Bringing hearing to Samoa
Orewa ear nurse Sherrill Sanders has been in Apia, Samoa, to screen hundreds of people with hearing impairment and fit them with much-needed hearing aids. Sanders is part of a team of six New Zealand audiologists and nurses from Bay Audiology.
It’s the beginning of a long-term initiative Bay Audiology is committing to in Samoa and will see them return there annually. The team is working in partnership with local organisation SENESE and the Samoan National Health service. Bay Audiology will also be training local health workers in the maintenance of hearing aids and ongoing screening.
In some of the most extreme cases, people are hearing well for the first time in 30 years.
Sanders says she is excited to teach local nurses how to use some of the equipment in the clinic there.
‘‘It means that once I leave, the ear suctioning and wax removal service can remain.’’
Without this sort of assistance, people with hearing impairment would be unable to access the help they need without travelling to New Zealand or Australia at a significant cost to themselves or their family.