Privacy Policy
We care about the protection of your personal data and your privacy. For this reason, we will inform you in the following about our handling of your personal data, in particular for what we process your personal data, to whom we transmit them and the data protection claims and rights to which you are entitled. When we subsequently talk about data, we mean your personal information. This is all the information that identifies you as a person, directly or indirectly.
Please read the following information carefully.
About this Policy
This policy explains how your personal information is collected, used and protected by the Hearing Health Forum IVZW. We will always comply with the statutory data protection regulations when dealing with your personal data. For the purposes of the GDPR, the Hearing Health Forum IVZW will be the “controller” of all personal data we hold about you.
Who is responsible for data processing?
Hearing Health Forum
International non-profit association under Belgian law / IVZW
Luchthavenlaan 27
1800 Vilvoorde
Belgium
Enterprise number / CBE-KBO-BCE: 1037.408.664
Email: contact@hearinghealth.eu
Website: www.hearinghealth.eu
For privacy-related questions or requests, you can contact us at: contact@hearinghealth.eu
Which data are being processed and from which sources do this data come from?
We may process technical data generated when you visit our website, such as information about your browser, device, IP address, website usage and cookie preferences. Further information on cookies and similar technologies is provided in our Cookie Policy or Cookie Settings.
Hearing Health Forum IVZW is dedicated to advancing inclusive, lifelong hearing care . It advocates for early detection, promotes evidence-based policies and supports research that improves quality of life and strengthens health systems. The network brings together diverse stakeholders, including scientific and medical communities, patient organisations, advocacy organisations and industry partners, to foster collaboration, raise awareness and drive innovation in hearing health. The purpose of the website is to inform professionals, policymakers, advocacy organisations and other stakeholders about hearing loss, hearing health and related policy developments.
We process your data for the following purposes:
- to make the website available to you and to keep it secure and stable
- to understand in aggregate how the website is used, so that we can improve it
- to record and honour your cookie choices
- to answer enquiries that you send us by e-mail
This website offers no form, no registration and no user account. We do not collect your name, your address or any other personal detail through the website itself. Any personal data we hold about you is data that you chose to send us by e-mail.
Contact by e-mail
Several places on the website invite you to write to info@hearingmatters.now, for example to request a Hearing Matters Ribbon, to become a partner or to share your story. If you write to us, we process the content of your message and the contact details it carries, in order to answer you. Sending the message is voluntary and happens entirely on your initiative.
Legal basis: Consent – Art. 6 (1) a GDPR
Transmission of data to third parties:
We only use data processors who have signed the corresponding data protection agreements and offer sufficient guarantees under applicable law. As far as possible, we select cooperation partners who are based or have their servers within the European Union (EU).
In order to be able to offer you certain services, we commission third-party providers with headquarters or servers outside the EU.
For countries that do not guarantee an adequate level of data protection according to Art. 45 GDPR, such as the USA, we use the EU standard contractual clauses as suitable guarantees and examine additional security measures, data protection regulations and certifications to ensure a GDPR-compliant level of protection of your data https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2021/914/oj.
How long will your data be stored?
Your data will be deleted after completing execution of the contract, revocation of your consent or your objection, if the storage for the fulfillment of a legal obligation or for the establishment, exercise or defense of legal claims is not required. Further processing will only take place if you have expressly consented to the further use of your data or if we have reserved any further data processing that is permitted by law.
There is the possibility that anonymisation of the data is carried out instead of a deletion. In this case, any personal reference is irretrievably removed, which is why the data protection cancellation obligations no longer apply. In this case, no personal reference can be restored.
Your rights
Under the GDPR you have the following rights:
Right of access – Art. 15 GDPR:
The right to obtain confirmation as to whether or not personal data concerning yourself are being processed, and, where that is the case, access to the personal data;
Right to rectification – Art. 16 GDPR:
The right to obtain without undue delay the rectification of inaccurate personal data concerning yourself;
Right to erasure (‘right to be forgotten’) – Art. 17 GDPR:
The right to obtain the erasure of your personal data concerning yourself without undue delay;
Right to restriction of processing – Art. 18 GDPR:
The right to obtain restriction of processing of your personal data;
Right to data portability – Art. 20 GDPR:
The right to receive the personal data concerning yourself, which you provided to us, in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format and have the right to transmit those data to another controller without hindrance;
Right to object – Art. 21 GDPR:
The right to object, on grounds relating to your particular situation, at any time to processing of personal data concerning yourself which is based on Art. 6 (1) lit. e) or f) GDPR.
Where data processing requires your consent, you can withdraw your consent to future use at any time by emailing contact@hearinghealth.eu or by adjusting your choice in our Cookie Settings.
Should you wish to access your information, change your contact preferences, or raise any questions or concerns about this privacy policy or how we handle your personal information, please email contact@hearinghealth.eu.
Although we will strive to address any questions or concerns you may have, if you believe that the processing of your data violates data protection law or if your data protection claims have otherwise been violated in a way, you can complain to the supervisory authority.
Is my data used for automated decision-making including profiling?
We do not use automated decision-making according to Art. 22 DSGVO.
Security
We are committed to ensuring that your information is secure. In order to prevent unauthorised access or disclosure, we have put in place suitable physical, electronic and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the information we collect online.
Links to other websites
Our website may contain links to other websites of interest. However, once you have used these links to leave our site, you should note that we do not have any control over that other website. Therefore, we cannot be responsible for the protection and privacy of any information which you provide whilst visiting such sites and such sites are not governed by this privacy statement. You should exercise caution and look at the privacy statement applicable to the website in question.
About cookies on this website
In order to offer you a good experience, for example remembering your language or your page settings, we use cookies to record your cookie choices and, with your consent, to collect statistical data that helps us improve the website. Cookies are also important for the correct functioning of our website.
Click on „Accept all Cookies“, to accept all cookies and navigate directly to the website; or click on „Cookies Settings“, to get a detailed description of the types of cookies we use and to decide whether certain cookies should be saved. You can withdraw your consent to future use at any time directly in our Cookie settings.
We use the following providers for the improvement and optimal operation of our website:
Accessibility preferences
The website offers a control for text size, link underlining and reduced motion. Your choice is stored in your own browser, in its local storage, so that the site opens the same way on your next visit. It stays on your device, is never sent to us and can be removed by clearing your browser site data. Legal basis: Art. 6 (1) f) GDPR, strictly necessary to provide the function you asked for.
Links to social networks
The footer of this website carries ordinary links to our profiles on LinkedIn and on YouTube. These are plain links, not social media plugins or buttons: no connection to either network is opened and no data reaches them while you are on our website. Only when you click does your browser go to that network’s own site, which is then governed by its own privacy policy. No data is processed by us in this context, so no legal basis is required.
Matomo
This website uses Matomo, a web analytics service, to understand in aggregate how the site is used so that we can improve it. Matomo runs as Matomo Cloud, operated by InnoCraft Ltd, 150 Willis St, 6011 Wellington, New Zealand, NZBN 6106769. The data is stored on servers in Germany, inside the European Union. IP addresses are shortened before storage, so that you are not identified.
Matomo is loaded only after you have consented to statistics cookies in the banner, and it sets cookies only from that moment. Without your consent, no analytics data is collected. You can withdraw your consent at any time in the Cookie Settings.
Legal basis: Consent – Art. 6 (1) a) GDPR.
For more information relating to the terms of use of Matomo and its Privacy Policy see https://matomo.org/matomo-cloud-privacy-policy.
This Policy was last updated in September 2026