The Rinat Akhmetov Foundation Helped Sofiyka from Vinnytsia Region

Six-year-old Sofiyka loves music and singing, but after an illness, she lost her hearing and now she suffers from hearing loss. Thanks to the project Rinat Akhmetov for Children. I Can Hear Now she received a highly sensitive hearing aid (earphone). It will help her hear all sounds, enjoy good music and singing.

In 2018, the child had otopyosis of the right and left ear five times. After that, the doctors diagnosed a second-degree hearing loss. The girl mispronounces some words and cannot hear voices properly. Sofiyka's mother Iryna Baranevych says that her daughter is a very talented kid. She is fond of gymnastics and is quite dynamic. However, she fears that the hearing loss might interfere with her schooling.

‘Her batteries never run low. She loves to dance and sing. She is a flower that brings me joy every day,’ says Iryna.

When the doctors prescribed hearing aids to Sofiyka, her mother was worried that she would not be able to buy the devices, so she turned to the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation. A month later, she received a positive answer.

‘Earlier, we were prescribed hearing aids that cost 75,000 hryvnias, but I am a single mother and I could not collect such an amount, and no one would give me a loan. I am grateful to the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation because when I asked for help, they really helped me. I am very glad that my flower will be able to hear everything,’ said the girl's mother.

A specific feature of the device that Sofiyka received under the project Rinat Akhmetov for Children. I Can Hear Now is that it is tailored to the needs of the child. Doctors said that the type of hearing loss that Sofiyka has is difficult to diagnose and, accordingly, to correct.

‘Simple devices would linearly raise all sounds by the same level, and she would hear some sounds very loudly (they would interfere with the perception of the world around her) while other sounds could be hard to hear. With these devices, the child will be able to normally hear low-frequency and amplified high-frequency sounds,’ explained Ilona Chernova, a doctor-audiologist of the Hearing Centre.

For Sofiyka to be able to hear the world 100%, highly sensitive devices were selected, which are best suited for her. Now the girl attends classes with a teacher for people with impaired hearing and learns to pronounce all sounds clearly, as well as reproduce speech and music, which she can hear again.

The Rinat Akhmetov Foundation has been helping children with hearing problems for over 13 years. Thanks to the project Rinat Akhmetov for Children. I Can Hear Now 200 highly sensitive hearing aids (earphones) were provided to kids who were not able to hear from birth or lost their hearing ability.