Hearing Tests for Ukrainian children: Academy of Hearing Acoustics supports aid project

Arthur Holl, Lecturer at the Academy of Hearing Acoustics, conducts a hearing test. Hearing screenings are part of the health checks offered during the recreational holidays for Ukrainian children from the Chernobyl region, organized by the PRYVIT organization.
Arthur Holl, Lecturer at the Academy of Hearing Acoustics, conducts a hearing test. Hearing screenings are part of the health checks offered during the recreational holidays for Ukrainian children from the Chernobyl region, organized by the PRYVIT organization.

Every summer, the association PRYVIT – Hilfe für Tschernobyl-Kinder e.V. (Help for Chernobyl Children) invites Ukrainian children to Germany for a recuperative stay with health checks. The Academy of Hearing Acoustics has been participating in this project for many years by providing hearing screenings. On August 9, 2025, lecturers tested the hearing of twenty children from Ukraine.  

Pryvit means ‟hello“ in Ukrainian and was the inspiration for the name of the non-profit aid organization founded in Germany in 2011, which invites children from the radioactively contaminated Zone 2 of the Chernobyl region to spend a vacation in Großhansdorf near Hamburg every year. The aim is to strengthen the children’s health and immune systems, open new perspectives for them, and provide help where needed. The children’s recreational stay includes a fun program of leisure activities and excursions. They also have the opportunity to take part in health checks. Since 2017, the Academy of Hearing Acoustics has been supporting the aid project by conducting professional hearing tests

This year, twenty children from Ukraine, aged between eight and fifteen years, warmly welcomed lecturers Laurie Osten and Arthur Holl from the Academy of Hearing Acoustics at the Erlenried school camp. They were responding to an invitation from Regine Fiebig, honorary chairwoman of the PRYVIT organization, who welcomed the hearing acoustics and pediatric acoustics lecturers from Lübeck and expressed her gratitude for their support.

The experienced team of Academy lecturers once again paid specific attention to abnormalities in the ear canal during otoscopy that require medical clarification. They also performed typanometry (measurement of sound conduction in the middle ear), otoacoustic emissions (measurement of the function of the outer hair cells in the inner ear), and tone audiometry (measurement of the hearing threshold) on each child. In cases where the results were abnormal, recommendations were made for further action. All hearing tests were conducted in an age-appropriate and child-friendly manner in a relaxed atmosphere on site at the school camp. Language barriers were mostly overcome quickly and pragmatically with the help of facial expressions and gestures. In addition, a childcare worker was present to interpret where needed.   

„It’s great to be able to support this project “, says Laurie Osten. The lecturer for hearing acoustics and pediatric audiology has been involved with PRYVIT for many years now, conducting hearing screenings. “Once again, the children were great participants “, says Arthur Holl, lecturer at the Academy of Hearing Acoustics. He was also involved in hearing tests for PRYVIT in previous years. Both lecturers can imagine helping out again next year. The Academy plans to continue to support PRYVIT with hearing screenings.