Shattering disability stigma for World Hearing Day with Israeli BeHear technology enabling self-administered hearing screening

A.R.M. and BeKol leverage BeHear's innovative hearing check kiosks to raise hearing health awareness and accessibility

HAIFA, Israel, March 4, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- A special initiative by A.R.M. Medical Center, experts in Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck, and Oral and Maxillofacial surgery; BeKol, the organization representing the hard of hearing in Israel; and BeHear by Alango Technologies is designed to shatter disability stigma while promoting hearing health awareness and accessibility. 

Imagine a world where disabilities are addressed without stigma. Imagine a world where all people are treated with dignity and respect and can easily implement technological solutions without experiencing shame. While this seems like an obvious and morally imperative goal, when it comes to hearing health there is a painful dissonance between its importance and the general levels of awareness and accessibility. Worst of all, there is a high level of social stigma attached to hearing as a disability, as if it is indicative of being "broken", old, or damaged, as well as the negative and completely inappropriate association of cognitive incapacity.  

World Hearing Day is an annual global initiative sponsored by the World Health Organization (WHO), designed to raise awareness and promote hearing care at community and national levels across the world. This year's theme "Hearing care for ALL! Screen. Rehabilitate. Communicate." fits perfectly with the A.R.M.-BeKol-BeHear initiative to provide free, accessible hearing screening.

Using equipment donated by Alango to BeKol, free access will be provided to BeHear's hearing check kiosks located at the A.R.M. Medical Center in Assuta Hospital, Tel Aviv. The innovative kiosks offer a unique balance of user-independence with precision results, testing in a quick and simple process that anyone can undertake without the help of a healthcare professional. The system guides the user through a 5-minute hearing assessment using an intuitive interface available in English, Hebrew, Russian, and Arabic. Results are received on the spot and can be sent to the user's email. The user is then invited to compare "what they hear" with "what they could be hearing" once BeHear's advanced hearing enhancement technology is applied to the sound they hear.