (CIBERFES), liver and digestive diseases (CIBEREHD) rare diseases (CIBERER), respiratory diseases (CIBERES), physiopathology of obesity and nutrition (CIBEROBN), oncology (CIBERONC), mental health (CIBERSAM), neurodegenerative diseases (CIBERNED) and infectious diseases (CIBER INFEC).

Member profile

Some of the CIBER groups have been working actively in the field of ear and hearing care and are committed to the implementation of World Health Assembly resolution 70.13 have actions/activities in the public health domain of ear and hearing care.

Mission

Assist implanted deaf people and their families – throughout the Spanish territory – to achieve their full inclusion and normalization in society, being legitimized the entity for the defence of rights and needs of the collective, offering advice and support, at any stage of the life, from babies, boys and girls, youth, adults and seniors.

Member profile

The Federation represents at the Spanish level the interests of deaf people who are users of the cochlear implant.

Its main objectives are the truthful dissemination of information about the cochlear implant in its multiple aspects and the defence of the interests of the implanted ones themselves.

Mission

The prevention of hearing loss. Providing teaching and research facilities in areas concerning deafness. Assisting people with hearing loss and are at risk of social exclusion providing audiological assessment and hearing aid if required.

Member profile

The main projects of the lastrecent years have been providing hearing aid to those that present with hearing loss and are in low resource settings and at risk of poverty and/or social exclusion. The procedure has been as follows: a) The project is presented, and its aims explained in the different municipality municipalities of the Canary Islands. b) The social workers identified those individuals that meet the conditions (social part) to be included in the project. c) the The subjects that meet the condition are referred to our ENT clinic for audiological assessment (audiological part ). d) hearing Hearing aid fitting takes placed in the selected cases, e) Hearing aid fitting follow up. (2 years).

Mission

Worldwide there are round 466 million people affected by hearing loss and among them 34 million children (Source: WHO, 2018). Round half of these cases could have been avoided by taking preventive measures.

One of the biggest challenges is that 80% of people with hearing loss live in low- to middle-income countries and often do not have any access to audiological or medical care. In low-income countries, for example, only 1 in 40 people with hearing loss wears a hearing aid.

This has serious consequences: children with untreated hearing loss, particularly those living in these regions, have hardly any future prospects. After all, children who cannot hear very well have difficulty learning to speak, which reduces their chances of receiving an education and developing at an appropriate rate for their age. Hearing aids as well as audiological and medical care would remedy this. However, access to these remains beyond the grasp of most families.

Against this background, Sonova, the leading provider of hearing solutions, founded the non-profit Hear the World Foundation in 2006.

The vision of the foundation is a world in which:

• each person has the chance to experience good hearing;
• wearing a hearing aid is no longer a taboo;
• hearing is cherished and protected; and,
• people in need with hearing loss enjoy equal opportunities.

Member profile

The Hear the World Foundation is committed to improving the quality of life and promoting equal opportunities for people with hearing loss around the world. Our funding priorities are: programmes for children, their parents and families, professional training, and the prevention of hearing loss.

Aid organizations that pursue the same goals with their projects can apply for support from the Hear the World Foundation in the form of funds, hearing solutions from the Sonova product range (hearing aids, cochlear implants and wireless microphone systems), batteries, other audiological equipment and expertise. As a Sonova corporate foundation, we have the option of making Sonova employees available to our partners as specialists on volunteer missions.

Mission

The purpose of the International Society of Audiology is to facilitate the knowledge, protection and rehabilitation of human hearing.

Member profile

• Coordinates and disseminates information to and from its members and affiliated societies.
• Holds courses and regular international congresses; publishes a journal and other written communications in the field of audiology.
• Serves as an advocate for all professionals in the field of audiology and for the hearing-impaired people throughout the world.
• In consultation with members and affiliated societies, develops model guidelines to serve in enhancing the profession and audiological practice, including development of curriculum and continuing education in audiological training.
• Promotes awards and prizes to honour members and non-members for achievements in audiology.
• Disseminates information about the science and practice of audiology to the general public to raise awareness of hearing disability and promote its prevention and remediation.

Mission

To improve ENT health for the Thai population.

Member profile

To understand the policy of ear and hearing care from WHO and sharing the knowledge and experience with other countries.

Mission

As a model for the Standard Communication Disorders organization in Thailand and being internationally recognized.

Member profile

Education: B.Sc. in Com. Dis. (audiology and speech pathology) 30 students/Yr. M.Sc. in Com. Dis. (audiology and speech pathology) 8–10 students/Yr. Ph.D in Com. Dis. (in process).

Services: Diagnosis and management for all kinds of hearing loss patients and vestibular disorders (newborns to elderly).

Diagnosis and management for all kinds of speech and language pathology and swallowing disorders.

Academic services: providing knowledge and counselling in communication disorders on World Hearing Day every year.

Arrange mobile unit to examine the elderly in remote areas.

Workshop in newborn screening for nurses from regional hospitals.

Research: conducting research in audiology and speech pathology and publish in national and international journals.

Mission

Objectives of TSHA:

1. To be the national representative body of audiologists and speech–language pathologists in Thailand.
2. To increase knowledge and experience between members.
3. To disseminate knowledge in communication disorders to the public.
4. To collaborate on studies and research work in communication disorders for the benefit of the public.
5. To promote and control the quality of communication disorders work for members in both practical and academic aspect.
6. To cooperate with institutions, associations and other organizations with similar objectives both within the country and abroad.
7. Not engaging in political activities.

Description of work

• Promoting and support communication disorders professionals to develop skills in taking care of hearing loss patients and providing counseling on preventing hearing loss.
• Participation with other government agency or organization in describing policy or regulations related to hearing handicap.191:191

Mission

The Royal College of Otolaryngologist Head and Neck Surgeons of Thailand (RCOT) has a mission to serve members the standard and advance academic knowledge and technology for the purpose of good health care for Thai people. We are also responsible for the training of residents and fellows in our fields.

Member profile

Regarding ear/hearing:

• We arrange for the subcommittee of the ear specialty, who will response for all the nation’s work on ear care and ear training, and other related science.

