Starkey Hearing Institute, a program of Starkey Hearing Foundation

The World Health Organization estimates that 136 million people in the African region live with hearing loss. With a growing population, it is projected that by the year 2050, 337 million people, many of whom are school-aged children, will have problems with their hearing.

To help address the dire shortage of hearing healthcare professionals in Africa, in 2016, the first Starkey Hearing Institute was founded in Lusaka, Zambia.

The institute’s groundbreaking hands-on training program has been designed to meet not only the current ear and hearing care needs on the continent, but also to prepare a new generation of professionals for the future. The program features a concentrated, 10-month curriculum that focuses on primary ear and hearing care training, as well as public health training.

To date, 83 students from 18 African countries have graduated from the Starkey Hearing Foundation’s Starkey Hearing Institute and returned to their home communities to establish or improve the hearing amplification and hearing health care services within their health systems. The program is designed to provide exponential benefit, as each Starkey Hearing Institute graduate establishes a presence in their community, engaging and providing additional hearing-specific training to healthcare professionals from existing systems.

Starkey Hearing Institute graduates return to their home communities to establish or improve the hearing amplification and hearing health care services within their health systems. The program is designed to provide exponential benefit, as each Starkey Hearing Institute graduate establishes a presence in their community, engaging and providing additional hearing-specific training to healthcare professionals from existing systems. 
 
Modules include: Professional Considerations, WFA® Community-Based Hearing Healthcare, Auditory Sciences, Introduction to Hearing Loss and Hearing Instruments, Audiometric Assessment, Amplification and Fitting Techniques, Ear Impressions and Earmolds, Counseling and Follow-up Care, Public Health Training and Primary Ear and Hearing Care.
 
Upon completion of the program, graduates can advance their education through Scotland’s Queen Margaret University’s HEDip Hearing Aid Audiology coursework, a first-of-its-kind program. Through our partnership, Starkey Hearing Institute graduates have a pathway to obtain university credits and higher degrees in audiology through this online program while continuing to work in their home country, without the need to travel to the UK for training.
 
Inspired by the success of the flagship Starkey Hearing Institute and its graduates, who return to their countries and communities as hearing healthcare champions, Starkey Hearing Foundation is committed to opening two more institutes in the next five years.