The Oticon Hearing Foundation has announced that each year, through Project Amazon, a unique partnership with the American Academy of Audiology Foundation, the Oticon Hearing Foundation underwrites the costs of a humanitarian mission that gives one audiologist and one audiology student the opportunity to travel to one of Brazil’s most impoverished communities to provide much-needed audiological care and hearing solutions to children and adults.

Lena Kyman, AuD

Lena Kyman, AuD, ENT & Audiology Associates

As part of 2015 Project Amazon, Lena Marie Kyman, AuD, ENT & Audiology Associates in Raleigh, NC, and Mia Alexandra Canale, a graduate student in audiology at University at Buffalo, SUNY will travel to the non-profit Oticon Clinic in Parintins, Brazil. The Project Amazon audiologists will work with Oticon staff in Brazil to screen in-need children and adults and fit Oticon hearing instruments donated by the Oticon Hearing Foundation.

Oticon says that creating a community of caring among hearing care professionals who share a commitment to providing sustainable hearing care for in-need children and adults has been the unwavering focus of the Oticon Hearing Foundation since its inception in 2012.

Mia Canale

Mia Canale, audiology student at University at Buffalo, SUNY

“At the Oticon Clinic, we serve a large and diverse population and having the opportunity to add the skill and expertise of volunteer audiologists enables us to provide sustainable care for more people and further ensure their ongoing hearing health,” said Alessandra Agarez, manager of human resources and social responsibility. “We are pleased to again welcome Project Amazon audiologists and look forward to their contributions to the work of our Oticon team here in Parintins.”

Kyman and Canale will be in Parintins November 7 – 28, and will report on their experiences at the Oticon Clinic in blogs posted on the Oticon Hearing Foundation website, beginning on October 27 as they gear up for their travels. Their Project Amazon experience can also be followed via Facebook.

In the Oticon announcement, Kyman reports that she looks forward to sharing her passion for global humanitarian work – a passion that she hopes will inspire more hearing care professionals to volunteer their time and expertise to serve people who would otherwise not have access to hearing care. Kyman has previously served on missions to in-need people in Guatemala, Costa Rica, and Croatia. Canale is also a volunteer with a strong background in humanitarian missions, and shares Kyman’s passion for missions that promote “global audiology.”

Source: Oticon Hearing Foundation, Project Amazon