Frequently Asked Questions

DEAF COMMUNITY

What support and collaboration does Starkey have with other organizations that represent the deaf?

Yes we have partnerships with many hearing-oriented and deaf organizations. If you want the comprehensive list of the more than 25 organizations, please contact the Foundation. The Starkey Hearing Foundation has a history of supporting the deaf community and other hearing organizations as our grants program has provided funding both domestically and internationally for organizations, such as:

• International Hearing Foundation – Ongoing research on etiology and treatments of ear related problems
• Aspen Camp of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing – Supporting a year-round camp that offers programs that inspires, nurtures, and fosters goodwill for deaf children, adults, and their families
• Peace Over Violence – We directed support for the Deaf & Disabled services program to provide linguistically and culturally appropriate intervention and prevention services to this high risk population

Do you hire deaf people and support sign language?

We do employ people with various levels of hearing. We acknowledge and respect that people communicate via different methods. Various viewpoints exist in the hearing community as differences exist with hearing levels. We also respect the use of sign language. Our method does not take away sign language. The Foundation offers a different methodology focused on hearing.

Do you provide language experts for all countries where you have missions?

We are a global charity and we do our best to not only accommodate our missions with sign language experts but also people who speak Spanish and others languages. However, we cannot possibly hire experts in all the languages that represent our footprint such as Swahili, French, Filipino, Chinese, Dari, Farsi, Afrikaans, Hindi, Kinyarwanda, etc.

We do work with volunteers or country-specific representatives who do speak the specific language of the participants and who support our missions.

What is your position on language development?

We are an international organization that takes a holistic approach to language development, including the introduction of speech whenever possible to open possibilities to children and adults in developing countries that they otherwise likely would not have.

Our work, by virtue of the instrument we distribute, is focused on those who have some level of hearing and we don’t believe it is our purview to tell patients what type of language development (speaking or ASL) they wish to develop.

What is your position with American Sign Language (ASL) and deaf associations?

We have deep respect for the dignity of all individuals who are deaf or experience various levels of hearing; and those organizations who advocate on their behalf.

We believe people experience joy through many communication methods, and we acknowledge and respect the various languages and communication methods and organizations that represent them.

Starkey Hearing Foundation wants all participants in our domestic and international missions to have a caring, positive, and joyful experience at the event and with their hearing aid. The Starkey Foundation does employ ASL interpreters at events.