“When My Son Had an Earphone Installed, His Eyes Lit Up”: 6-Year-Old Myroslav From Sumy Region Received Modern Hearing Aids From the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation

At the outbreak of the full-scale war, Myroslav and his family spent a month under occupation in Trostyanka. Due to stress, the boy developed the impairment of his hearing: he asked people to repeat what they said, listened to the TV at maximum volume, and badly pronounced some letters. Doctors diagnosed him with first-degree chronic bilateral sensorineural deafness. Recently, 6-year-old Myroslav received ultra-modern hearing aids from the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation, which are adjustable to the boy’s individual needs.

“You know, we did not want to believe that right away. We hoped it was a mistake, but both in Sumy and in Kyiv, doctors said that the boy could not hear and needed a hearing aid. In Sumy, they told me that he would be able to live on like that... But you could see it today, could not you? When he had an earphone installed, his eyes really lit up,” says the boy’s mother Kateryna.

Parents could not afford expensive hearing aids for their son. The Foundation came to help, and now Myroslav can not only fully hear the world, but also develop and learn at the same level as his peers.

“We have selected modern gadgets that will help the boy develop, speak correctly and study well at school. These devices are very suitable for children, because they offer a wide range of frequencies that children should hear. At this age, 6 years old, he is supposed to attend school. The boy must be prepared and able to speak well, that is why it is crucial to provide this hearing aid exactly now,” explains Galyna Ivashchenko, an autometrist at the Hearing Centre in Kyiv.

The assistance with hearing aids within the framework of the project Rinat Akhmetov for Children. I Can Hear Now can be received by children under the age of 7 who live or lived in the territorial communities in war zones, under occupation or encirclement, and suffer from hearing impairment. 

If your relatives or acquaintances have a child who needs hearing aids, please contact the toll-free hotline 0 (800) 509 001 (Monday to Friday), or write to the Foundation’s messenger https://m.me/AkhmetovFDU