Rotarian and Guelph Audiologist Lynne McCurdy is pioneering a project in Nunavut to help kids with hearing loss do better in school.  The lack of health care professionals in combination with cold air, diet challenges and unaddressed ear infections has lead to a persistency of hearing loss in northern youth.

Better Hearing for Education of Northern Youth (BHENY) looks to alleviate the side effects of hearing loss on youth and the role it plays in drop-out rates and low success rates in the classroom. “You need to hear”, says Lynne, in order to improve performance at school.  The program installs amplification systems and sound fields in classrooms and instructs both staff and students on effective use.

Recently, the Rotary Club of Guelph raised $77,000 toward the launch of the program. While a great start there is still much to do in order to fully launch to the program, estimated at $420,000. Lynne and fellow Rotarians Ben McCarl, Barb Holmes and Anne Pennock, and York University professor Pam Millett head up the southern project team, along with a northern team of teachers, audiologists and administrators from Qikiqktani, Nunavut.

Local media coverage: Guelph Mercury – December 15, 2015