Sound Seekers, formerly known as The Commonwealth Society for the Deaf, was established in 1959 by Lady Templer, the wife of the Governor of Malaya (now Malaysia). Her time there inspired her to assemble a group of ENT surgeons, audiologists, and educators of the deaf to travel back with her to Malaya to offer their help to children affected by hearing loss and ear disease.

Sound Seekers is a registered charity, established in 1959, and based in the UK.

Hearing loss is more prevalent in the developing world, where it has a much greater impact on lives – affecting childrens’ ability to stay in school, and adults’ likelihood of securing employment. Sound Seekers currently has multiple projects in five African countries, with the overriding aim of helping deaf people in some of the world’s poorest communities to learn and earn.

Vision
A world where no one is disadvantaged by deafness.

Mission
Sound Seekers will deliver practical solutions to help deaf people learn and earn in the developing world.

Values
Deafness can be both a cause and effect of poverty.  To combat this, they work to secure the future of deaf people in some of the poorest communities of the developing world by:

Forging partnerships
Sound Seekers works in partnership with hospitals, schools and communities to ensure a positive and long-term impact on the lives of people who are deaf or hard of hearing.

Sharing skills
Sound Seekers trains local health practitioners in ear and hearing healthcare to help ensure the sustainability of our work and reduce the dependency on outside assistance.

Working holistically
Sound Seekers addresses all issues relating to deafness including prevention, identification and treatment by raising awareness of the causes of deafness, including the legacy of malaria and meningitis, and promoting basic ear care to help reduce the likelihood of hearing loss.

Supporting education
Sound Seekers helps improve the school environment, access to education and communication for deaf and hearing-impaired children, by delivering teacher training, materials and equipment, and providing sign language courses.

Advocacy
Sound Seekers believes deafness should not be an obstacle to education, employment and social inclusion and we work with deaf people to promote equal rights and opportunities.