Giving Back

PACIFIC HEARING SERVICE

Giving Back

The More We Can Help You, The More We Can Help Others.

Since 2015, the team at Pacific Hearing Service has traveled the world delivering hearing healthcare to people who live in underserved areas. We are grateful for the wonderful support of our patients.

In partnership with Entheos Audiology Cooperative, we have had the joy of helping thousands of people to reconnect with the world around them in places such as the Middle East, Zambia, Mozambique, South Africa, Guatemala, and Ecuador.

The joy on a child’s face when they hear for the first time is infectious, and with the infrastructure these countries have in place, a hearing aid can literally make the difference in whether a child can get an effective education or not.”

Pacific Hearing Service team member on a giving back trip

These powerful trips include:

  • Audiologists and volunteers from private practices around the country have participating in humanitarian trips
  • We mentor audiology students from the University of the Pacific, University of Wisconsin, Northwestern University, Ohio State University, and others who have participated in our humanitarian trips.
  • Thousands of individuals have been fit with hearing devices and given the gift of hearing.
  • Children, parents, families, and communities have been transformed. With the ability to hear, people can now receive an education and improve their lives.

We’re only able to do this through the incredible support of our patients.

When you decide to partner with Pacific Hearing Service, we donate part of your investment to these mission trips to help others, and often use reconditioned hearing devices that have been donated to fit onto somebody in need.

Your direct impact of partnering with Pacific Hearing Service contributes to improving the lives of others!

People Helped

Donated

Value of hearing devices fitted through mission trips

* please note that these numbers are always evolving

Helping People Around the World

Image showing world map

Giving the Gift of Hearing in South Africa

Joining Mr. Beast’s Secret Audiology Trip

What do you get when one of the biggest stars on YouTube and social media teams up with Hearing the Call … over 1,000 people receiving the “Gift of Hearing.”

In March, Jane and Debbie had the privilege of joining Mr. Beast’s “secret audiology trip.” The primary goal of their leg of the journey was to help impoverished people in South Africa hear again. With the generous support of Mr. Beast and his team, the trip was a resounding success, and the joy we witnessed on the faces of those who received hearing aids made it all worthwhile.

“The moment when the hearing aids get turned on, it’s immediate.  We call it the hearing smile and it’s hard to put into words.  Instantly people’s whole expression and attitude change.  Its magical,” says Hearing the Call, Director Nora.

Mr. Beast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, is a well-known American YouTube personality, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. He has gained fame for his content, which often includes expensive stunts, challenges, and donations. As his popularity has grown, so has his generosity, and he has given millions of dollars to those in need.

Jane and Debbie had the privilege of being a part of Mr. Beast’s latest initiative, “1,000 deaf people hear for the first time.” The project was made possible with the assistance of volunteers, audiologists (like us), and clinics affiliated with the non-profit organization Hearing the Call.

Hearing the Call wants to make sure everyone is given the opportunity for dignified, quality hearing healthcare that helps reconnect them with their family, their friends, and their community.

As part of MrBeast’s goal to help 1,000 people, Hearing the Call fit hearing aids on over 90% of the recipients in Guatemala, Mexico, Brazil, Indonesia, India, South Africa and Malawi. Dr. Allie and Kevin, who are leaders in Audiology across the United States, were also involved in the project, and they discuss their behind-the-scenes experiences in the latest episode of Ask an Audiologist.

Our Unforgettable Encounter in South Africa: The Extraordinary Journey of an Inspiring Young Woman

When we first met we this remarkable young woman she shared that she had been facing challenges in her studies as a computer science student due to her inability to hear, we conducted an initial screening, which she passed, but our commitment to making a real difference led us to delve deeper.

Through extensive testing, we discovered that she has a rare condition called auditory neuropathy, placing her in the severe hearing category. While her ears could detect sound, her brain struggled to process it effectively.

Witnessing her tears of joy was an unforgettable moment when we fitted her with hearing aids.

We believe in empowering individuals with unique conditions to embrace their potential, and it is stories like hers that drive us to make a meaningful impact.

Jane H. Baxter, Au.D., with a young woman during giving back trip to South Africa

Ask an Audiologist remains a valuable resource for educational hearing loss-related content, and their involvement in this project is a testament to their commitment to positively impacting the world.

Director Nora Stewart says, “We want to thank MrBeast for this opportunity. When you help someone hear better, you don’t just touch their life, but it’s a ripple effect, touching the lives of everyone around them.”

