TITLE:
Letter to the Editor: First Humanitarian Experience of Hearing Aid of Deaf Patients in Sédhiou, Casamance
AUTHORS:
Kadielle Junie Ndadi Tchiengang, Adama Koundoul, Eliada Victoire Tchiengang, Marie Suzanne Le Gac, Brice Jean Jantzem, Amadou Yeri Camara, Evelyne Siga Diom
KEYWORDS:
Humanitarian, Hearing Rehabilitation, Sédhiou, Casamance
JOURNAL NAME:
International Journal of Otolaryngology and Head & Neck Surgery,
Vol.14 No.6,
September
26,
2025
ABSTRACT: The Sédhiou region, long deprived of specialized ENT resources, highlights the necessity of humanitarian medical missions in rural areas. For the first time, a hearing aid fitting mission was organized, enabling ten patients with hearing loss to receive free hearing aids through collaboration between a French team and local professionals. This intervention had an immediate impact on the beneficiaries’ quality of life and underscored the persistent challenges related to the high cost of hearing aids in low- and middle-income countries. It also emphasizes the importance of mobilizing additional partners to sustain and expand such initiatives. These actions contribute tangibly to reducing health inequalities and could serve as a replicable model in other underserved regions.