CHCS - Perspectives - Summer/Fall 2014

PERSPECTIVES • SUMMER–FALL 2014 26 Imagine hearing the sweet song of birds chirping or perhaps the sound of your mother’s voice for the first time. Thanks to the efforts of several students, their professors, and one medical supply company, this dream became a reality for 21 hearing-impaired children ages 1 to 22 in Managua, Nicaragua, in March. Doctor of Audiology students partnered with Phonak to donate hearing aids and other supplies val- ued at more than $50,000 to Los Pipitos—a Nicaraguan nonprofit facility for children with disabilities. As part of NSU’s Hearing Aids for Nicaraguan Students (HANS) service pro- gram, six audiology students and a faculty adviser traveled to the Central American country to provide audiograms and other necessary tests and fit the children for their new hearing aids. They also conducted infor- mation sessions on how to use and care for the devices for the children and their families. One child spoke for the first time after re- ceiving his hearing aids after previously only mouthing words without making a sound. “It was touching to see the look on his face after he said his first word and knowing we were a part of making it happen,” said Sherry N. Rauh, a class of 2015 Doctor of Audiology student and graduate research assistant who organized the trip. “This experience was in- credibly rewarding, so we plan to make this an annual mission.” The NSU team is working with Los Pipitos to monitor the status of the hearing aids and assist in follow-up care. Participants in the HANS program, which was supported by the CHCS Student Acad- emy of Audiology and Pan-Student Govern- ment Association, included students Sherry Rauh, Vjolka Zaka, Faria Elbabour, Julia Fahrney, Melissa Cordova, and Judith Lynch, and professors Erica Friedland, Au.D., Y’shua Yisrael, Au.D. Teri Hamill, Ph.D., Patricia Gaffney, Au.D., and Alyssa Needleman, Ph.D. NSU CHCS Students Help Children Hear for the First Time AUDIOLOGY Fort Lauderdale 1. Melissa Cordova and Lola Zaka testing 10-year-old Jorge Mercado’s hearing prior to programming his hearing aids. 2. Doctor of Audiology students and their professor recently visited nicaragua to provide 21 children with donated hearing aids. Pictured (from left) are Judith Lynch, sherry Rauh, Y’shua Yisrael, Au.D., Julia Fahrney, Faria elbabour, Lola Zaka, and Melissa Cordova. 1 2