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Maryville hearing foundation expanding to training facility | wbir.com
A Maryville non profit that's been giving the gift of sound for decades is expanding.
The Hearing and Speech Foundation has helped hundreds of deaf children to hear and fitted thousands of hearing aides for free.
In addition to offering services to patients in need, they also conduct research in their current facility and are recognized worldwide.
A new fundraising effort from former client turned board chairman, Alan Boeckmann, is allowing them to grow into a training facility.
It will be the only one of it's kind in the country.
"We have people from Russia to Japan that are wanting to work with us," said John Barry, CEO and co-founder of the Hearing and Speech Foundation.
Berry and his team use a unique therapy from Europe, called "verbatonal auditory training."
It's different than most hearing therapies because they don't try to repair the damaged hearing area. They use the residual hearing or what isn't damaged.
"We don't have any miracle healing powers. We adjust their aides to train the brain to function in an auditory environment and not over amplify their ear," said Berry.
Mandy Burnside has been Berry's client for more than 30 years. She was born profoundly deaf, but you would never know from watching her work. She answers phones for a living, something that's unheard of for someone with her type of hearing loss.
She struggled to speak growing up, but therapy at the Hearing and Speech Foundation changed her outlook and gave her new skills
"I remember watching some of my home videos and thinking 'wow' my impediment was really strong when I was younger," she said.
The organization was able to purchase a new facility across the street. It will be a state of the art training facility for professionals around the country.
For Mandy, seeing the foundation grow, is a blessing.
"I want them to have the same advantage that I have now," Mandy said.
A Maryville non profit that's been giving the gift of sound for decades is expanding.
The Hearing and Speech Foundation has helped hundreds of deaf children to hear and fitted thousands of hearing aides for free.
In addition to offering services to patients in need, they also conduct research in their current facility and are recognized worldwide.
A new fundraising effort from former client turned board chairman, Alan Boeckmann, is allowing them to grow into a training facility.
It will be the only one of it's kind in the country.
"We have people from Russia to Japan that are wanting to work with us," said John Barry, CEO and co-founder of the Hearing and Speech Foundation.
Berry and his team use a unique therapy from Europe, called "verbatonal auditory training."
It's different than most hearing therapies because they don't try to repair the damaged hearing area. They use the residual hearing or what isn't damaged.
"We don't have any miracle healing powers. We adjust their aides to train the brain to function in an auditory environment and not over amplify their ear," said Berry.
Mandy Burnside has been Berry's client for more than 30 years. She was born profoundly deaf, but you would never know from watching her work. She answers phones for a living, something that's unheard of for someone with her type of hearing loss.
She struggled to speak growing up, but therapy at the Hearing and Speech Foundation changed her outlook and gave her new skills
"I remember watching some of my home videos and thinking 'wow' my impediment was really strong when I was younger," she said.
The organization was able to purchase a new facility across the street. It will be a state of the art training facility for professionals around the country.
For Mandy, seeing the foundation grow, is a blessing.
"I want them to have the same advantage that I have now," Mandy said.