AAA Foundation Gift Allows SAA Member to Assist with Special Olympics Hearing Screenings in Greece

Amanda Carr, AuD, an international volunteer from the University of Iowa, with an athlete after his hearing aid fitting at the Special Olympics World Games Athens 2011

The cheering of a teammate, the encouragement of a coach, the roar of the crowd giving applause…these are all sounds that will be heard more clearly by Special Olympics athletes because of dedicated volunteers who provide them with hearing screenings.

One of those volunteers was Kari Morgenstein, president of the Student Academy of Audiology (SAA). Through gifts from the AAAF and the University of Florida, Kari was able to travel to the Special Olympics World Games in Athens, Greece to represent the SAA, assist with hearing screenings and hearing aid fittings, and promote the audiology profession at an international event.

The Special Olympics Healthy Hearing (SOHH) program is the national service project of the Student Academy of Audiology (SAA). The SOHH program provides free hearing screenings to all Special Olympics athletes prior to their competitive events. Through the SOHH’s new follow-up program, those athletes diagnosed with hearing loss will receive hearing aids and follow-up care.

SAA members from around the nation donate their time and audiological services at local, state, and national Special Olympics events to ensure that these athletes receive quality hearing healthcare. Currently, 21 local SAA chapters are registered to provide services at these events. The SAA hopes to have 100 percent of the local chapters on board in the year to come.

While in Greece, Kari helped conduct the more than 1,200 hearing screenings that SOHH volunteers provided in the first six days of competition.

“Seeing the look on the faces of athletes who had an undiagnosed hearing loss and were fit with hearing aids was simply priceless,” Kari said. “I am very grateful for this opportunity and honored that I was able to represent the SAA at this international event.”

Kari also met with several hearing healthcare professionals from around the world. Through her interactions with these representatives, she was able to explain the unique partnership that the SAA has with the SOHH program.  Kari’s presence at the Special Olympics World Games allowed her to demonstrate to Special Olympics leadership the SAA’s long-term commitment to the SOHH program.

Currently, the Foundation provides SOHH chapter participation grants; these grants provide funding to ensure that students from SAA chapters serve as volunteers at SOHH events. The application for the SAA Special Olympics Healthy Hearing Chapter Participation grant program is available here.