I Hear Foundation is constituted as a not-for-profit public charitable trust registered under the Bombay Public Trusts Act. It has a Board of Trustees to decide policy.

IHF’s flagship program, Naad, was set up between August 2002 and April 2003 with extensive support from the Rotary Club of Bombay. Today, it functions independently.

Naad is a unique early intervention program for babies and young children born with a hearing loss and their families. It is founded on the principle that if hearing-impaired infants are to be brought into a world of sound, they must receive assistance as early as possible. At Naad, we believe that it is essential to teach these children to listen and speak clearly so that they can fully participate in our hearing world and make informed choices. Naad offers a comprehensive range of services—audiology, therapy and counselling—in one integrated facility.

In a very short time, IHF’s Naad program has received nation-wide and even international recognition. It is arguably the only program of its kind in the country today. There are 27 families enrolled at Naad today and they came from as far away as Bhuj, Chhattisgarh, New Delhi and Calcutta.

IHF & Hearing-Impaired Babies

The human ear is a marvelously balanced mechanism: With equal ease, it hears a pin drop and copes with the thunder of a jet. Sound and speech are fundamental to our daily communications; we take for granted the entire process of listening.

But when this delicate balance is upset, the consequences are far-reaching and frequently misunderstood. A crying three-month old baby is comforted by her mother’s voice; a hearing-impaired infant cannot hear her mother and becomes frantic.

As she grows, the hearing-impaired child does not comprehend spoken language and speech appropriate to her age. She is regarded as a low-functioning child. The family finds it difficult to understand the dimensions of the impairment. It needs appropriate guidance. The infant needs an effective early-intervention programme. She needs a customized hearing-aid. She must be taught to listen and to develop intelligible speech and age-appropriate language skills.

We are committed to providing just such early, effective and age-appropriate intervention so that hearing-impaired infants and their families may become confident participants in our hearing society. The Foundation’s technologically advanced audiological facility and individualized educational and counselling services make it a forerunner in early identification and effective management of very young hearing-impaired children in India.

I Hear Foundation uses a model developed indigenously over the last six years for effectively rehabilitating hearing-impaired babies. Infants gain placement in kindergarten classes of regular schools for hearing children. The hearing-impaired children are appropriately amplified, have good listening and speech skills and even participate in class singing sessions.

IHF’s Work

Over the past six years, IHF has:

• Set up an Infant Hearing Screening Programme which screens babies for hearing from birth to six months;
• set up a comprehensive centre in South Bombay from where it runs its early-intervention program;
• conducted several workshops for teachers of the deaf from other schools and centres all over India;
• facilitated continuing education for its own staff;
• developed a library of materials and case-studies, including extensive videography, for further research;
• prepared teaching aids and materials of its own;
• assisted parents in obtaining appropriate hearing-amplification, including raising support for expensive Cochlear Implants;
• graduated 17 students who are now integrated into mainstream primary and secondary schools;

What we offer:

• An auditory-verbal program which offers children who are hearing impaired the opportunity to listen, speak and communicate in the world of sound. Focus on listening, leading to the natural development of speech and language.
• Warm, friendly, family environment.
• Diverse team of qualified, experienced professionals including teachers, audiologists, counsellor, ENT surgeons, pediatricians.
• An Infant Hearing Screening Programme which helps identify hearing loss in infants before the age of 6 months
• Early intervention program, Naad, for hearing aid users and implanted children from diagnosis to age of school entry
• A comprehensive Cochlear Implant (CI) program

Our Cochlear Implant program offers:

• evaluation of suitability for CI including a trial of hearing aids
• Preparation for CI surgery
• Activation or ‘switch on’ of CI
• Post-implant therapy
• Audiological management including MAPping and audiological assessment
• Support and counselling for parents and families
• An individualized short-term plan that addresses audiological and therapy goals, and family needs.
• Regular assessment to monitor and facilitate the child’s progress

Hear Foundation is accredited to the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing in America.