As with many poor societies, ear infections are very common in Nepal, and these often progress to moderate or severe hearing loss caused by damage to the ear drum and other parts of the middle ear.
The Nepal Hearing Project commenced operations in March 2010, and is headed by David Hine, an audiometrist who has 30 years’ experience in Australia. The project started out by establishing a hearing clinic in Pokhara, which has since been conducting hearing assessments for suspected sufferers of hearing loss and fitting free hearing aids or other assistive listening devices for suitable candidates. During the years, David Hine and many other overseas clinicians have conducted short term visits to Pokhara to run the clinic, and at the same time a local employee has been trained as an audiometric assistant and local administrator to do screening tests, and to provide support, advice and maintenance to the hearing aid recipients.
Through the Nepal Hearing Project, David and his team have provided medical treatment and supplied and fitted hearing devices for thousands of patients each year, both at the clinic, local schools and rural ear camps. The initiative is well established and well known throughout Nepal as countless beneficiaries who have attended David’s clinic have been given the gift of hearing, allowing them to resume normal participation in society, being able to communicate, and giving them better potential to succeed in life.
Since November 2015, the Hearing Clinic has been successfully operating under the management of a new International ENT hospital in Pokhara. This wonderful initiative is now reaching out even further and providing help to even more people in the community.