We hold the World Hearing Day events:

• The first, World Hearing Day 2018 all across the country on 3–7 March 2019.
• The second, World Hearing Day Thailand 2019 with the cooperation of WHO Thailand and the Ministry of Health Lumpini (central) park in Bangkok. Many major hospitals all in Thailand regions.

We continued with the arrangements of this event for the public in 2020.

Mission

The entity promotes innovative solutions with the lowest resources and highest results especially in low-income countries.

Member profile

It raises public awareness through an innovative approach of communication, promotion of low costs, and efficiency.

Mission

To empower groups of parents of children with disabilities to maximize their potential to improve their standards of living.

Description of work

1. We promote hearing health in Makindye Division, Kampala Uganda through activities including (a) publicizing and celebrating World Hearing Day, (b) offering free community-based hearing screening and related appropriate referrals, and (c) disseminating hearing health IEC materials to communities.
2. We work with partners and jointly engage local authorities to increase the commitment of governance to inclusive health in Makindye Division, Kampala Uganda (we train stakeholders [village health teams and lower level health professionals] in early identification and appropriate referral of children with disabilities).
3. We conduct health camps where children with disabilities get treatment in groups including getting access to physiotherapy services and referrals for further medical attention and surgeries.
4. We support households of children with disabilities and selected inclusive schools in Makindye Division to access clean and safe drinking water by providing them with affordable ceramic water filters.

Mission

To inform the about the rights of persons who are hard of hearing and to advocate for their full participation in all development processes.

Member profile

In the field of ear and hearing care, UFHOH is a volunteering partner with the Starkey Hearing Foundation in mobilization of members to benefit from audiology services, screening and deserving members given hearing aids.

UFHOH has been lobbying for free screening services for children and youth in our community, we have supported a number of people with hearing impairment to access services freely in the process we attracted an audiologist to be a member to the Board of Directors who has supported us through screening exercises and helped members get free ear moulds, and hearing aids and made numerous recommendations to some for cochlear implant.

We established an early intervention hub, offering a range of services like advising the public about early identification of hearing loss cases among infants and young people in a bid to ensure that preventable causes can be treated or given early intervention.

UFHOH is actively engaged in the field of creating awareness about hearing loss and its preventive measures; we designed an awareness guide through our safe listening campaign to help inform the public about the reality of hearing loss to make this message real, we use members who have a hearing loss to share the story. We also use real life examples and exposure situations that may affect one’s hearing.

We carry out research on good ear care practices, and we share our findings with the general public through our communication channels including social media.

We organize World Hearing Day which has several activities throughout the week to raise awareness to identify ourselves with the World Health Organization and disseminating WHO information materials to the public to promote annual themes.

We also carry out primary schools hearing loss awareness camps to help teach children in primary schools about the importance of the ear and exposure common mistakes they make that usually result to hearing loss. To achieve results we use the local language with good pictorial and role play to ensure the message is grasped.

We have established a strong media relationship on raising awareness about safe listening, noise induced hearing loss and promotion of good ear care practices/early identification and intervention against hearing and speech therapy.

UFHOH has also positioned itself as a public critic to those parents/community members who subject children to slaps and we have been seriously engaging people on this issue. The first case was reported to us was in a far region, but we lacked resources to follow up with the teacher, in one of the schools in Eastern Region of Uganda, who slapped a child and she lost her hearing. Some members in our organization are victims of hearing loss because of slaps from parents and caretakers. We need to fight the fact that this ignorance is leading to hearing loss among the population.

Guidance and counselling: this focuses on counselling members about how they can live positively in the community with hearing loss, with the objective of fighting stigma, and ensure those who can benefit from the available rehabilitation services and live their lives positively.

Mission

Hearing diagnostics for adults and children with hearing aids, educational activities in the field of ear and hearing health.

Member profile

Hearing diagnostics for adults and children, hearing prosthetics with hearing aids for adults and children, maintenance and repair of hearing aids.

Mission

The entity is the largest organization for professionals in hearing and balance in the United Kingdom. It provides leadership, inspiration and guidance and develops and promotes excellence in services for patients. The entity is a driving force for improving quality standards, training and education and promotes the profile of audiology as an autonomous profession. It runs public health campaigns for access to diagnosis and treatment of all types of hearing and balance problems.

Member profile

Public health campaigns for access to diagnosis and treatment of all types of hearing and balance problems.

Mission

Cochrane ENT is one of the review groups of Cochrane, a global independent network of researchers, professionals, patients, carers and people interested in health. Cochrane is dedicated to the production and dissemination of systematic reviews of health care treatments and to the worldwide search for evidence in the form of clinical trials of treatments.

Member profile

The entity produces gold-standard systematic reviews of the effects of interventions for hearing difficulties and ear disorders.

Mission

The entity works in hard-to-reach places and on the issues people don't want to face or talk about – physical, sexual, emotional abuse and neglect. As the go-to partner of choice for the global health, humanitarian and development community, the entity partners with international, nation state and civil society agencies to share expertise, develop innovative new approaches and build local capacities to ensure that the rights of D/deaf children and young people to protection, health and well-being are realized.

Member profile

DeafKidz International (DKI) works to respond to the safeguarding and protection needs of deaf children and young people in low resource and complex humanitarian settings. It seeks to reduce the risk and vulnerability of deaf children to abuse through early detection and intervention. Its four part construct of screening, communication support, parenting support, victim and survivor support is currently being tested in Pakistan where, in partnership with UK Aid Connect, it is screening 20 000 children, young people and adults for hearing loss. It is conducting a similar test in Jamaica in partnership with the Government of Jamaica and plans to cascade its proven mode across a number of geographies in sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and South Asia.

Mission

• To improve the care available to patients suffering from conditions of the ear, nose, throat, head and neck.
• To promote the understanding of the range of conditions treated by the specialty.
• To provide information on the specialty to the general public and media.
• To encourage and support research within the specialty.
• To support and provide continuing education for specialists.
• To encourage recruitment into the specialty.
• To promote high standards in the training of specialists.
• To represent the specialty at the Royal Colleges of Surgeons and to government bodies.

Member profile

ENT UK has a Global Health Committee that promotes knowledge and advocacy in ENT disease worldwide including the organization of an annual conference held jointly with the British Association of Audiology.

