During last year’s Thanksgiving break, students and faculty from Northern Illinois University joined force with the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte in Brazil on a humanitarian trip to Kraków, Poland.
Since December 2022, Poland has welcomed more than 8.4 million Ukrainian refugees since February 2022.
Why it matters
Dr. Chung’s work in Poland raises our awareness of the immediate damage to hearing inflicted by war and the prolonged effects it will have on Ukraine.
Among the refugees we saw, approximately 30% of the hearing loss was due to the war. —email from Dr. Chung, Northern IL University
Good news!
In March, the NIU team will return to Kraków to fit roughly 112 rechargeable hearing aids provided by ReSound.
After unsuccessful attempts to recruit the help of manufacturers, an NIU graduate secured the generosity of ReSound.
Hearing loss will likely be one of the most prevalent noncommunicable disabilities among the people who stayed in Ukraine because of the continuous and relentless missile attacks. We strive to raise awareness of the great hearing health care needs among the people of Ukraine and hope to reduce the negative impact of untreated hearing loss on their cognitive and communication abilities and improve their quality of life. We also hope more people will join our cause to provide hearing and amplification services and devices to the Ukrainian people. —Dr. Chung writing in The Hearing Journal
We'll keep you posted.
