KINGSTON, R.I. — Feb. 20, 2025 — When a young girl was walked into a rural school in an impoverished part of Panama in January, she had never seen her mother’s face or even heard her voice. Born deaf and blind in a region without adequate health care, the young girl was destined to live her life in darkness and silence. 

But her life changed in an instant when she met Sara Andreozzi and her audiology team in that classroom.

“Helen Keller said, ‘When you lose your sight, you lose track of things; when you lose your hearing, you lose track of people.’ That poor little girl had neither,” said Andreozzi, clinic operations specialist in the University of Rhode Island Speech & Hearing Clinics, who fit the young girl with hearing aids for the first time. “Her mom was talking to her, and all of a sudden, she was startled when she heard her mother’s voice for the first time. People usually think hearing aids are for older people, but then you see this child’s reaction, you understand the difference they can make regardless of age. Audiology is special because we get to see those immediate results. It’s really meaningful to be able to witness those reactions.”

The young girl was just one of 400 individuals Andreozzi and five other hearing instrument specialists fit for hearing aids during a four-day trip to Panama in January as part of a medical mission she goes on each year. Started 40 years ago by New England Volunteer Optometric Services for Humanity to treat vision problems in Latin American countries, the mission has expanded to include general medical, dentistry, dermatology, pediatrics and audiology. Hosted by the Dorado branch of Rotary International, the 65 health care professionals treated 3,400 people for various medical conditions over the course of four days.

“The health care system there is just broken to pieces. You can spend a long time, even up to a year, waiting for services,” Andreozzi said. “When we get there in the morning, we are immediately hit with lines of people looking for medical help that wind up and down the street. They stand out there in 100-degree heat and never complain; they’re just so grateful for the help. They’re joyous. Gratitude is a universal language.”

Volunteers pay their own way to travel to Panama and procure donated goods and equipment ahead of time. Andreozzi partners with Beltone Hearing Aids, among the largest hearing aid companies in the country, and its Hearing Care Foundation, which donates the hearing aids, along with associated equipment, and batteries to last a year. Two additional volunteers, using Warner Tech Care products, accompanied Andreozzi to make ear molds on the spot for the more complex hearing losses that require a custom fit. She also worked with local nursing students, who performed lavage to clean clients’ ears before being fit for the hearing aids.

Andreozzi and her team worked from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day. While she ordinarily works in a more controlled setting, they worked with clients in a large, loud room with multiple exams and meetings happening at once, as well as several fans running to assuage the triple-digit heat.

“You’re drained at the end of the day, but it’s a very rewarding visit. I’ll be there next year, too,” Andreozzi said. “The reactions keep us coming back. And I just love what I do. Every person there—doctors, nurses, volunteers, translators—we’re all there for the common good. We just go there to help. It’s a mission. It’s not a religious mission; it’s a medical mission. It’s all to give back and to serve people.”

Visit the URI Speech & Hearing Centers website for more information on the services the centers offer, and to schedule an appointment.