The video produced by Mr. Beast’s team is an excellent platform for spreading awareness of hearing loss and the importance of hearing healthcare across the globe.

By partnering with organizations such as Hearing the Call, Mr. Beast truly makes a difference in the lives of those in need.

According to the World Health Organization, over 1.5 billion people globally live with hearing loss. Children in developing nations with hearing loss rarely get any schooling. The WHO also estimates hearing loss costs the global economy $980 billion every year.

Giving the gift of hearing helps kids learn, reduces depression and isolation in adults, and gives people a chance to be a part of the world.

Jane and Debbie are extremely grateful for the opportunity to have been a part of the “secret audiology trip” and to have contributed to improving the lives of others.

Saying, “It was an honor to participate in such a fantastic initiative, and we extend our heartfelt appreciation to Mr. Beast and his team for their kindness, generosity, and support.”

Hearing the Call is supported by over 90 audiology practices around the United States, including Pacific Hearing Services, and maintains 32 projects nationally. If you would like to speak to an audiologist in your area about MrBeast and fitting 1,000 people, please call or text Alan Wagmeister at (260) 609-8745 or by email at Alan@HearingtheCall.org.

// PACIFIC HEARING CONNECTION //

Charity Starts at Home

Pacific Hearing Connection is a nonprofit organization providing hearing healthcare to low-income adults and under-served children in our community.

Our desire is that no one is kept from full participation in life due to hearing loss.

By restoring their hearing potential, we provide patients with opportunities to engage with their communities through service to others

Jane H. Baxter, Au.D. and Deborah Clark, Au.D. with a senior male patient

Zambia Humanitarian Trip

In the southern region of Africa resides Zambia, a developing nation of almost 17 million people. It’s full of amazing wildlife and incredible cultures, but with all those individuals, it only has one audiologist.

Zambia covers over 290,000 square miles of rural villages, which means that opportunities like healthcare and education come sparingly, if ever.  For someone suffering a hearing loss, a chance at education severely diminishes, the likelihood of finding a job decreases, and safety becomes a serious concern.  Even more so, it can be extremely difficult to connect with family members and friends.  Most are left without hope that anything could ever change.

But hearing can transform someone’s life no matter where they live!  There’s nothing like watching a hearing smile splash onto a child’s face when they hear for the first time.  Empowering a mom to hear her kids, a husband to hear his wife, a kid to go to school, a co-worker to hear her boss, or a grandparent to hear his grandchildren…these are worth traveling any distance.

That’s why we took a team of some of the best audiologists in the country to Zambia.  They each run successful practices, bring state-of-the-art equipment, and give personalized care to every single patient just like they would at home. We believe by partnering with the community and offering such care, that we’re truly making a difference in the world.  A hearing smile means joy in any language.

Middle East Humanitarian Trip

In the town of Zarqa’, a Syrian refugee camp, one mother shared her heartbreaking story with us.  When the bombing started, she raced out of her home in Syria with nothing except her purse that had her children’s birth certificates.  Through it all, she had hearing damage.  The team was able to help her hear better and as she says restore her dignity.  The mother also says she will be able to better raise her kids because she can now help them and also hear them, so they won’t get frustrated with her.  Even though her face was covered by her veil, everyone could see the smile she had on her face as her eyes lit up.

Day after day, clinic after clinic, the team helped young and old.  In one clinic, you had two very distinct “hearing smiles.”  One elderly man was very grateful that he would be able to hear his family again, including all his grandchildren.  On the other end, you had 3-year-old Rawan, who heard for the first time in her life.  It is a small thing to many but is actually an important moment in her life.

It is the first step in her communicating and interacting with the world around her.
Even though this will be the sixth mission trip to the Middle East, there is still much work to be done.  Every day, more refugees pour into Jordan and need help.

Finding Refuge in Art

In November 2017, we were proud to host an exhibit of original Syrian refugee art. Many of the pieces displayed were painted by 10 to 13-year-olds in the Zaatari refugee camp, using large pieces of canvas cut from the old camp tents. The art is surprisingly sophisticated, considering the circumstances, and is especially poignant when you read the artists’ captions.

The exhibit also included art created at other sites during our trip to Jordan in April, when we started using art therapy as a way to help our patients heal from their trauma. We were able to use their time during the long waits for their testing and hearing aids.

Thank you to Maggie Conroy and Hesham Alalusi for their contributions in providing art therapy and obtaining the art for our showing.