Have you ever asked your parents if they can hear the birds? Or if they are able to enjoy the tones in music like they used to?

I’ve been working in the hearing aid industry for a couple years now, but it wasn’t until recently that I had a conversation with my parents about hearing loss, and how it is truly affecting their life.

Rock legend Sting has admitted to having hearing loss, but claims he doesn’t like wearing hearing aids.

The 65-year-old singer-songwriter and actor told Sirius XM’s Artists Confidential on Tuesday that he wasn’t happy with his hearing aid experience.

“I tried wearing a hearing aid, but I heard more than I wanted to hear!” he said. “People talk a lot of s**t!”

The silence is almost ironic.

Here, hidden deep in the Appalachian region, where there’s no clear route for arrival. Google maps and GPS don’t track the quiet timberlands, but the locals know how to navigate the hallows – or “hallers,” as they say in southern Kentucky. They know to turn left at the bright blue convenience store, then head past the post office and the retirement home to get to the old coal mine. The massive, abandoned structure hidden perfectly by the forest. A reminder of a hidden disability that affects so many of the former miners.

I’ve worked as an audiologist at Phonak for eight years, and while I’ve seen how our technology has improved the lives of many people during that time, I haven’t had the opportunity to go back to my audiology “roots” and see how this technology really helps children in their every day lives.

Through an opportunity with the Hear the World Foundation, I was able to do just that, and set off for a journey to southern India. 

Open Ears is following a group of Sonova team members as they head to Haiti with the Hear The World Foundation. Jason Norby is a Principal Clinical Specialist at Advanced Bionics LLC. He enjoys sarcasm and long walks in the park. His favorite dogs are puppies, and his favorite color is light tan.

Day 6

It’s the end of a long work week. I could feel it in the part of my brain that logs hours slept versus hours awake and energy expended. The summary: not enough sleep to offset the hours awake and energy consumed. It’s been a long week. But you know the feeling when something was mentally and physically taxing, yet the intrinsic reward was worth the cost? It was that kind of week and very worthwhile. The day started with a trip to a school atop a Caribbean mountain to fit three children with hearing aids. The school sat overlooking the coast and green hills nearby. We made this trip to the school earlier this week. The drive  earlier this week up the rutted dirt road was epic with bouncing and jostling for several minutes, and the occasional sound of wheels loudly rebelling as they tried to gain traction. The small four-cylinder engine strained in rebellion to the load and incline. Today however, the dark clouds more than hinted of rain. It wasn’t even a question, Cathy Jones, our trip director, flatly said, “We aren’t driving up the mountain because if it rains, we will be in trouble.”

Open Ears is following a group of Sonova team members as they head to Haiti with the Hear The World Foundation. Michael Lumunsad is a Strategic Marketer at Advanced Bionics LLC. 

Day 4

“I hope this van makes it up the hill,” Mohamed Khaldi excitedly said as our van went uphill on the extremely steep dirt road. Personally, I didn’t think the van would make it up with all our gear and passengers, but it proved me wrong. Who needs a 4X4 when you have a little Toyota HiAce with a faulty A/C system? We finally arrived to the top of the hill. Wow! The school had a stunning view of the both the ocean and nearby forest covered rolling hills. The kids at this school were very lucky to be enrolled there. The school focused on encouraging, educating and empowering restaveks, orphans, and vulnerable children. Another organization was doing great things in Haiti. It was amazing.

Open Ears is following a group of Sonova team members as they head to Haiti with the Hear The World Foundation. Michael Lumunsad is a Strategic Marketer at Advanced Bionics LLC. He enjoys talking about the most random topics with his AB coworkers, Brendan, Jiselle, and Jessica.

Open Ears is following a group of Sonova team members as they head to Haiti with the Hear The World Foundation. Haley B. Kurzawa is a Hearing Instrument Specialist at Connect Hearing USA. She is originally from Chicago and moved to Austin, Texas last year.

Day 2.

Hearing the rooster crow was such an unusual sound for a Chicago girl. I woke up to the beautiful sunshine, feeling surprisingly rested after a long day of travel. I was very eager to start the day with my awesome team. “Breakfast is at 8 AM. Be ready to leave for Cite Soleil after eating,” said Cathy Jones. I prepared for a day of many detours and potentially unplanned activities. I got excited for the busy day ahead. We planned to visit a school in Cite Soleil, the skilled artisans of the Metal Works community, and the non-profit Apparent Project. We were all excited to get to see the Port-au-Prince that’s not shown on mainstream news. We piled into two vans and headed on our way. “The roads in Haiti have potholes just as big as Chicago,” I excitedly exclaimed. I realized driving in Haiti wasn’t like driving in the USA. There are huge pot holes, lack of asphalt, no visible lanes, no traffic lights, and lots of pedestrians. People either walk, ride motorcycles, or take “tap-tap” which are colorful trucks.  Think of vibrant Uber rides.

Open Ears is following a group of Sonova team members as they head to Haiti with the Hear The World Foundation. Michael Lumunsad, a Strategic Marketer who works at Advanced Bionics, will be reporting from Haiti. 

On this late Saturday evening driving to LAX, I wonder to myself, “Am I ready for this trip?” I visualize the things that I am supposed to pack for the Hear the World volunteering mission trip to Haiti. I look at my crumpled checklist while having this bad feeling that I’ve forgotten something. I hate being unprepared. Did I miss something from the emails sent to me by Hear Haiti leader, Cathy Jones? I hope not. My mind wanders as the freeway lights pass overhead. I’ve read so many news articles about what’s gone wrong in the country. A 7.0 magnitude earthquake. Thousands dead and millions displaced. Political instability. Zika virus. Haiti in crisis. What can a group of American and Canadian volunteers do to help the people of Haiti? It seems too gigantic of a task.