Inaugurating the 7th International Conference of Hearing & Balance Organized by the AAU, the Arab Academy and the German University of Lubeck

On behalf of Her Royal Highness Princess Muna Al-Hussein, Her Royal Highness Princess Sana Asem inaugurated the 7th Annual International Conference on Hearing & Balance Health. The conference which took place on Thursday, 19/9/2019 was organized by AAU, the Arab Academy of Audiovestibulogy and the German University of Lubeck. The Chairman of the 7th International Conference on Hearing and Balance Health, Dr. Mohamed Dia, welcomed all guests and participants from all over the world. He also pointed out that the seventh conference, titled Hearing & Balance Health” was held for the third time in Amman in cooperation with the Arab Academy of Audiovestibulogy, AAU and the German University of Lubeck with the participation of the Jordanian Ministry of Health and the Jordanian Royal Medical Services.In his speech, Prof. Sari Hamdan, the AAU President, said that AAU is proud of holding the 7th Conference on Hearing Health in Jordan which culminates the outstanding success of the previous six conferences where three of which were held in Jordan. Prof. Sari Hamdan called on all academic and other institutions to follow path of this sophisticated model of this effective partnership between AAU, the Arab Academy and the German University of Lubeck in addition to the institutions and supporters that contribute to the success of this conference. He also added that Jordan always seeks cooperation and Arab solidarity in hosting brothers and friends from different countries of the world.In his part, the Secretary General of the Ministry of Health, Dr. Hikmat Abu Al-Foul, (representative of the Minister of Health Dr. Saad Jaber), confirmed the importance of holding such a conference, which came at the generous initiative of the University and its partners. Dr. Abu Al-Foul elucidated that the Ministry of Health developed a balanced national plan that aimed to combat deafness, hearing and ear care through strategies. These strategies include the National Newborn Hearing Screening Program, setting up preventive measures to combat deafness and hearing impairment, erecting specialized awareness and rehabilitative programs for hearing patients and providing them with hearing aids and whatever necessary for cochlear implants in addition to organizing awareness campaigns and training programs for technical staff and society. He pointed out that “we are all looking forward to a better future for our society as Jordan is implementing the strategies of the National Plan to combat deafness, including conducting the Newborn Hearing Screening in hospitals”. He added that a national committee was formed years ago, in addition to the Supreme Committee for Cochlear Implantation under the initiative of His Royal Highness Prince Al Hussein Bin Abdullah II and the main centers in the Kingdom, which have all the devices available for hearing evaluation at the public and private levels and hospitals of the Royal Medical Services. It is worth mentioning that these centers are concerned with hearing, treatment and rehabilitation. During his brief speech, Dr. Khaled Al-Essa, the President of the Arab Academy of Audiovestibulogy, explained the objectives of the Academy, as it is a non-profit organization that contributes to helping the community and relies on its partners who support it.It is noteworthy that the conference aims at continuing medical education for specialists in hearing, balance, speech, nose, ear, throat (NET) and pediatric. The conference also sheds light on new scientific research as well as global participation and experience exchange among specialists in different fields. It also highlights four axes including: cochlear implants, surgery, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation, speech therapy, basics of hearing aids and workshops for hearing and balance.