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    January 09, 2012

US Company Brings Hearing Aids to Haiti

   Carolyn Presutti | Marchand Dessalines, Haiti
   Barry Freeman of Starkey Hearing Foundation outfits a hearing aid for a
   Haitian child, Marchand Dessalines, Haiti, January 9, 2012.
   Photo: VOA - C. Presutti
   Barry Freeman of Starkey Hearing Foundation outfits a hearing aid for a
   Haitian child, Marchand Dessalines, Haiti, January 9, 2012.

   On a recent visit to Haiti, members of a private American foundation
   outfitted 400 Haitians with hearing aids. Some had lost their hearing
   aids in the rubble of the 2010 earthquake and hadn't been able to hear
   for nearly two years. Others, had not been able to hear since birth.
   The silence sounds strange.More than a hundred people just sitting.
   Organizers call names, but others have to answer for them. Their
   silence is why they are here.
   Some wait for longer than seven hours. But the wait is worth it. Many
   will hear for the first time in their lives. Like Jean Louis Roberson,
   38.
   He's never learned to talk. Because no one ever thought he could.
   An American organization, the Starkey Hearing Foundation, travels to
   developing countries, fitting people with hearing aids. On this day,
   they are in Marchand Dessalines, Haiti, two hours from the capital
   Port-au-Prince.

   There are no computers here in the Haitian countryside, no digital
   hearing analysis. And even these hearing aids - they're not the latest
   technology. They are from the 1990s. But Starkey uses these to reach
   the most people.
   "Most of the people are from schools for the deaf," said Starkey. "They
   have severe to profound hearing loss and we're trying to maximize their
   potential to function in this environment."
   Barry Freeman says the foundation's work goes beyond the hearing aids.
   "We are going to see that his ears are clean, that there's no
   infection," he said.

   The foundation also trains Haitians to continue its efforts. The
   foundation invites celebrities to join its work. Starkey is producing a
   reality show about these stars volunteering with the needy.

   "You can do something and you should do something.Our challenge is
   'What will you do today?'' explains Bill Austin, the founder.
   Today, in Haiti, the celebrity is Miley Cyrus, an American pop singer
   and actress who starred in the Disney TV series Hannah Montana.
   "Being able to hear music is even more important than me being able to
   sing it myself. Just being able to hear it and to feel each other and
   connect with each other," said Cyrus.
   Neighbors who are watching all this are speechless for other reasons.
   "They couldn't hear before and now they can," said a man.
   Jean Louis Roberson's aids are fully adjusted. He hears his voice for
   the first time. And, he can't stop talking.
   His words may sound crude and coarse. But to Roberson, hearing himself
   speak is music to his ears.