How The Love Trust and hearX Foundation are helping learners to Hear for Life, through Listening with Care
Until someone points out to us that our perception or experience of our senses are not the norm, we often assume that everyone else hears, sees, smells, feels or tastes the same as we do. This has huge repercussions, especially when it comes to learning, if issues regarding hearing and sight aren’t addressed early on in life.
hearX Group has bridged the gap to access in hearing care through the development of innovative mobile health technology to test hearing. hearX Foundation is the NPO leg of the organisation uses innovative mobile solutions to implement screening and awareness programmes in underserved communities. In addition, hearX Group has partnered with Vula Vision (a vision screening mobile application) to incorporate vision screening into their solutions, which allow dual sensory screenings (hearing and vision).
How did hearX start and why was it needed?
hearX Group was founded by Professor De Wet Swanepoel, a world-renowned audiologist. hearX group came about as means to bridge the gap in the need for hearing healthcare in schools. hearX Group developed its flagship product called hearScreen, which is used to reach even the most vulnerable of populations to provide them with access to hearing (and now vision) healthcare.
Why is it so critical to identify any hearing or sight impediment in children at a young age?
If you can’t hear or see well, you won’t be able to learn well. And, as a result, you don’t reach your developmental milestones, and, because of delayed development, the repercussions affect one academically socio-emotionally and in the long term even economically.
How can teachers and parents help identify warning signs as to the quality of their children’s hearing and sight?
Once a child shows, for instance, behavioural difficulties where the child is labelled as the naughty kid in class. The long-term consequence touches every aspect of a person’s life: social, emotional, educational, vocational.
Teachers are ambassadors for promoting optimal education, and for this to happen young children need to hear and see because that is so crucial to learning. Because teachers work so closely with the children, they are key role players that can assist in identifying when a child experiences potential difficulty in hearing or vision.
NPOs working together
The Love Trust is immensely grateful for the support received from hearX Foundation. Organisations like hearX Foundation help keep their mission of fostering quality education to vulnerable communities, alive.