In March 2023, the non-profit organization I am part of, Hearing The Call, was invited by @MrBeast, to fit 1000 people (globally) who are hard of hearing, with hearing aids. Hearing The Call audiologists, in a span of days, were asked to rearrange their schedules, leave their families, and travel far and wide to achieve this goal.
Over the month of March (we call it our March Madness), we travelled to Guatemala, Brazil, India, South Africa, and Mexico to fulfill this daunting task. On average, 200 people were fit with hearing aids in two days’ time in each of these locations. It was no easy feat but by the grace of God, we got it done. I was fortunate to have travelled on the first Brazil leg to join in the effort.
This trip was life-changing for me. Over the next few days, I will be sharing stories of the people I got to meet on the way, reflections (and lots and lots of tears). I share my first story (below), and have linked MrBeast’s (now viral) video in the comments section. Should you feel so inclined to support our efforts to further serve others, please also visit the Hearing The Call link in the comments.
P.S. featured in his video is my patient and good friend Annie Aisha Jagoo, who took a courageous step to get fitted with hearing aids and hear her daughter again (more on this in my shared stories).
Yasmin Battat, AuD
Oracle Hearing Center
Brazil (Brasilia) Humanitarian Trip March 2023 Day 1
Travel from NJ to Brasilia (the capital of Brazil) was no small feat. We left for Miami on Tuesday to meet up with colleagues later that day so we could fly into Brasilia together on a red-eye, to arrive Wednesday morning.
Our mission was to carry in 120 hearing aids (generously donated by Widex), 300 receivers, hundreds of dome tips, batteries, and wax filters with us to Brasilia. We were fortunate to have received this Widex shipment early enough to unpack and repack it into small bundles (a herculean effort by office mates Brittney and Brandi), all while managing a busy Monday schedule of patients. By God’s grace (and lots of little meltdowns later), we did it!
March Brazil 2023 Hearing The Call Humanitarian Trip, sponsored by MrBeast Brazil 2023 – Clinic Day 1 (Part 1)
Before I begin, I want to mention what an honor it was to work alongside seasoned audiologists across the country and having the opportunity to learn from them still (I am forever a student). In my hearing aid fitting room were Brandi, my officemate who is an audiology assistant and training to be a Hearing Aid Dispenser, and Al Turri’s high school daughter Gabriella, who translated Portuguese for us. As the day wore on, we found our footing and rhythm. We also found profound moments of humanity.
I am writing this post at 11:15pm at night. I want to put my thoughts down before the day gets away from me. My feet are swollen and my back aches. We spent 14 hours in the hospital and fit 100 patients with hearing aids (that is 20 patients per audiology station, for those counting). I recount their stories in my heart. Today’s hearing aid fittings were filled with moments of gratitude, sadness, and hope.
Today I learned the story of Maria. At 76 years old, she still works, as does her husband, who is 84 years old. She tends a farm and he cuts open coconut on a roadside farm stand. Maria was also diagnosed with cancer and travels several hours to the city to receive treatment. She tells me how she is now anticipating hearing her husband speak to her, and paying better attention to all the farm animals she tends to, especially the chicks “because of their soft chirps.” “I haven’t heard that sound in years” she says, with a far away look in her eyes. As Maria tells her story, I marvel at her strength to push through cancer, work, travel for treatment, and her hearing loss all at once, all at age 84.
We program Maria’s hearing aids and run our test measures. Her eyes light up once her hearing aids are activated. Maria smiles so big. Moments later she is overcome with emotion and tears up. We hug.
Maria asks me if she can pray for us, and I nod yes. I am crying. We are all crying. She says many prayers and I don’t understand what she is saying but it is quite possibly the greatest gift of the day, because it is true and from her heart. She hugs each of us long and hard. It is difficult to recover from that moment. The next patient is brought back to our office and our eyes are not yet dry.
Yasmin Battat, AuD
Oracle Hearing Center
Support here: https://hearingthecall.org/give/
MrBeast video here: https://youtu.be/WTOm65IZneg#oraclehearingcenter #audiology #hearingaids #humanitarian #mrbeast #hearingloss #brazil
March Brazil 2023 Hearing The Call Humanitarian Trip, sponsored by MrBeast Brazil 2023 – Clinic Day 1 (Part 1)
Before I begin, I want to mention what an honor it was to work alongside seasoned audiologists across the country and having the opportunity to learn from them still (I am forever a student). In my hearing aid fitting room were Brandi, my officemate who is an audiology assistant and training to be a Hearing Aid Dispenser, and Al Turri’s high school daughter Gabriella, who translated Portuguese for us. As the day wore on, we found our footing and rhythm. We also found profound moments of humanity.
