Everton FC launches hearing aid
Everton FC are another football club from the English Premier League that are launching a range of hearing aids in their club colours.
The Liverpool Echo reports:
Young Evertonians with hearing difficulties can now proudly wear their team’s colours – on their ears.
The Blues have joined forces with scientists to tackle the problems hard-of-hearing children face while wearing hearing aids.
Together they have created special clear hearing aids carrying Everton’s world-famous club crest.
The aim is to make Merseyside children proud of their hearing aid, not embarrassed by it, and the new devices are already proving popular among young Blues.
The Better Hearing Initiative was set up by Starkey Laboratories, the world’s largest manufacturer of hearing aids.
Suzie Butcher, from Starkey Laboratories, said: “Many children suffering with hearing problems can often experience bullying among their peers and feelings of embarrassment from using hearing aids.
“We have seen a fantastic response from children who have opted for a football-designed aid.
“It really transforms it from being something children can be ashamed of to an object of aspiration.”
I think this is a great idea. As Suzi Butcher says in the quote above, putting hearing aids in shells sporting pictures of things that kids love is a great way to turn them from being something they hate wearing into something they want. How long before we see a High School Musical hearing aid?
