Global Audiology Initiative in Vietnam

In January 2016, students and faculty of the LI Au.D Consortium traveled to Vietnam to provide hearing services to underprivileged and underserved communities. During this experience the students provided primary ear care services, assisted in the community outreach to identify patients and, when appropriate, fit hearing aids and made custom earmolds on qualified candidates. Students traveled to two locations within Vietnam, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to serve over 600 patients. It is well known that in many developing countries such as Vietnam, patients living in remote areas have never had access to hearing healthcare. It is with that intent and focus that the LI Au.D Consortium set its goal and focus to provide this global clinical experience to our students. These efforts were well supported and made possible by The Starkey Hearing Foundation as part of their Global Based Hearing HealthCare Program ‘So The World May Hear’.

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Current third year student, Karissa Bayer and co-president of SAA states “As a third year student, I thought I had it all figured out, I thought I wanted to work with geriatrics once I graduated, this experience completely changed that; I fell in love with pediatrics! The experience itself was extremely educational and quite humbling. I learned to love a whole new part of audiology.”

This joint effort between students and faculty is just the start of a long term process, in which the ultimate goal is to provide audiological services, educate the communities, and explore ways to promote international opportunities for our students in academic, clinical, and research areas within the health systems around the world.