I am writing this post at 11:15pm at night. I want to put my thoughts down before the day gets away from me. My feet are swollen and my back aches. We spent 14 hours in the hospital and fit 100 patients with hearing aids (that is 20 patients per audiology station, for those counting). I recount their stories in my heart. Today’s hearing aid fittings were filled with moments of gratitude, sadness, and hope.
Today I learned the story of Maria. At 76 years old, she still works, as does her husband, who is 84 years old. She tends a farm and he cuts open coconut on a roadside farm stand. Maria was also diagnosed with cancer and travels several hours to the city to receive treatment. She tells me how she is now anticipating hearing her husband speak to her, and paying better attention to all the farm animals she tends to, especially the chicks “because of their soft chirps.” “I haven’t heard that sound in years” she says, with a far away look in her eyes. As Maria tells her story, I marvel at her strength to push through cancer, work, travel for treatment, and her hearing loss all at once, all at age 84.
We program Maria’s hearing aids and run our test measures. Her eyes light up once her hearing aids are activated. Maria smiles so big. Moments later she is overcome with emotion and tears up. We hug.
Maria asks me if she can pray for us, and I nod yes. I am crying. We are all crying. She says many prayers and I don’t understand what she is saying but it is quite possibly the greatest gift of the day, because it is true and from her heart. She hugs each of us long and hard. It is difficult to recover from that moment. The next patient is brought back to our office and our eyes are not yet dry.
Yasmin Battat, AuD
Oracle Hearing Center
Support here: https://hearingthecall.org/give/
MrBeast video here: https://youtu.be/WTOm65IZneg
#oraclehearingcenter #audiology #hearingaids #humanitarian #mrbeast #hearingloss #brazil
March Brazil 2023 Hearing The Call Humanitarian Trip, sponsored by @MrBeast Brazil 2023 Clinic Day 1 (Part 2)
Fabiano.
It is 7:30pm on Thursday night (day 1 of clinic). We have been here for 12 hours and counting. Fabiano is brought in. As we set his hearing aids up and test him, we get to talking about his interests. Fabiano is shy and I am trying to draw him out a little. He tells us he loves soccer. I ask him who his favorite player is and he quickly answers “Messi”. I tease him about who is the better soccer player, Salah or Messi, and Fabiano stands firm. His smile is wider now and he sits taller.
“Your little brother must’ve loved watching the World Cup,” I say to the young man next to him.
“Oh he’s not my brother. I am his social worker. His mother and father left him a few years ago and I wanted to make sure he could hear better than he has been. He’s never worn hearing aids.”
“Oh.”
I try as hard as I can to recover from the shock that runs through this mother’s heart.
I put on a smile and gather a bit more information. What else can I do? is the question that runs through my head and I ask where he is located and if he can come back tomorrow? I want to get him some things. Anything.
His social worker tells us they’ve travelled about two to three hours to see us and that it would be too difficult to return. It is not uncommon to hear this. Many of the patients we saw that day travelled hours, sometimes an entire day, to be seen by us.
We wrap up the appointment, I am moving slowly. I am stalling, my mind racing to find a way to get him more support. There are roadblocks. I want to hug him but I know he’d find it awkward. We say our goodbyes. I crumple into a puddle of tears.
We left the clinic at 9:30pm that night. It was a 14 hour day. We went to dinner in our sweaty work clothes, too tired to do any more than keep our bodies upright and refuel with food.
I crawled into bed after midnight but could not fall asleep. I could not stop thinking about Fabiano. All I could see was my boys in this young man’s eyes. I saw his teenage angst and love for all things soccer. II felt so..helpless. Fitting him with hearing aids was not enough. It was simply not enough.
I got out of bed and wrote my children a message, probably more to comfort myself than them this late in the night. I don’t know under what circumstances Fabiano had no parents and hold no judgement. I just wanted my kids to know how much I loved them.
Yasmin Battat, AuD
Oracle Hearing Center
Support here: https://hearingthecall.org/give/
MrBeast video: https://youtu.be/WTOm65IZneg
March Brazil 2023 Hearing The Call Humanitarian Trip, sponsored by @MrBeast Brazil 2023 – Clinic Day 2
Jose.
We activate his hearing aids, run our diagnostic testing, and chat with Jose and his lovely daughter. They are light-hearted and excited for him to hear again with his new hearing aids.
“This is great. Now I can hear my neighbors fighting for myself and won’t have to ask anyone to tell me what happened.”
We are all in stitches.
