“She will finally hear birds singing”: Albina, 6, from Balakliia, receives hearing aids provided by Rinat Akhmetov Foundation

Little Albina was diagnosed with a hearing impairment at the beginning of the full-scale war. At that time, her family had just left the occupation – from Balakliia in Kharkiv region. At first, the girl’s mother, Tetiana, thought that it was the numerous explosions that were rattling the city that caused her daughter’s hearing problems. Later, it turned out that the girl had been hard of hearing since birth, and therefore needed hearing aids. Recently, 6-year-old Albina received state-of-the-art hearing aids from the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation that are adjusted to the child’s characteristics and needs.

“I am very happy that Albina has been provided with these hearing aids. The day before I told her about it, and she said: “Mum, now I will hear with two ears!” My daughter is very happy, because she can’t even hear the birds singing or the children laughing. Now I think that everything will work out, everything will be fine, thanks to the Foundation,” says Albina’s mother Tetiana.

According to Viktoriia Vasylchyna, a hearing specialist at the Hearing Centre, Albina cannot hear some sounds, and the state-of-the-art hearing aids will help the girl compensate for her hearing loss. Now she will better perceive the sounds of the world around her, which will have a positive impact on the development of her speech and communication skills.

“These are the best devices available today. They compensate Albina for her high-frequency hearing loss. These devices also have noise reduction, which will help the child to recognise hissing sounds,” the doctor explains.

Rinat Akhmetov to Children. Now I Can Hear project provides assistance with hearing aids to children with hearing impairments under the age of 7 who live or have lived in territorial communities in the areas of hostilities, occupation or encirclement.

In total, 5 million children received comprehensive support under the “Rinat Akhmetov to Children” programme. “Rinat Akhmetov to Children. Help that gives tomorrow!”

If there is a child among your relatives or friends who needs hearing prosthetics, please call the toll-free hotline 0 (800) 509 001 (Monday to Friday) or write to the Foundation’s messenger https://m.me/AkhmetovFDU