Mission

We represent the deaf and hard of hearing community in Gibraltar. We want to protect the rights of the deaf to access services and information, encourage the use of British Sign Language, promote good hearing/ear health and reduce noise induced hearing loss risks in Gibraltar.

Member profile

We are a small fully volunteer driven organization financed by private donations and fundraising initiatives. Since 2008 we have provided guidance and support to the community, Her Majesty's Gibraltar Government and also acted as a pressure group.

Mission

To promote the awareness and impact of hearing loss so that government, commissioners, and public health bodies can take action.

Member profile

Development of quality standards, promotion of policy and practice, research, good practice guideline, advocacy.

Mission

To deliver world-leading research on hearing and hearing-related conditions, generating new evidence that will positively impact on policy and hearing health care practice.

Member profile

Hearing Sciences at Nottingham is one of the United Kingdom's' leading centres for research into ear and hearing care. We conduct full-spectrum research in this area, generating new ideas and approaches through discovery science and translating these advances into clinical practice through new interventions and service delivery models.

We have led, or made substantial contributions to, a number of recent high-impact reports highlighting unmet needs and best practices in hearing health care (Lancet Review and Subsequent Commission addressing the global burden of hearing loss; European Clinical Practice Guidelines for Tinnitus; NICE Guidelines for Assessment and Management of Hearing Loss in Adults; NICE Guidelines on Candidacy for Cochlear Implants for Children and Adults with Severe to Profound Deafness).

We work closely with local (The Ear Foundation) and national (Action on Hearing Loss, British Society of Audiology, British Tinnitus Association) charities, as well as patients and the public, to raise awareness about hearing health, develop and evaluate improved treatment pathways, and influence hearing health care policy at regional, national and international levels.

Mission

The mission of the Manchester Centre for Audiology and Deafness (ManCAD) is to improve the quality of life of individuals with hearing loss across their lifespan through innovation, education and research.

Member profile

ManCAD has a history of effective knowledge transfer and leadership of innovation. These include:

Service delivery:

• Manchester was instrumental in the HTA-funded critical review that successfully made the case for the introduction of the world’s first national universal new-born hearing screening and we were responsible for the evaluation of the 1st phase of implementing Newborn Hearing Screening Programme.
• Manchester was responsible for the implementation of modernizing children’s hearing aid services (MCHAS).
• Members of the ManCAD team have a history of involvement with the British professional bodies in audiology including past chairs of the British Society of Audiology and leading authorship of national practice guidance.
• Manchester colleagues were part of the international consensus panel developing Guidelines for Identification and Management of Infants and Children with Auditory Neuropathy Spectrum Disorder in Como, Italy, 2008 Research.
• We are the first group in the world to obtain access to the UK Biobank.
• We lead the SENSE-Cog project: A European-wide project investigating the combined impact of dementia, vision and hearing.
• Hearing Health, led by Kevin Munro, is one of the strands at the newly established Manchester Biomedical Research Centre established from a £28.5 million investment from The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR).

Education:

• ManCAD is the Government’s preferred provider of the scientist training programme in audiology, which is a postgraduate level audiology training within the framework of modernizing scientific careers.
• The University of Manchester is the home of the first university level training of deaf education. The programme has been led by the first and only Professor of deaf education in the United Kingdom.
• The teaching is delivered by internationally renowned names in audiology including Dave Moore, Kevin Munro, Harvey Dillon, Kai Uus, Iain Bruce Chris Plack, Colette McKay and many more.
• ManCAD is the first and only provider of the United Kingdom higher specialist scientific training programme in audiology which is a programme aimed at preparing experienced and leading clinical audiology professionals to consultant clinical scientists.

Mission

NADP focus is to support deafened adults and their families with information. We advocate for better access to hearing aids, cochlear implants and to improve access to communication.

Member profile

In public health, NADP supported lobbying to improve access to cochlear implants and are active member of CI Action Group. We are also a member of Alliance on Hearing Loss and Deafness, working with others on improving access to hearing care. Recently we have carried out satisfaction survey with hearing aids users in the United Kingdom which is being used towards improving person-centred approach. We have also worked with EFHOH on EU wide survey related to experiences of deafened people in Europe.

Mission

Our work is aimed to relieve suffering from diseases, injuries or infirmities of the ear nose and throat:

• we facilitate the diagnosis and treatment of diseases of the ear and upper aerodigestive tract;
• we research into disease of the ear and allied systems and publish the results;
• we provide equipment by indirect or direct donations;
• we educate and train of oto-rhino-laryngologists, health care professionals and students.

Member profile

Public health Professor Raine has been active in public health for many years. Major projects were the introduction of cochlear implant services into the UK. The Ear Trust funded services in Yorkshire for a number of years until established within the National Health Service. As clinical lead, Professor Raine presented to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence [NICE] evidence, which led to the simultaneous bilateral cochlear implantation for children. Alongside cochlear implantation, he need to diagnose hearing loss in children earlier was recognized. Professor Raine was part of the pilot studies that established universal newborn hearing screening in the UK. We continue to campaign for adult hearing screening as deafness has recognized links to dementia and additional ill health. Professor Raine has worked with NHS England as adviser and in commissioning specialized ear services for many years. More recently, he has been formally appointed to the Clinical Reference Group (CRG) for Ophthalmology and Ears.

Professor Raine has authored quality standards of adult and paediatric cochlear implantation. He also authored and secured the commissioning of bone conduction hearing implants for hearing loss (all ages) – including middle ear implants. This secured high cost low volume use of otological implants. (NHS England 16041/P July 2017). As deputy chair of the CRG he helped coordinate the revision of clinical indications for cochlear implantation for the UK Cochlear Implants for children and adults with severe to profound deafness (technology appraisal guidance [TA566] published date: 07 March 2019). This involved working with the Action on Hearing Loss and British Cochlear Implant Group. As previous chair of trustees to ENT UK he was involved in various ad hoc public health enquiries, and in improving patient knowledge with information leaflets.

Teaching and training:

• Monthly workshops are held to support prospective patients and their families into understanding hearing loss and what can be done.
• Professional training is supported to teach audiologists to recognize and refer patients with hearing problems not addressed by acoustic hearing aids. Similarly, teachers of the deaf and speech and language therapists are supported in managing patients in schools and in their local communities. Surgical training continues with the two-day courses in sinus surgery and temporal bone ear surgery.

