Students and faculty in the Auburn University department of communication disorders have conducted research in Guatemala and may be able to improve hearing-aid fitting in infants and young children.
The Auburn research group discovered head circumference can be used to predict the necessary adjustments that need to be made to the hearing aids.
According to members on the research team, sound must be adjusted to the size of each child's ear for the hearing aids to work correctly.
The Guatemala Outreach Program started in 2009.
According to Kelli Watts, assistant clinical professor, this program is treated like a study abroad program, and doctorate students receive patient contact hours.
Watts said the research team was invited to Guatemala by the former first lady, Patricia de Arzu.
Watts said children are provided with hearing screenings and hearing aids donated by ReSound, a hearing aid manufacturing company.
Some children receive checkups and others are evaluated for ear molds for hearing aids.
"It's wonderful to see not only how the kids have grown, but also to see how they're doing with their new hearing aids," Watts said.
Watts said the Guatemala Outreach Program is important because it provides health care to those who otherwise could not afford it.
Watts also said the program is valuable because most families in Guatemala live on one dollar per day or less.
Sandra Clark-Lewis, professor emerita, was part of the group that started it all and is still involved with the program as a clinical faculty member after retirement.
Clark-Lewis said she started this program because the students wanted to share their skills with less fortunate people in another country.
Clark-Lewis started the program in 2008 by applying for a grant with the Office of Outreach.
"The faith they took in this program was essential," Clark-Lewis said.
Clark-Lewis said she values the friendships she has made during the program throughout the years.
"We are all working toward the same goal," Clark-Lewis said. "It's very uplifting. It makes you want to keep going."
Abby Agnew, second-year graduate student in audiology and graduate assistant of Guatemala Outreach Program, will make her first trip to Guatemala in May.
Agnew said she anticipates a rush of emotions.
Agnew also said she expects to gain real-world experience by working in a foreign country and experiencing the fast paced nature of examining one child after another.
"This opportunity means a lot to me, and I am very excited to get to represent Auburn University and this amazing program," Agnew said. "I can't wait to help the Guatemalans and to be able to use everything I have learned."
Agnew said there will be an auction April 18 benefitting the Guatemala Outreach Program.
Agnew said some of the items up for grabs are an autographed football and basketball by coaches Gus Malzhan and Bruce Pearl, respectively.
"We're looking forward to a great turnout," Agnew said.
This year, the research team will be in Guatemala from May 9-16.
According to Clark-Lewis, the Guatemala Outreach Program would not be possible without the continued support of the College of Liberal Arts and the department of communication disorders.
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