Audiere – Estonian Centre for Rehabilitation of Sensory Organs
(MTÜ EMERK Audiere,
Reg. nr. 80200262)

Who we are and what we do

Welcome to the website of Audiere! Journalists and other interested parties can get in touch with us via the Contacts section.

Audiere:
On 7 April 2004 in Tartu, on the initiative of Professor Mart Kull, who is sadly no longer with us, the non-profit organisation ‘Audiere – Estonian Centre for Rehabilitation of Sensory Organs’ was founded with the aim of supporting different scientific projects of the Tartu University Hospital’s Ear Clinic Foundation, primarily the so-called implantation project.

Cochlear implant:

Cochlear implants are a true modern-day miracle of science: high-tech devices that allow deaf people to perceive sounds around them – to hear. These tiny but efficient devices cost a lot of money and although these are now, since January 2012, covered by Estonian Health Insurance Fund, the regularly updated processors that go with the implants and, indeed, other accessories however, remain the responsibility of the parents of the implanted children . Audiere, funded by generous donators, has helped over 70 children and a few adults with covering the costs of both the actual implants and the accessories.

We experienced a wonderful development in spring 2011: for the first time in Estonia, a brave little girl had two implants inserted simultaneously. Further seven children had their second implant inserted in 2011 by Doctor Maris Suurna and her team and three more children received the first implant.

The Audiere non-profit organisation has no labour costs as all of the members of the management board are volunteers.

From April 2004 to this day, the non-profit organisation ‘Audiere – Estonian Centre for Rehabilitation of Sensory Organs’ has the following members of the management board, who are also the active founding members of the association: Anne Maisvee, Sirle Karu and Elis Pikmets.

We mourn the loss of Professor Mart Kull, a founding member and the unforgettable leader of the Audiere non-profit organisation.

Our heartfelt thanks go out to all those who support us – you inspire us to carry on.

Avo-Rein Tereping from Tallinn University and Sandra Vill from Tartu University Hospital Ear Clinic
were awarded the Audiology Scholarship for conducting a study of the hearing acuity of Estonian schoolchildren.

The aim of the study is to get an overview of hearing acuity and possible hearing loss among

Estonian schoolchildren. For this, an audiometric screening of Estonian schoolchildren will be

conducted. The target group are 9th grade students. The test group consist of 1000 school students.

Prior to the test, students will be given a 45-minute lecture on the causes of hearing loss and the

risks of hearing loss from listening to music with headphones and loud music in general. The lecture

will also go over general hearing hygiene. All test subjects will receive a non-personalised

(anonymous) written assessment of their hearing acuity as feedback. If the hearing loss is greater

than 30 dB, the parent will be notified.

The study will follow all requirements related to human studies. The personal data of the subject will

not be recorded. Only generalised and statistically processed data will be used for publication.

Descriptive statistical methods will be used to analyse the results of the screening test. The results

will be published in the journal Eesti Arst and in some international journals.

The study has been approved by the Ministry of Education and Research.

The study has been postponed due to the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

On December 6 the Supervisory Board of the Aadu Luukas Foundation nominated the non-profit organisation Audiere to be one of the six nominees of the Missionary Prize of the Aadu Luukas Foundation in 2012.

This highly valued recognition is accompanied by a monetary award – 6,400 euros – that we have decided to allocate to the Audiology Scholarship Fund. Pursuant to the statutes of the Missionary Prize the award is given to a person or organisation that stands out as a promoter of the balanced development of Estonian society and our nation’s quality of life. By educating young agile audiologists we can fulfil this aim in a manner worthy of the award.

We are grateful to the honourable Supervisory Board for their trust and recognition, and we would like to thank all those who nominated us and all our partners and everyone who takes an active interest in our activities for their continuous support.