At My Hearing Centers, our hearing professionals can help you find the perfect hearing aid, with a diverse array of options available to meet your needs. In many developing countries, however, it is not the variety of hearing devices that pose the problem but rather, the large lack of resources available to treat hearing loss.
Innovative approaches to hearing aids, combined with progressive technology and alternative energy sources, are allowing people of all ages to discover the benefits that hearing devices can provide, including an improved quality of life, increased access to educational and workplace opportunities and better relationships with loved ones.
Providing opportunities to children with hearing loss
Approximately 32 million children worldwide suffer from disabling hearing loss – and the majority live in developing countries. (World Health Organization) When hearing loss is untreated in children, it can lead to significant problems in educational and social development, especially when specialist programs for children who are hard of hearing are not accessible or are non-existent.
One of the key ways people are combatting the negative impacts of hearing loss in children is through the use of solar-powered hearing aids.
Grace O’Brien, an 18-year-old American, founded the non-profit organization Ears for Years after volunteering with hearing impaired children in the summer of 2012. O’Brien has partnered up with Brazil-based Solar Ear to provide free solar-powered hearing aids to children around the world.
These hearing instruments cost about $100 and are very lightweight, so they are easy to ship globally. Perhaps most importantly, they come with rechargeable batteries that can last up to 3 years! The battery can be charged by the sun or a household light or plug. This is especially important for people living in rural areas, where access to electricity may be scarce.
How solar power is helping children access education
Many children with hearing loss who live in developing countries do not have access to specialist schools. This means that often, they are left behind educationally and are not afforded the same opportunities are their cohort. This is one of the main motivators behind Grace O’Brien’s passion to expand access to hearing aids worldwide (read the full story here). As of 2015, O’Brien had already travelled to Honduras, Nicaragua, Mexico, Sri Lanka and South Korea to fit hearing aids for children.
The Solar Ear – Ears for Years partnership
Solar Ear hearing aids are not patented – and that’s just what the company planned. Howard Weinstein, founder of Solar Ear, told EcoWatch in 2015, ‘We could have patented Solar Ear in a heartbeat, but we wanted people to copy us.’ (ecowatch.com)
Mr Weinstein’s pioneering work has been globally recognized: he was a Tech Award Laureate and has been awarded the 2008 Humanitarian Award from the American Academy of Audiology. He was also named social entrepreneur of the year in 2011 by World Technology Network. (read the story here)
The Solar Ear and Ears for Years partnership is clearly what charity is all about – a selfless venture that benefits people worldwide and inspires the next generation to spread the wealth through innovative and creative ideas and cooperation.
How solar-powered hearing devices can assist adults
The current production of hearing aids only meets approximately 10% of the global need. Considering 360 million people worldwide are affected by hearing loss, it is obvious why the universality and low cost of these environmentally friendly hearing instruments are making such a huge impact across the world.
According to the World Health Organization, adults that suffer from hearing impairment have a much higher rate of unemployment – which is likely connected to the lesser educational opportunities afforded to people with hearing loss in developing countries. Of people who are employed, they tend to be in lower level positions compared with the general workforce.
Solar-powered hearing devices can clearly assist adults and children alike, both of whom may be negatively impacted by a lack of access to resources such as hearing aids.
Inspiring the next generation
There is clearly a need for innovative and affordable technology such as solar-powered hearing aids. Partnerships like Solar Ear and Ears for Years are making this technology available worldwide.
Inspirational young people like Grace O’Brien are paving the way for the next generation to bring new ideas to the forefront. Together, we can tackle the lack of resources available to people in developing countries and provide hearing aids to those in need across the world.