27 Sep
THE HEARING FOUNDATION OF CANADA
49.83%
$1,495.00
$3,000.00
The Hearing Foundation of Canada (THFC) is a national not-for-profit charitable organization dedicated to eliminating the devastating effects of hearing loss by promoting prevention, early diagnosis, leading-edge medical research and successful intervention.
Since its inception in 1979, The Hearing Foundation of Canada has delivered a multitude of national projects in the areas of medical research, education, and advocacy.
THFC makes a difference to Canadians by:
- Providing support which enables Canadian hearing health researchers to translate and disseminate medical research into clinical practice.
- Educating the public, particularly young people, on how to detect and prevent hearing loss.
- Advocating awareness of hearing protection and related issues to governments, media and the public.
The Hearing Foundation of Canada is working to reduce children’s risk of developing NIHL by delivering an educational program, Sound Sense. Sound Sense/Oui à l’ouïe is an educational program that teaches children in grades four to six about the dangers of overexposure to noise and how to proactively protect their hearing. Sound Sense/Oui à l’ouïe is delivered to this age group to parallel the educational curriculum in which children are taught the science of hearing. Sound Sense/Oui à l’ouïe complements this curriculum by teaching children about hearing loss and the importance of protecting their hearing.
The Sound Sense/Oui à l’ouïe presentation, which lasts approximately 50 minutes, teaches youth in grades four to six to appreciate the preciousness of hearing, how their hearing works, and how easy it is to damage. Most importantly, it teaches how to avoid NIHL, which is preventable but permanent.
During a Sound Sense/Oui à l’ouïe presentation, children:
- Watch a DVD about the anatomy of the ear, how hearing works, what noise-induced hearing loss is, and how it can it be prevented.
- Measure the volume at which they listen to their digital music players.
- Discuss the sounds they love and consider life without those sounds; and
- Identify ways they can modify their behaviour to prevent the onset of noise-induced hearing loss.
Sound Sense/Oui à l’ouïe also provides parents and teachers with educational resources which help to identify potential signs of hearing loss, and prevent habits which may contribute to the development NIHL. This is crucial as the majority of Canadians with measured hearing loss are not aware they have any hearing problems. Among children age 6-11, 95% were unaware they experienced hearing loss. Since its inception, Sound Sense/Oui à l’ouïe has benefited more than 325,000 children, 600,000 parents/caregivers, and 13,000 elementary school teachers across Canada.