Otology training/observership scholarships:

• Two consultants each year are offered, by competitive application, scholarships to attend courses and/or observe for 2 weeks. The Chair of the Ear Trust and an independent adviser, Professor Matthew Yung select the training placements. Members of council from The British Society of Otology support evaluation of applicants’ equipment:
  • investment and replacement of equipment not funded by usual channels continues.
• The Ear Trust also acts as a conduit for equipment and support to be donated independently through requests for help.

Research:

• The Ear Trust continues to fund the research audiological scientist-based Yorkshire Auditory Implant Service [YAIS]. We support and advise her on numerous projects, her main attention having been the prospective study into sound localization in children who have received sequential or simultaneous cochlear implants.
• YAIS is the only facility in the United Kingdom taking part in the international study on dementia in the over 55s who receive cochlear implants. The University of Antwerp is the lead centre.

International:

• One of the focuses has been the continued support for ENT in sub-Saharan Africa. In particular, the connection with the Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital (QECH) in Blantyre, Malawi. Links with Dr Wakisa Mulwafu, who is the only public sector ENT surgeon, go back a number of years. Strong associations have been established with Fife hospitals in Scotland and with surgeons and medical staff from Bradford Royal Infirmary. Trustees Professor C.H. and Dr Anne Raine together with fellow colleagues Mr Chris Bem and Mr David Strachan.

Overseas training:

• Three registrars, primarily based in the QECH, support Dr Mulwafu. Because there is a significant shortage of doctors in training, community support is by clinical officers (COs). These people have no formal medical training but do an 18/12 general basic paramedical course and then by choice do a further training in ENT for 18/12. We identified and have supported teaching but recognized early on that they could not work in the community without equipment. Following an audit of what was available and discussion with the COs a list of equipment was made and provided. trustees of the Ear Trust have coordinated with various charities, including Rotary International and firms to improve facilities and training.
• Teaching remains a high priority. Curriculum appropriate to need has been developed by Dr Chris Prescott and Dr Johan Fagan, both from South Africa.
• Through meetings and links with the International Federation of ORL Societies (IFOS) and the College of Surgeons of East, Central and Southern Africa (COSECSA) involvement with other countries has increased. Dr Clemence Chidziva hosted the third University of Zimbabwe temporal bone and otology course (April 2019) 34 delegates enrolled. Surgeons not only came from Zimbabwe but also from Botswana, Burundi, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi and Rwanda. The international faculty included; Prof. M. Profant – Slovakia; Prof. V. Cousins – Australia; Prof. J. Saunders – USA; Prof. C. Raine – United Kingdom; Mr D. Strachan – United Kingdom; Prof. P. Koltai – USA and Dr W. Mulwafu – Malawi Tackling deafness in Malawi.
• Tackling deafness is multifaceted. Audiological services have improved in Blantyre with the initial support of Soundseekers. Four Malawian audiologists completed their training in Manchester (United Kingdom) in 2017. Sadly, supporting services from Soundseekers has been withdrawn from Malawi this year. The challenge is to seek funding for jobs and keep momentum.

The registrars and a couple of the experienced COs based at QECH have been taught endoscopic eardrum repair surgery. Over 100 cases have been performed and success rate audited. Preliminary results have been presented at International meetings. The first sub-Saharan endoscopy course will be held in QECH in November 2019.

Cochlear implantation has been introduced into Malawi. Eighteen patients over the last 5 years have been implanted and Dr Mulwafu has been taught how to perform the surgery. Currently the implants are supported by the generosity of Med El, an Austrian-based implant company.

Mission

Preventing damage to our nation’s hearing health and other noise related health conditions; through practical, evidenced and cost-effective communications and solutions. Passionate about preserving and promoting the protection of our nation's hearing health.

Member profile

Our focus is on preventable causes of hearing loss and hearing health impact through common sense, cost effective, evidenced solutions. The group represents respected, informed and influential leaders in the field of noise, acoustics, health and hearing who can be trusted to provide independent, evidence-based advice and leadership in the area of hearing conservation.

We aim to:

• Be a credible, independent source of information, knowledge and advice providing practical advice and solutions to common workplace and public health noise problems.
• Be a force for influencing key stakeholders to shift attitudes and actions around noise and hearing loss by raising awareness and education.
• Provide leadership in hearing conservation and influence others to take notice and make positive changes to “buy quiet” “turn it down” and “conserve hearing”.
• Provide evidence and identify gaps in understanding to steer future research and innovation.
• Provide a forum for like-minded professionals to share ideas, collaborate and press for change.
• To serve as an independent reputable forum for review and debate of emerging guidance, standards and regulation in this field.

Mission

To serve the needy unreached community in Zanzibar.

Member profile

We have different projects regarding hearing care in our community, such as: 1. Primary ear and hearing care 2. Newborn hearing screening 3. School health monitoring programme 4. ZOP school for the deaf and post hearing rehabilitation 5. Celebration of World Hearing Day held every March to raise awareness to the community.

Mission

3M is a global technology and innovation company operating in the fields of industry, worker safety, health care, and consumer goods. 3M applies science and innovation to make a real impact by igniting progress and inspiring innovation in lives and communities across the globe. As a company involved in hearing protection and preventive occupational health and safety programmes, we share the vision, goals and objectives of the World Hearing Forum.

Description of work

3M operates in the field of hearing protection for both occupational nonoccupational use. Hearing protectors are designed to help reduce hazardous noise and allow auditory situational awareness. We educate about prevention of noise-induced hearing loss for those people exposed to noise not only at workplace but also during leisure and recreational activities. 3M has a comprehensive knowledge, full range of technical solutions and many years of experience to help deliver and implement hearing conservation programmes in the workplace.

3M has a robust occupational health and safety culture, including hearing conservation for our own workers potentially exposed to noise, but also, we work actively with those who use the hearing protection products we produce, to teach them about appropriate selection, use, and care of hearing protectors. 3M is active in relevant standards and regulatory activities around the globe to support evidence-based standards. Ultimately, our goal is to encourage total worker hearing health for all noise exposed workers around the globe.

