WHAT WE DO
Facts & Figures
According to the World Health Organisation:
Hearing loss may result from genetic causes, complications at birth, certain infectious diseases, chronic ear infections, the use of particular drugs, exposure to excessive noise, and aging.
60% of childhood hearing loss is due to preventable causes.
Unaddressed hearing loss poses an annual global cost of US$ 750 billion. Interventions to prevent, identify and address hearing loss are cost-effective and can bring great benefit to individuals.
People with hearing loss benefit from early identification; use of hearing aids, cochlear implants and other assistive devices; captioning and sign language; and other forms of educational and social support.
Current estimates suggest an 83% gap in hearing aid need and use, i.e., only 17% of those who could benefit from use of a hearing aid actually use one.
Approximately 90% of people with moderate to profound hearing impairment reside in low and middle income countries.
(Source: World Health Organisation)
If the global hearing impaired population was represented by 100 people, only 17 of them would use hearing aids.
(Source: World Health Organisation)
Hearing loss has adverse consequences on interpersonal communication, psychosocial well-being, quality of life and economic independence. It can affect speech and language development and learning in children, and adults with hearing loss often experience social isolation, depression, difficulties in relationships, restricted career choices, occupational stress and relatively low earnings.
Significant causes of increased prevalence include middle ear infections and vaccine-preventable infections such as measles, mumps, rubella and bacterial meningitis. As many as half of all cases of hearing loss could be prevented through public health measures.
In LMIC, the incidence of hearing loss is higher in children under 15 years of age (75%) compared to high-income countries (49%). Millions of hearing-impaired children do not have hearing aids or rehabilitation support. In contrast, Australian children with hearing loss receive complete rehabilitation support, including free hearing aids.
The burden of deafness and hearing impairment is estimated to be almost twice as large in LMIC, as hearing services are almost non-existent in most of them due to its lower priority to providing the basic health care. This gap can only be filled by audiologists volunteering in these countries, and by training local people to provide these services.
References: World Health Organisation (1), World Health Organisation (2)
That’s where we come in.
Our Impact
Since EARS Incorporated’s inception in December 1998, our volunteers have worked on the ground in Botswana, Cambodia, Columbia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Dominican Republic, Egypt, Ethiopia, Fiji, India, Malawi, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, the Solomon Islands, Swaziland, Vietnam and Zimbabwe. All of these countries have little or no audiology services.
The gap between demand and supply in low and middle income countries is compounded by a range of issues, including poor public awareness of hearing loss and the benefits of hearing devices, a lack of accessible quality audiology services and practitioners, and the cost of hearing devices.
The help and support we offer varies depending on the country and needs. Activities may include testing hearing; fitting hearing aids (usually second hand); training teachers to conduct hearing tests, troubleshoot hearing aid problems and making earmoulds; training health workers to screen hearing; and running community education sessions on hearing and ear care.
Donate today to create a better tomorrow.
EARS Inc. has no paid workers, so almost 100% of all funds raised and donated is spent on our projects, including:
Purchasing hearing aids, batteries and audiological equipment and consumables
Travel and living costs for our volunteers while overseas
Training materials
Audiology student education fees