Tlaxcala, Toluca

After a brief reprieve, the team began an incredible 67-day run giving the gift of hearing. The first stop on this lengthy expedition was Mexico, where we spent a day in Tlaxcala before spending the next nine days in Toluca.

Starkey Hearing Foundation has been conducting hearing missions in Mexico since the beginning of our mission work, and it has been our most frequented mission location outside of the United States. Because of our extensive experience working in Mexico, our team has become exceedingly efficient in the country. In 10 days, we were able to give the gift of hearing to more than 6,000 people.

One moving story from Toluca was that of Mario. He used to love mountain biking, but he would do so while listening to incredibly loud music on his headphones. Eventually his ears gave way from the intense sound, and he suffered noise-induced hearing loss.

This not only took away mountain biking from Mario, but he rarely left his home because he was afraid that he could not hear his surroundings. He lived in isolation for more than 11 years, until we were able to restore his hearing. Mario was so unbelievably excited to be hearing again that he cried with joy. He talked at length about how he now understands what an incredible gift hearing truly is.

While we were thrilled to be able to restore Mario’s hearing, his story reflects the importance of our Listen Carefully message. Noise-induced hearing loss, in most cases, is 100 percent preventable. We hope stories like Mario’s serve as a reminder for all to use better listening habits.

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Special Thanks

Hear For You: Andrew Roth; LSTN Sound Co.: Bridget Hilton, Joe Huff, Max Fronek, Zoya Biglary; NuEar: Mary Rose Ciuccio-Powell; NewSound Hearing Aid Centers: Jeremy Kier, Anthony McLean, Rebecca Measells, Ben Schultz; Starkey U winners: Jared Anderson, Michala DeMars; Starkey Entrepreneurial students: Candance Coleman, Brittany Renne, Hershel Korngut, Lauren Liebig