For nearly 40 years, Starkey Hearing Foundation has helped millions around the globe hear. That mission continues today, inspired by co-founders Bill and Tani Austin’s drive toward sustainable community-based hearing healthcare and supported by many generous donors.

Our hearing healthcare model is built upon Starkey Hearing Foundation’s legacy of international hearing missions. During these missions in more than 100 countries, we not only helped people hear – we also provided training and education on hearing, hearing loss and hearing aids. We trained hearing healthcare professionals and developed programs in 70 countries through our unique combination of knowledge and skillsets, creating the WFA® Community-Based Hearing Healthcare Model.

Today, our focus has shifted from direct one-to-one services to an even larger goal of systems change through global partnerships, education, and capacity building. The first Starkey Hearing Institute, a program of Starkey Hearing Foundation, was created in 2016 in Lusaka, Zambia, to help address the urgent shortage of hearing healthcare professionals in the developing world.

Graduates of the institute become hearing healthcare champions who are successfully returning to their countries and communities to make immediate social impact through better hearing for individuals and families alike. The great success of the Starkey Hearing Institute in Zambia inspired Starkey Hearing Foundation’s commitment to opening two more institutes in the next five years.

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