Hearing Matters

Hearing Matters is a global initiative dedicated to advancing hearing health and creating a world where everyone can participate fully. Through education, advocacy and community engagement, it seeks to inform, inspire and change perceptions.

Change starts with visibility. The Hearing Matters Ribbon is the Initiative’s unifying symbol for hearing health, hearing loss awareness and inclusion. It gives people around the world a visible way to show support, start conversations and promote understanding. The Ribbon stands for dignity, empowerment and accessibility, helping to make hearing loss visible without stigma.

The Hearing Matters Initiative was launched by the Hearing Health Forum (HHF) and supported by MED-EL as a founding partner. Together, they share the goal of raising awareness of hearing health, making hearing loss more visible, and encouraging more people to take an active interest in their hearing health at an early stage. Through education, dialogue, and international collaboration, the initiative works to break down barriers and improve access to information, support, and solutions for people affected by hearing loss.

With the Hearing Matters Ribbon, the initiative’s founders aim to give something back to the community: a visible symbol of connection and solidarity that can unite people with hearing loss, their families, professionals, and supporters around the world. The ribbon is intended to send a clear message that no one has to face these challenges alone and that, together, we can create greater awareness of hearing health.

For MED-EL, this commitment reflects the company’s core values and its responsibility toward people with hearing loss. As Dr. Ingeborg Hochmair, MED-EL Co-Founder and CEO, explains:

“What I value most about this initiative is that it reminds us who we are: a company driven by responsibility, empathy, and a deep commitment to the community.”

The Advisory Board played a central role in the development of the Hearing Matters Initiative. It brings together people with hearing loss, hearing loss associations, patient support groups, medical experts, media and the hearing industry, ensuring that the initiative remains inclusive and representative of the global hearing health community.

The initiative is shaped by the people it aims to represent. People with good hearing, with hearing loss, with hearing aids and hearing implants, hearing health professionals and supporters. They all want to make a statement by wearing and sharing the Hearing Matters Ribbon.