Founded in 2014, the Ndlovu Wits Audiology Clinic has set itself the declared goal of promoting health at the ear. Hearing loss – as a non-communicable disease – is considered the most common sensory deficit in the human population. It is estimated that at least 41 million children under the age of 15 in developing countries live with hearing loss. This makes this disease a silent, overlooked epidemic in developing countries like South Africa. Babies born to HIV-positive mothers are particularly at risk, as the viral infection can easily take hold in the ear and cause lasting damage to hearing. It is therefore important to protect these children in particular from consequential damage through regular monitoring and examinations.
Last weekend’s hearing awareness event was a huge success. After a slow start – in this case we are talking about “African time” – because if you plan to start at 10 am you can be sure that nobody will show up before 12 pm – a large crowd had gathered by the end of the event. Especially children, who were the main target group. Schoolchildren had already been invited the previous week to submit drawings on the theme of “Hearing Safely” and a large number of beautiful works were submitted. There was also a poetry competition, in which the winners were also surprised with a certificate and a small gift. As the egg is the symbol of the “Safe Hearing” campaign, there was also an egg race. Great fun – with lots of laughter and applause.
In the Miracle, the theater group also performed a play on the subject of ear hygiene, which was enthusiastically received by the audience. The highlight was the performance of the Ndlovu Youth Choir, which, under the direction of choirmaster Ralf, got everyone out of their seats and encouraged them to join in. A big thank you to the Audiology team for this great day, which the children really enjoyed.
More information about the Audiology program can be found under Medical Projects.