Yasmin Battat, AuD
Oracle Hearing Center
Support here: https://hearingthecall.org/give/
MrBeast video: https://youtu.be/WTOm65IZneg#oraclehearingcenter #audiology #hearingaids #humanitarian #mrbeast #hearingloss #brazil
March Brazil 2023 Hearing The Call Humanitarian Trip, sponsored by @MrBeast – Day 4
It is time to head back to the States. Some of us are returning to home to work and kids and the every day grind. Others are returning home to family briefly before joining other scheduled humanitarian trips this March (South Africa, Mexico, India, and Brazil again). We have been commissioned to fit 1000 people with hearing aids over several countries. 400 down, 600 to go!
Some reflections:
1- the price of hearing loss.
As an audiologist, I know hearing loss can occur gradually and if untreated, can impact one’s quality of life, relationships and health, resulting in social isolation and increasing depression among other medical issues.
In countries with no easy access to hearing healthcare, specifically hearing aids, the stakes are higher. Not only does hearing loss impact independence, but livelihood and safety. On this trip, too many patients have recounted close calls with traffic due to the inability to here a nearby motor vehicle. I have heard too many stories of how hearing loss affected the ability to hold a job and/or perform it well. One young woman recounted being perceived as cognitively-challenged when all she had was untreated hearing loss.
2- It was really difficult treating teens on this trip, especially the ones my sons’ ages. All I could see was my boys in these young men’s eyes, with the same love for soccer and all the things teens do. I cannot hold back tears as I write this. I could not do more and I feel helpless. Somehow, fitting them with hearing aids is simply not enough. It is not enough.
3- Gratitude.
What do I say to those that hug me in the tightest hugs, with tears streaming down their faces? How do I tell them that what they have given ME has no price? That their smiles and prayers are invaluable to me? That I need these moments more than they need me?
4- Hearing Smiles. Pure magic
The first few moments after hearing aids are activated on a person that has never had access to hearing are pure magic. At first, they are confused, and then once they realize they are hearing the words you are speaking, a smile and sometimes giggles ensues. You can’t help but smile and laugh at yourself. This is the drug that keeps us coming back for more. We call it a “hearing smile” and it is everything.
5-Our Partners. Hearing The Call (HTC) was fortunate to partner with amazing individuals- Jilliana and Faiyez, who run the ENT clinic we operated out of in Brasilia. Not only were they well staffed and organized, but they were sensitive to our comfort and those of our patients, all while smiling with a gentle kindness. HTC audiologist Al Turri and his wife Christiana not only worked hard in the clinic, but had their teen daughters (G, C, J) serving as translators. At 15 and 14 respectively, I am floored by their maturity and endurance, and admire how hard they worked to provide us with such a critical part of this operation. At the heart of such amazing endeavors are individuals trying their best to help people hear, one person at a time.
As for our partner, Mrbeast, who reached out to us with this idea: thank you. It boggles my mind. While you could be spending materialistically as an influencer and celebrity, you spend on changing people’s lives en masse: those who serve and are served.
p.s. your cameraman Timmy is awesome and talented.
6-Deep bow.
A deep bow to HTC organizers of the “March Madness” of these humanitarian trips. I see you. I see the long hours logged, away from work and family, in far away places. I see little to no sleep for weeks on end. I pray it is all worth it.
Audiologists have historically practiced alone across the country. To my HTC audiology family: it was an honor serving with you and learning from you. To be able to do this thing clinically with you all has been everything. I see your love of the field, of the people. I see your big big hearts. To my work partners in crime Brandi and Brittany- thank you for coming along on this wild ride. We could not have mobilized 120 hearing aids in time without you (lookin’ at you Brittany). We could not enjoy hearing smiles without your production, Brandi.
7-Hunger for more.
My colleague writes “I am a wreck of emotions now. Yesterday at the airport, all I wanted was to be safe in my home with predictable toiletries, etc. I thought I might be the anomaly- one and done. But… on the way home, I was like: I could do Africa. What!!!?? How do I handle all these feelings! Multiple personality disorder? I don’t recognize myself.”
What she describes is true. These humanitarian trips are life changing. I too am crashing down from my high and simultaneously searching for my next adventure. Addictive? Yes. Practical? No. And yet here I am, thirsty to serve again.
Deep bow.
Yasmin Battat, AuD
Doctor of Audiology
Oracle Hearing Center
Support here: https://hearingthecall.org/give/
MrBeast video here: https://youtu.be/WTOm65IZneg
Video credit: Brandi Grove
#oraclehearingcenter #audiology #hearingaids #humanitarian #mrbeast #hearingloss #brazil