Two Years of Silence. Social Worker from East Sos Helps Volodymyr Get a Hearing aid
Volodymyr Tereshchenko, 42, lives with his mother in the village of Petro-Mykhailivka, Zaporizhzhia Oblast. He has lived with hearing loss since childhood. For Volodymyr, a hearing aid is not just a device but the key to living a full and safe life: the ability to hear the voice of someone standing nearby, to understand questions in a grocery store, to hear his doctor’s responses and to be aware of traffic sounds on the road.
Two years ago, his hearing aid broke down, and his family couldn’t afford to replace it due to financial difficulties, a lack of information about available support programs for people with disabilities and the overwhelming bureaucracy.
During this long and difficult period, Volodymyr lost the ability to recognize familiar sounds. Every conversation became a challenge, requiring significant effort. He had to constantly ask people to repeat themselves or try to guess what was being said.
The East SOS team learned about Volodymyr’s situation in the spring of 2025 during a field visit to Vilniansk hromada (community). While speaking with his family, social worker Olha Voloshko realized that without support, Volodymyr might never receive the assistance he needed to live with dignity, so she decided to take on his case.
Making good use of her deep knowledge of how to navigate the state support programs for people with hearing loss, Olha guided Volodymyr and his family step by step toward a solution.
She provided consultations, explained each stage of the process in clear and simple language, helped them collect the necessary documents, and supported them through medical evaluations and assessments. Most importantly, she represented Volodymyr’s interests whenever it was difficult for him to do so on his own due to his condition.
In August 2025, with Olha’s support, Volodymyr was officially registered at the Zaporizhzhia Regional Clinical Hospital, which allowed him to receive his hearing aid free of charge. At the time, the estimated waiting period was nearly six months. However, when the first batch of hearing aids arrived in December 2025, it became clear that the devices were not suitable for Volodymyr due to insufficient power. The waiting period was extended indefinitely, but Olha remained committed to supporting him throughout the process.
Thankfully, on January 19, 2026, Volodymyr received a hearing aid that met his specific needs. On January 28, doctors completed the individual adjustment of the device.
“The doctor explained that after two years without a hearing aid, the perception of sounds wouldn’t return immediately and it would take time to adjust. But the uncertainty was over since Volodymyr finally had his hearing aid,” said Olha Voloshko. “Now it’s time to start practicing. Volodymyr needs to learn to recognize familiar sounds again, avoiding overload and giving himself some time. It was a difficult journey, but the professional support and the support of his family helped him overcome the silence that lasted for two years.”
Today, Volodymyr can once again hear the sounds and voices around him. He says that his new hearing aid works far better than the old one. For him, this means regaining the ability to take care of himself, thinking about employment, speaking with others without the constant fear of missing something important, and planning for the future without the sense of isolation he endured for so long.
The field visits to hromadas by the East SOS teams bring psychosocial and legal support where it is most needed. Not only do they provide advice, but they also offer step-by-step guidance to achieve the desired result.
If you need assistance, contact the East SOS helpline and get an online consultation: 0800 332 614 (Monday to Saturday from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM).
We also provide consultation via messengers:
+38 099 710 48 72 (Viber);
+38 096 108 60 48 (Telegram).
Psychosocial support is provided within the framework of the project Protection and Psychosocial Support for War-Affected Populations in Ukraine’s Frontline Regions, funded by the German Federal Foreign Office.
