Hearing the Call, Inc.

Hearing the Call is a non-profit campaign bringing hope and healing to the hearing-impaired. Hearing the Call exists to provide dignity, self-worth, and opportunity through the gift of hearing. Our long-term goal is to create sustainable hearing healthcare to ensure no person misses out on fully participating in life because of hearing loss. Hearing health care can radically change people's lives. Ultimately, we hope to empower people to receive the help they need so that they can help others, creating a universal bond of sharing that connects all humanity.

Locally, Hearing the Call provides structure and support to established audiology clinics so they can serve low-income individuals who would otherwise have no access to care. Each of these clinics also follow a Circle of Giving model, which empowers patients to volunteer in their communities. As they are given the gift of hearing, they give the gift of service to their community. Limited hearing often leads to limited involvement in life. With restored hearing comes the option to restore one’s involvement in life.

Internationally, Hearing the Call follows a structure of relief, development, and empowerment to build up audiology communities in each region we serve. We always begin by partnering with a local organization and then work to provide immediate relief in a location with very limited or no access to hearing healthcare. The initial stage can be a 2- to 3-year process, during which we develop relationships and understanding with partners and the local community. Development starts during the relief portion, after working with the local partner to determine needs, resources, and culture. Commitment from the community is critical at this point to raise funds for scholarships, training, and potential stipends for audio technicians to perform follow-up and maintenance checks. In this stage, additional fundraising is also done for equipment that stays in-country to support future work in the community. The long-term goal of Hearing the Call is to create sustainable hearing healthcare. This means helping the local audio technicians establish follow-up care and maintenance as well as being active in the identification process. In some areas, this may mean creating a viable business option. The technician will receive advice and help in executing a simple business plan supported by the program. The technician will also receive the equipment necessary to maintain the business and hearing healthcare for patients using best practices. This will include a continuing education plan as well as any support needed in repairs or replacement hearing aids for their patients.

Hearing the Call brings the world of Audiology to those who would not otherwise have access to proper hearing healthcare both nationally and internationally. We do not do this on our own, but utilize audiologists across the country and non-profits across the globe.

Our Non-Profit Projects are run as extensions of private audiology practices in eight different states. More than twenty audiologists have committed to our mission by starting 501(c)(3)s of their own or starting Non-Profit Projects to serve their communities. Many of these audiologists also volunteer their own time for our international humanitarian trips.

When Hearing the Call considers bringing audiology to a new area, one of the most important considerations is a local partner who can be our eyes and ears while we are not there. They are pivotal in every trip, assisting our teams in many ways. Our international partners are committed to our mission and committed to improving the quality of life in their countries through improved hearing health.

To date, Hearing the Call has partnered with 18 audiology practices across the United States to broaden their reach to income eligible families by providing a platform for tax-deductible fundraising. Funds raised may be used to conduct international hearing clinics, subsidized sliding scale fees charged locally to income-eligible patients or for any other qualified, hearing-related charitable purpose. Globally, Hearing the Call has built relationships in seven different countries on four continents to provide relief, development, and sustainability to each country's capacity to serve its people's hearing needs.