We support the vision of the World Health Assembly resolution 70.13 to include activities in the public health domain of preventive ear and hearing care. 3M believes in the importance of hearing care and protection and has supported advocacy campaigns dedicated to prevent hearing loss and educate on the importance of safe hearing. 3M's network of experts consists of audiologists, industrial hygienists, scientists, engineers and occupational health and safety practitioners located around the world and we provide hearing protection support in both occupational and nonoccupational areas.

As a member, 3M could bring its unique expertise on hearing conservation programme as well as a network of hearing experts all across the globe. In the past years, 3M has promoted global seminars and workshops dedicated to help prevent hearing loss in the workplace. This year we have joined the World Hearing Day campaign and supported the organization of a high-level webinar dedicated to safe hearing for workers, involving key policy-makers from the European Commission, the European Parliament and WHO colleagues. 3M China, USA, Canada and other regions have also participated in World Hearing Day activities for many years.

Mission

Working globally to ensure that people who are deaf and hard of hearing can hear and talk.

Member profile

Established in 1890, AG Bell is a non-profit international organization with offices in Washington, DC and Madrid, Spain. The AG Bell Academy for Listening and Spoken Language, the credentialing arm of the Association, confers listening and spoken language specialist (LSLS) certification to qualified professionals around the world.

Mission

The American Academy of Audiology promotes quality hearing and balance care by advancing the profession of audiology through leadership, advocacy, education, public awareness, and support of research.

Member profile

The American Academy of Audiology represents the symbiosis of 5 internal partners: the American Academy of Audiology (member support services for audiologists); the American Academy of Audiology Foundation (AAAF) (philanthropy); the Student Academy of Audiology (direct connection between students and their future professional home and discipline); the American Board of Audiology (ABA) (voluntary certification for individuals); and the Accreditation Commission for Audiology Education (ACAE) (accreditation for AuD programmes). Collectively, the partners advance the profession of audiology through leadership, advocacy, education, public awareness, and the support of research.

Mission

Our mission is to advance the gift of hearing provided by cochlear implantation through research, advocacy and awareness.

Member profile

The American Cochlear Implant Alliance is a not-for-profit membership organization created with the purpose of eliminating barriers to cochlear implantation by sponsoring research, driving heightened awareness and advocating for improved access to cochlear implants for patients of all ages across the USA. ACI Alliance members are clinicians, scientists, educators, and others on cochlear implant teams as well as parent and consumer advocates. An annual meeting for professional members is convened.

We sponsor research designed improve access to care, lead advocacy, and strive to improve awareness in the general public and primary care physicians. Our website is designed to improve public understanding.

Mission

The entity works to empower and support audiologists, speech-language pathologists, and speech, language, and hearing scientists through advancing science, setting standards, fostering excellence in professional practice, and advocating for members and those they serve.

Member profile

The American Speech–Language–Hearing Association provides educational programme accreditation of audiology and speech–language pathology educational programmes. It also provides professional credentialing and continuing professional development to audiologists and speech–language pathologists. In addition, the goal of the ASHA/PAHO collaboration is to build capacity of professionals and institutions that address communication disorders in the areas of speech, language, swallowing, and hearing.

Mission

To provide high-quality, comprehensive services to empower people affected by hearing loss, deafness or listening challenges.

Member profile

CHC has been a leader of hearing health care and public education since 1910. CHC provides a wide array of comprehensive clinical services to infants, children, and adults that include diagnostic audiology, amplification evaluation and dispensing, speech, language, and auditory training, and psychotherapy. Our approach is holistic and goes “far beyond the test booth”; that is CHC understands that hearing loss impacts all aspects of a person's life and we take the time that is truly necessary to address these aspects for each individual's needs. CHC provides expert care in the provision of a wide array of assistive devices and education in the ever growing body of apps available for communication access. We provide services to over 10 000 annually and help thousands more through our community outreach including our Mobile Audiology Unit, as well as our online resource, “Ask the Expert.”

Through outreach and education, CHC's Center for Hearing and Aging has provided ongoing programmes including mobile hearing testing, educational workshops and supportive counselling both on-site and in the community in order to address the misinformation and resistance often expressed by seniors, thereby reducing the negative impact of untreated hearing loss in the aging population. CHC has reached close to 3000 seniors and hundreds of health care providers over the past year to ensure that seniors have access to comprehensive hearing health care and that seniors take action to ameliorate the negative impact of hearing loss in their lives.

CHC is a global resource for information on hearing conservation. CHC founded International Noise Awareness Day in 1996 to raise awareness of the harmful effects of noise on hearing and inspire positive action. This day is now celebrated in 50 countries and nearly every state in the USA and several provinces in Canada. Over the years, activities have included hearing screenings, poster contests, town meetings, community activism, and educational workshops and presentations. The goal remains the same – to educate the public about the negative impacts of noise on our lives and the importance of quiet on our overall well-being.

Mission

CDC identifies and defines preventable health problems and maintains active surveillance of diseases through epidemiologic and laboratory investigations and data collection, analysis, and distribution. It serves as the PHS lead agency in developing and implementing operational programmes relating to environmental health problems and conducts operational research aimed at developing and testing effective disease prevention, control, and health promotion programmes. It administers a national programme to develop recommended occupational safety and health standards and to conduct research, training, and technical assistance to assure safe and healthful working conditions for every working person. The entity develops and implements a programme to sustain a strong national workforce in disease prevention and control and conducts a national programme for improving the performance of clinical laboratories.

Member profile

CDC conducts critical science and provides health information. Its primary focus areas related to ear and hearing care include, immunizations, early hearing detection and intervention, environmental and ….

Mission

The purpose of the Coalition is to advocate for hearing health services and policies, to equip and empower hearing health care professionals, families, educators, communities and the hearing impaired, and to encourage and perpetuate best practices.

Its mission is to promote and enhance hearing health services in low-resource communities.

Member profile

CGHH works to promote improvements in ear and hearing care through 5 primary focus areas: best practices, advocacy, family/community empowerment, technology, and training and education. It convenes a global conference annually to discuss and engage with professionals across the spectrum of hearing care (audiologist, educators, physicians) and family community groups/organizers. At this conference it presents topics on all 5 areas of interest to introduce new ideas, technologies and to collectively deliberate challenges in this work. CGHH also works as an advocacy voice to promote awareness and advocate for policies of interest at the national and international level, including advocating for the World Health Assembly resolution and recent Health Assembly progress report. It supports technology development in collaboration with WHO and also the CGHH-WHO Small Grants Programs to advance and promote World Hearing Day activities. Finally, it is developing best practice guidelines for humanitarian audiological outreach work.

