From Silence to Support, How WS Audiology’s collaboration with NUS changed lives in Cambodia

In December 2024, a group of medical students from the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore (NUS Medicine) conducted screenings for hearing loss in Poipet, Cambodia. They were joined by audiologists from WS Audiology, who guided the students and provided professional hearing healthcare to the village, which had little access to niche healthcare services.

Collaboration for Sizeable Impact

In Cambodia, where access to hearing care is scarce, Poipet is one of the country’s most underserved regions beset by significant health challenges. Through NUS Medicine Project Battambang’s collaboration with audiologists from WS Audiology, about 500 villagers received vital health screenings, which, for the first time, included professional hearing assessments. The initiative enabled diagnosing hearing impairments with greater precision and provided targeted support to the community.

As part of this collaboration, WS Audiology also donated 250 hearing aids to the project, ensuring that villagers identified with hearing loss could receive the necessary devices. Between 5% and 10% of the villagers were found to suffer from some form of hearing loss, which would have been undiagnosed and untreated. Over 85% of the affected villagers were successfully fitted with hearing aids, allowing them to hear clearly for the first time in years.

A 71-year-old villager, who received one of these hearing aids, said, “It’s like a veil has been lifted. The world sounds clearer now.”

Going Beyond the Device

For Eason, one of the audiologists, the experience was a profound one. “I met villagers who had neglected their hearing health due to chronic ear infections, simply because they lacked access to proper healthcare and knowledge. I met individuals who had suffered hearing loss from physical trauma caused by abuse. Some had gone so long without hearing clearly that they had forgotten what the world truly sounded like. But the moment we fitted them with hearing aids—the way their eyes lit up with joy —was incredible. It is moments like these that remind us why we do what we do,” he reflected.

The impact of Project Battambang went beyond the health screenings and hearing aids donated. Knowledge was shared between the professionals and aspiring doctors and hands-on experiences were gained. Both the NUS Medicine students and WS Audiology’s audiologist left with a deeper understanding and passion of the role hearing health plays in overall well-being.