Hearing Services in Developing Countries

 

The burden of deafness and hearing impairment is estimated to be almost twice as large in developing countries, as available services are almost non-existent.

In most developing countries, audiology has been established as a profession, however, clinical services often only serve small areas and government funding for hearing services is limited. The lack of epidemiological research on the extent of hearing impairment makes it difficult to develop strategies and programs on a national level.

Audiology services understandably become a lower priority for countries which are struggling to provide the basic requirements of health in order to avoid life threatening consequences. The result is that in most developing countries audiology services are inaccessible to a large proportion of the population. This gap can only be filled by audiologists volunteering these services to these countries.