Mission

The Deaf Leadership International Alliance (DLIA) is an international collaboration dedicated promoting and infusing deaf and hard of hearing leaders internationally in organizations serving families with deaf and hard of hearing children.

Description of work

Presentations and bi-annual workshops at FCEI to promote and infuse deaf and hard of hearing leaders internationally in organizations serving families with deaf and hard of hearing children including research and training.

Mission

To prevent avoidable deafness and death from ear disease worldwide by delivering surgical training, developing programmes in public health, creating sustainable partnerships with local health care organizations and by performing ear surgery for the underserved.

Member profile

The scope of service we provide and the goals we strive towards are first, to provide humanitarian surgery to those in need and those who do not have access. Secondly, we provide hands on training to ENT physicians of participating countries to improve their skills and train them to deliver the needed care their countries lack and make them sustainable. Lastly, our goal is to expose and educate our volunteers to other cultures and the practice of medicine in undeveloped countries where access, availability, and limited technology are different from what they find in their culture. It is our belief that this experience will broaden both their personal and professional lives raising the standard of care for those in need.

Mission

The Global Foundation For Children With Hearing Loss (GFCHL) aims to make a direct and lasting impact on children around the world who are deaf or hard of hearing by providing them access to the early identification, hearing technology, locally-based trained professionals, and resources they need to learn to listen and talk and achieve their full potential in their hearing communities.

Member profile

For the past 10 years, the GFCHL has collaborated with in-country partners across hearing health care and early education to identify and address gaps in their system of support for young children with hearing loss under 6 years of age and their families. The goal is to help our partners establish the quality and sustainable care in their countries that is essential for young children with hearing loss to make use of hearing technology, learn to listen and talk, and integrate into mainstream schools with their peers with typical hearing.

We promote early identification of hearing loss, offer training to local professionals and families in paediatric audiology, early intervention, speech language pathology and auditory-verbal practice, provide hearing technology to young children in need, help establish systems and processes, and support research efforts.

For example, in Viet Nam, our awareness efforts and national training programmes have elevated the level of professional expertise and services available across the country to young children with hearing loss. Those that we trained are now training others to make the benefits exponential and sustainable.

In Mongolia, we helped the Ministry of Health establish newborn hearing screening in the capital of Ulaanbaatar. Over 30 000 babies were screened in 2018 as a result of our work. We have conducted media awareness campaigns and public outreach initiatives in Mongolia to increase community understanding of hearing loss. We are currently providing training programmes to Mongolian medical professionals, therapists, and teachers in audiology, early intervention, and auditory-verbal practice to support babies and young children with hearing loss so they can learn to listen and speak and attend mainstream schools.

We also collaborated with the Ecuador Ministry of Public Health to provide training to Ecuadorian audiology professionals and therapists to support young children with hearing loss who are learning to listen and speak.

Our approach is unique in that we take a long-term view by investing in our partners to develop the expertise, resources, and services to support their own children with hearing loss (instead of the Global Foundation team providing direct treatment to the children). The GFCHL's projects are led by its Executive Director and supported by a team of about 75 paediatric hearing health and education professionals who volunteer their time and expertise.

Mission

The Global HEAR (Hearing Loss Evaluation, Advocacy, and Research) Collaborative is the only international research network focused on global hearing health. Comprised of a multidisciplinary group of investigators from 28 countries, the HEAR Collaborative is dedicated to reducing disparities in hearing loss worldwide.

Our mission is to:

• accelerate evaluation of innovative strategies to expand access to ear and hearing care
• support advocacy efforts for hearing health
• lead research initiatives to fill gaps in the evidence on epidemiology, treatment, and outcomes of hearing loss globally.

Member profile

The Global HEAR Collaborative conducts research to fill gaps in the evidence on the epidemiology, treatment, and outcomes of hearing loss globally. By working together across countries, the Collaborative is uniquely equipped to identify effective strategies to eliminate disparities in hearing loss globally.

Mission

Hearing Access and Innovations shows businesses, cultural institutions, entertainment venues, and government agencies around the world, how to grow profits by providing better services to an increasing population of customers who are deaf and hard of hearing.

Description of work

We seek to make our 3-pronged approach to improving hearing access – with audio, visual, and qualified interpretation – universally recognized, accepted and implemented wherever there is sound.

Mission

The Hearing International mission of "Healthy Ears and Hearing for All" will be achieved through the education of our patients, their families, primary caregivers, and our otolaryngology and audiology colleagues throughout the world.

Through centres of excellence in developing and developed countries, we hope to improve the quality of life of individuals worldwide with diseases of the ear, hearing loss, and balance disturbances.

Our focus is not missions based, but rather training the trainers. We firmly adhere to the old adage of “give a man a fish and you cure his hunger for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime”.

Member profile

Hearing International has established 14 centres of excellence, primarily in developing countries in Asia and South-East Asia. The idea is to create centres in various developing countries that would create empower teachers to lead the country in instructing hearing care professionals at both primary and secondary levels to improve hearing health of the country overall. The Society is now over 2 decades old and has seen the evolution in most centres go from helping develop cutting edge diagnostic audiologic and vestibular assessment to temporal bone dissection. As a result, all of the centres now offer instructions to their countrymen in such areas as temporal bone surgery and hearing screening that will lead to universal newborn screening for hearing loss. All of the centres currently offer such procedures as cochlear implantation, have successfully lobbied their governments to implement payment in many situations and even passed universal newborn screening in the national legislatures in one country. We believe firmly in training-the-trainers approach, rather than mission based surgery. This is key to development of hearing health care.

Mission

The mission of HLAA is to open the world of communication to people with hearing loss by providing information, education, support and advocacy.

