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October 3, 2017Hear The World Volunteer travels to Northern Canada to offer hearing help in the classroom
Earlier this year, Phonak Canada employee and Hear the World volunteer Monika Nazair served for a Hear the World Foundation project in Northern Canada to install new wireless microphone solutions donated by Hear the World at two schools in Nunavut.
Monika is a part of the Audiology Support team at Phonak Canada. As soon as she heard about this project she was interested in it.
“Not only had I developed a particular interest in all things related to Roger technology and pediatric amplification since I joined the Audiology Support team at Phonak Canada, but I have also been very curious about the northernmost territory in our beautiful country,” says Monika.
She worked with the BHENY project, which was started to help children and youth with hearing loss in 13 underserved communities in the Qikiqtani region of Nunavut.
Bringing more sound to schools
The goal of the project was to visit two schools to provide sound field systems. This consisted of overseeing the installation and training on the new sound field systems. In addition, Monika and her team worked on professional development for anyone who would be using the new technology. This included classroom teachers, student support teachers, student support assistants, principals, and administrators. They had training sessions with them to communicate the information to understand the importance of the equipment and how to use it in classrooms.
The team also facilitated community partnerships. These partnerships were to coordinate better access to hearing health care services for children. Also, to provide information and support for parents and community members.
Hosting a hearing fair
On the last two days of the trip, the team held a Hearing Fair at a school. “The goal of the Hearing Fair was to create fun and interactive ways for children to learn more about ears and hearing,” says Monika.
Students split into groups and took turns visiting the various stations. In total there were five stations. Each station related to a hearing topic. One station focused on the basic anatomy of the ear and how we hear. The second related to noise and encouraged reflections on the loudness of everyday sounds. The theme of the third station was how animals hear. The fourth stations asked students to differentiate between things that are either good or bad for our ears. The fifth station was on hearing equipment such as hearing aids and Roger technology.
Monika said some of her favorite moments were from the hearing fair. “When we showed the children at the Hearing Fair the demo hearing aids in all the fun colors some of the children started shouting ‘I want a hearing aid!’ They then began comparing all the different colors and saying which one they would choose if they needed them. It was thrilling to see such an enthusiastic attitude towards hearing aids! All too often children with hearing loss may be self-conscious, embarrassed or shy about hearing aids,” says Monika.
About Hear the World
Hear the World is an organization that supports disadvantaged people with hearing loss around the world and gets involved in prevention. It focuses particularly on projects for children with hearing loss, to enable them to develop at the appropriate rate for their age.
Learn more about Hear the World here and what you can do to help support this cause here.
