Mainstreaming Into Life: Natalie's story

Patients who have received hearing aids from Starkey Hearing Foundation continue to inspire us with their own acts of kindness.

Natalie Cornhill was studying at the University of Zambia in 2015. She was working as hard as she could, but because of the hearing loss in her left ear, she always had to sit in the front of the class to hear her teachers, and still would not clearly hear them.

During her final semester, Natalie went to a Starkey Hearing Foundation mission where she was fit with hearing aids that opened up her hearing abilities. Natalie could now sit wherever she wanted. It’s the small things that make a world of difference in a person’s quality of life. She went on to ace her finals and graduate.

Moved by the caring she felt from the Foundation, Natalie began to volunteer with our local community-based hearing health care team in Lusaka.

Natalie greatly impressed us when she joined the Foundation to help at AfterCare. She wasted no time jumping in to give counseling to patients for the best use and care of their hearing devices.

Natalie’s story demonstrates paying it forward and the importance of our Phase 4 “Mainstreaming into Life” concept. Our hope is to empower those we help so they can, in turn, give back in their communities to create a compounding positive effect.

Thank you, Natalie, for being such a fantastic role model in your community.