Hearing aids open up new opportunities for African and Syrian children
According to WHO estimates, 32 million children worldwide are affected by hearing loss. In Africa and Syria, these children are provided with hearing aids from Germany.
This year’s World Children’s Day on September 20 has the theme “Children Need Freedom.” In order to develop their own wishes and ideas and find their place in society, a functioning sense of hearing is important, among many other factors. After all, only with alert ears can children create space for themselves—playful and academic learning depend on it.
Hearing loss in children is widespread in countries with inadequate health care. The most common causes are preventable diseases such as meningitis, measles, middle ear infections, and febrile illnesses—for example, those caused by bacterial infections. If these conditions are not treated promptly and adequately, there is a risk of damage to the auditory nerve. However, families usually lack the funds to treat hearing loss—let alone to afford the necessary hearing aids.
Support for Children with Hearing Loss
Help comes from organizations such as the Association for Children with Language, Speech, and Hearing Impairment of Namibia (CLaSH
). The Association for Children with Language, Speech, and Hearing Impairments in Namibia was founded in 1989 and has since developed into a nationally recognized charitable organization.
CLaSH initiated a successful collaboration between German and Namibian ENT specialists and the Namibian Ministry of Health. This partnership makes it possible to fit used hearing aids for children and adolescents in Africa.
But hearing aids are urgently needed not only in Africa; in other crisis-stricken regions, such as Syria, many families lack the funds for hearing aids. Through the #HearLebanon project
, the globally active Hear the World Foundation
is supporting children and adolescents who have fled Syria.
From the drawer to a second life
Due to rapid technological advancements in hearing aids, they often have a short useful life of about 6–10 years in this country. These technically outdated hearing aids often still work perfectly. Instead of letting used devices gather dust in a drawer, they can be donated to give a child with hearing loss new opportunities to experience the world.
If you still have one or more unused hearing aids, let this be your inspiration for a wonderful initiative on World Children’s Day and give a child a great gift of joy in life. Feel free to ask your hearing care professional about this as well.
You can also learn about how important good hearing is for children’s language development here in our article “Give Children the Gift of Hearing.”