Member profile

The Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA) is a non-profit organization with the mission of opening the world of communication to people with hearing loss through information, education, support and advocacy. We accomplish that work through HLAA programmes, initiatives and collaborative efforts:

• Public policy – advocating for the 48 million people in the USA for hearing access and regulations/policy at the federal level. HLAA collaborates with other USA organizations on timely issues.
• HLAA chapters – meeting in local communities to provide peer-to-peer support, informational meetings and outreach to their communities.
• Hearing Life, bimonthly magazine, and Hearing Life e-News and hearingloss.org – providing the latest information about hearing loss and hearing health (scientific, medical, technology and personal stories).
• Information is unbiased, timely and relevant.
• Walk4Hearing – an awareness programme in 20 cities across the USA.
• HLAA annual conventions – workshops, research symposium, trade show and exhibit hall for people with hearing loss, all hearing accessible with captioning, hearing loops and sign language interpreters.

Some of HLAA’s work includes:

• Technology training programmes.
• Executive director serves on the Advisory Council of the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), National Institutes of Health (NIH).
• Executive director and director of public policy appointed to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Disability Advisory Committee.
• HLAA is a member of the Friends of the Hearing Health Caucus, Deaf and Hard of Hearing Coalition, and other collaborative coalitions.
• HLAA is a member of the person-centred care working group with the Ida Institute.
• One-on-one: everyday staff answers calls and emails from individuals, employers, and public facilities needing information and support.

Mission

The purpose of the Society shall be and is:

1. To promote the welfare, insofar as hearing is concerned, of the hearing impaired.
2. To promote and advance the programmes of this Society and coordinate them with the programmes of similar organizations.
3. To provide a unified voice for those engaged in the practice of testing human hearing and selecting, fitting, counselling and dispensing hearing instruments.
4. To seek and maintain communication and cooperation with other professions involved in hearing health care.
5. To improve the methods of marketing, selecting, fitting, counselling, dispensing and using hearing instruments and to improve the effectiveness of such instruments.
6. To establish standards of education, educational assessment, and techniques in aural rehabilitation by means of amplification.
7. To examine and pass upon the qualifications of all persons who wish to have their competency in the field of fitting hearing instruments accredited by the Society.
8. To sponsor and enforce among its members a code of ethical practices.
9. To promote and encourage an effective programme of public education as to the benefits of the use of amplification.

Member profile

The International Hearing Society (IHS) is a membership association that represents hearing health care professionals worldwide that are engaged in the practice of testing human hearing and selecting, fitting and dispensing hearing aid and assistive devices and counselling patients. Founded in 1951, the Society continues to recognize the need for promoting and maintaining the highest possible standards for its members in the best interests of the hearing impaired it serves.

As the membership organization for thousands of independent specialists, IHS conducts programmes in competency accreditation, education and training and encourages specialty-level certification for its members.

Recent advocacy priorities of the society have included efforts to encourage the prevention and identification of hearing loss, as well as hearing loss treatment. This includes public awareness activities, legislative efforts to improve military veterans’ access to hearing loss treatment and support, support for regulations that promote safe and effective hearing health care.

Mission

Living With Hearing Loss (LWHL) is a blog and online community for people living with hearing loss. Founder Shari Eberts has an adult–onset genetic hearing loss and hopes that by sharing her story, she will help others to live more comfortably with their own hearing issues.

Member profile

Writing:

Shari writes a popular weekly blog. Other by-lines include The Huffington Post, Good Housekeeping, Woman's Day, Psychology Today, Healthy Living Magazine, The Hearing Journal, Hearing Loss Magazine, Hearing Health Magazine and others. Shari's e-book "PersonCentred Care from the Patient's Perspective" is available on her website. Shari is the Section Editor of FindHearing on Hearing Health and Technology Matters (HHTM) and the Accessibility Editor for Culturico. Her first book, Hear and Beyond: Live Skillfully With Hearing Loss (co-authored with Gael Hannan), will be published in May 2022.

Speaking:

Shari is a sought-after speaker on hearing loss issues. Recent engagements include a keynote at Sonova’s annual awards dinner for top Lyric providers, a 90-minute interactive workshop at NYSSHLA 2019, a panel discussion on managing hearing loss in the workplace at Goldman Sachs, and a Tier 1 session at AuDacity 2019. She is a frequent guest on hearing related podcasts and co-produced a series of Virtual Meetings for the hearing loss community during COVID-19.

Advocacy:

Shari is an Executive Producer for We Hear You, an award-winning documentary about the hearing loss experience. She also serves as Lead Patient Advocate for the PCORI study "Are Two Hearing Aids Better Than One for Age-Related Hearing Loss?" Shari serves on the National Board of Hearing Loss Association of America and is the former Board Chair of Hearing Health Foundation.

Mission

Established in 2016, Medtronic Labs is a distinct business within Medtronic that maximizes social impact alongside financial sustainability. Medtronic Labs designs health care delivery service models with and for underserved communities that integrate digital and product technologies across the patient care continuum. To amplify our impact and reach scale, we partner with local tech entrepreneurs, health care providers, NGOs, governments, and other stakeholders.

Member profile

The Shruti Program is one of the signature programmes within Medtronic Labs. Shruti is a unique social business initiative that harnesses the power of partners and technology to address the critical need for affordable and accessible treatment of chronic ear infections and hearing loss in parts of the world where many people suffer from preventable partial or complete deafness. Based in India Shruti addresses the spread of chronic ear infections through awareness, diagnosis, and treatment in underserved patient populations. As of March 2019, the Shruti program has screened over 600 000 individuals and treated over 16 000.

Mission

Occupational hearing loss prevention.

Member profile

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is part of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The primary mission of NIOSH is to conduct research and provide recommendation for the prevention of occupational diseases and injuries. The Hearing Loss Prevention group at NIOSH conducts research on noise exposure and hearing loss prevention.

Mission

The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) is one of the institutes and centres that comprise the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The NIH is the Federal Government's focal point for the support of biomedical research. The NIH's mission is to uncover new knowledge that will lead to better health for everyone. Simply described, the goal of NIH research is to acquire new knowledge to help prevent, detect, diagnose, and treat disease and disability. The NIH is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Established in 1988, the NIDCD is mandated to conduct and support biomedical and behavioural research and research training in the normal and disordered processes of hearing, balance, taste, smell, voice, speech, and language. The institute also conducts and supports research and research training related to disease prevention and health promotion; addresses special biomedical and behavioural problems associated with people who have communication impairments or disorders; and supports efforts to create devices which substitute for lost and impaired sensory and communication function.

