This article was contributed in support of Doppler Labs.

According to the World Health Organization, over 600 million people in the world suffer from hearing loss. Of these, an estimated 181 million are children. 278 million people suffer from hearing loss so disabling that activities most people take for granted, like having a conversation, are impossible for them without access to technology.

Unfortunately, the majority of people with hearing loss live in low and middle income countries, where hearing care remains inaccessible because of the high cost of hearing aids, insufficient treatment services, and the lack of trained professionals to fit hearing aids. As a result, fewer than 1 in 40 people in the developing world who need a hearing aid have access to one.

Hearing Loss Has Serious Consequences

Hearing-impaired children born in countries with very few available disability services are unlikely to attend school. Those who do attend school struggle to hear their teachers and often fail to get good grades. They grow up without a proper education and have difficulty finding work as adults. Relative to their peers they are at an enormous disadvantage as they try to make a life for themselves.

People who suffer from hearing loss often have trouble communicating and become isolated from their communities. They have trouble fitting in and are often mistreated. As a result of this discrimination, many suffer from mental health problems such as depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem.