El Salvador 2014

HUMANITARIAN MISSION – EL SALVADOR 2014

General Objective:

• To provide hearing testing, hearing aids, training and counseling to underprivileged children who need it.
• To educate and raise awareness about the importance of early detection and intervention of hearing loss in children.

Specific Objectives:

• Educate parents about early detection and intervention of hearing loss in newborns, infants and younger kids: early signs of hearing loss, finding resources for hearing testing (otoacoustic emissions), treatment options (hearing aids, cochlear implants), beliefs and attitudes toward hearing loss in Hispanic parents.
• Educate teachers about detection and intervention of hearing loss in younger kids: signs of awareness for hearing loss, resources available and treatment options.
• Educate general physicians and pediatricians about detection and intervention of hearing loss in younger kids.
• Evaluate hearing in newborns, infants and younger kids by the use of Otoacoustic Emissions (OAE).
• Provide treatment to identified hearing loss in pediatric patients: medications, surgery and fitting hearing aids.

Activities planned during our visit:

•        
  Educational activities to family doctors, teachers and parents: rural clinics, schools, community centers.
• Hearing Screenings to pediatric population: rural clinics, schools, community centers.
• Fitting Hearing Aids to candidates already identified (Our goal is to fit 100-150 children with hearing aids).
• Surgery Program – organized by the ENT Dr. Juan Caballero and an ENT from Peak ENT (Utah): Hospital

Volunteers :  

• AuD Students and Audiologists – Utah State University
• Otolaryngologist, Audiologist, Audiometrists, Biomedical Engineers and Personal – Audiomed El Salvador.
• Spanish Interpretation Services –

Sponsored by:

• Utah State University (organizational support)
• Donations (from people like you!) Donation information
• Non Profit Organization "Tu Nino No Puede Esperar"

• Centro Audiologico Medico. For more information about Centro Audiologico Medico click here.
• Hearing Aid Manufacturers: donating hearing aids.

Resources provided in El Salvador:

AudioTec - Hearing Aid and Mold impression Lab: 

• Juan Caballero: Biomedical Engineer - will develop the earmolds after impressions are made, and provide an calibration or technology assistance.

Centro Audiologico Medico – In charge of selecting the patients for hearing aid fitting and ear surgeries.

• Dr. Juan Caballero (ENT): physician – Will donate his time for cerumen management, ear infection treatment, ear surgeries; selecting candidates for future cochlear implants. 

• Dra. Beatriz de Caballero (Audiologist), physician - Has worked over the past years on the effort to have a hearing screening law for all newborns children in El Salvador. Dra. de Caballero will be helping with consultation needed, as well as the person selecting the patients that will be fitted with hearing aids (from different national centers).

• Audiometrists: who are technicians trained in the Audiology field, that can help us in any other processes.  

Links to previous Humanitarian Missions in different countries:

• Costa Rica
• Ghana
• USU Audiology & Starkey Mexico Mission