Member profile

The NIDCD accomplishes its mandate through its intramural research programme, which conducts basic and clinical research at the NIH, and through its extramural research programme. The NIDCD extramural programme supports research grants, career development awards, individual and institutional research training awards, centre grants, and contracts to public and private research institutions and organizations. As a whole, the Institute supports and conducts more than 1300 research projects. The Institute also conducts and supports research and research training in disease prevention and health promotion and the special biomedical and behavioural problems associated with people having communication impairments and disorders.

The NIDCD's extramural grant portfolio demonstrates a balance of basic and clinical research. The intramural research programme spans a variety of topics, including, but not limited to, the development of a vaccine against otitis media, the identification and characterization of genes responsible for hereditary hearing impairment, genes associated with neoplasms affecting human communication, and treatment of voice disorders.

Mission

SoundPrint's mission is to raise noise pollution and hearing health awareness to the general public via its crowdsourcing app that enables users to measure the noise levels of their environment, learning whether such noise levels are safe or dangerous for their hearing health, and submitting such measurements to a worldwide publicly accessible database of noise levels.

Member profile

SoundPrint has the world's largest database of venue sound levels via crowdsourced submissions by users who use the SoundPrint app's internal decibel meter to take measurements of restaurants, bars, cafes (soon to be able to take measurements of gyms, retail stores, stadiums, movie theatres, subway stations and more). Currently, we have 57 000 submissions on various venues worldwide. We'll also be expanding the app to the Android market and to other international countries very soon.

Our goal is to use the collected data of sound levels for research on noise pollution and hearing health awareness. The database will be helpful in determining whether certain countries, states, cities, neighbourhoods have venues that are safe for hearing health and whether they are making progress in mitigating excessive noise levels over time.

Mission

To advance the availability, accessibility, and quality of global OHNS subspecialty care through research and advocacy.

Description of work

We are a collective group of attending and resident otolaryngologist-head and neck surgeons, medical students, graduate students, and audiologists.

Currently, we are developing a research initiative to investigate baseline global otolaryngology-head and neck surgery (OHNS) needs, frame them at a global level, and challenge the global OHNS community to address these needs through research, policy, and advocacy.

Our membership includes over 200 members from over 40 countries.

Our work has included lectures on global ear and hearing care needs, and we are currently working on a global audiology survey.

Mission

Established in 1947, The Hearing Journal aims to provide audiology and hearing health care professionals with high-quality and engaging coverage of critical issues in clinical practice, hearing science research, and amplification technology.

Member profile

The Hearing Journal features the latest advancements and relevant issues in audiology and hearing health care in print and online formats, thereby promoting awareness on important ear and hearing care issues. Our print circulation reaches over 22 000 audiologists and hearing care professionals in the USA alone, while our website gets about 50K monthly views, and our Twitter and Facebook presence reaches a wide global audience.

Mission

Our mission is to create a world where all may hear through neuroscience, ear and hearing research, education, and global health efforts.

Member profile

Our research programme is focused on improving the lives of patients with hearing and neurological disorders through excellence in clinically relevant and innovative science.

Our Education programme is committed to developing training and materials to educate medical professionals worldwide and the public about hearing health and interventions.

Our Global Hearing Health programme is dedicated to improving the lives of people with hearing loss on a local and global scale by increasing access to medical interventions, providing training to hearing health professionals, fostering sustainable humanitarian efforts, and addressing health policy issues.

Mission

The University of Washington School of Medicine is dedicated to improving the general health and well-being of the public. In pursuit of its goals, the School is committed to excellence in biomedical education, research and health care. The School is also dedicated to ethical conduct in all activities.

As the pre-eminent academic medical centre in our region and as a national leader in biomedical research, we place special emphasis on educating and training physicians, scientists and allied health professionals dedicated to 3 distinct goals:

1. Meeting the health care needs of our region, especially by recognizing the importance of primary care and providing service to underserved populations.
2. Advancing knowledge.
3. Assuming leadership in the biomedical sciences and in academic medicine.

The School works with public and private agencies to improve health care and advance knowledge in medicine and related fields of inquiry. It acknowledges a special responsibility to the people in the states of Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho, who have joined with it in a unique regional partnership. The School is committed to building and sustaining a diverse academic community of faculty, staff, fellows, residents and students and to assuring that access to education and training is open to learners from all segments of society, acknowledging a particular responsibility to the diverse populations within our region.

The School values diversity and inclusion and is committed to building and sustaining an academic community in which teachers, researchers and learners achieve the knowledge, skills and attitudes that value and embrace inclusiveness, equity and awareness as a way to unleash creativity and innovation.

Description of work

The University supports faculty members who are dedicated to improving ear and hearing care and access to hearing services globally. A collaboration between the Department of Pediatrics and Department of Global Health has led to a partnership with the Ministry of Health in Kenya and the support of their Ear and Hearing Care group.

The faculty members have been working to support the government in the development of their strategic plan, to research and develop low-cost smartphone based hearing assessment tools (developed through UW Computer Science and Engineering), provide education to medical providers about ear and hearing care through partnership with University of Nairobi, and have connected the group with specialists who can train providers in aural habilitation. We also have faculty members who volunteer as advisors to the State of Washington Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) Programme which manages newborn hearing screening for the State of Washington.

Mission

WizEar aims to improve access to ear and hearing health care in Zimbabwe through promoting the prevention of hearing impairment and deafness, treatment and rehabilitation of the hearing impaired.

WizEar aims to provide ear and hearing health care to underserved communities thus reducing the disparities in health outcomes between the affluent and the poor and marginalized communities.

Member profile

We are an ear and hearing health care service provider for marginalized communities in Zimbabwe.

Our work includes diagnostic screening, provision of hearing aids, hearing aids, hearing aid batteries, conducting ear and hearing health awareness programmes, producing brochures with EHH messages, training medical professionals in basic ear and hearing health care, construction of ENT units, provision of basic audiology equipment to provincial hospitals as well as training in public health planning in hearing impairment. We also commemorate International days like World Hearing Day, World Sign Language day.