About Decibel
Decibel's vision is that all children and young people with hearing loss experience growing up with equal opportunities in comparison to their normal-hearing peers.
Decibel work at creating equal opportunities for children and young people with hearing loss through three strategic areas: network, knowledge and influence.
We do so by:
- Creating the best conditions for children and young people to gain such good hearing that they get the opportunity to reach age appropriate language and social skills – or the best possible one, based on their individual resources and prerequisites.
- Developing dialogue and network between families with children and young people with hearing loss - and among the children and young people themselves.
- Counselling and advicing in matters regarding children and young people with hearing loss.
- Creating and disseminating knowledge about living with hearing loss as a child or a young person - to the children and young people themselves, their parents, professionals and decision makers, as well as promoting awareness and understanding about hearing loss in society in general.
History and members
The organisation Decibel was established in 1997 by five families who had decided to go ahead with cochlear implantation for their children. These five families were among the first in Denmark to do so, and the very first child in Denmark was implanted in 1993. Today, Decibel is a nationwide organization for all children and young people with hearing loss and all kinds of hearing technology. The majority of members are families, and in addition we have supporting members who are relatives, hearing professionals etc.
Decibel's organization
Decibel is a non-profit organization chaired by a board of eight members. The board members are parents of children or young people with hearing loss. Recently Decibel allocated two seats on the board for young persons over the age of 18 with hearing loss. The CEO of Decibel is in charge of day-to-day operations along with two employees plus a part-time bookkeeper and a fundraiser. In 2013, Decibel established a research center which now employs appr. six employees. Currently, Decibel's main reseach project is IHEAR – in school with hearing loss. The center also oversees the documentation and quality assurance of a three-year Auditory Verbal Therapy program, implemented nationwide in 2017as a result of Decibel's previous research project about AVT in a Danish context. In 2022, an evaluation of the three-year AVT-program was carried out (link for more info in English).
Funding and partnerships
Decibel's work is mainly funded by membership donations, private and commercial foundations, sponsorships from the hearing technology industry and grants from the National Board of Social Services. We cooperate and partner with a number of different stakeholders, depending on the project - relevant authorities, institutions, companies, hearing professionals and audiology departments and ENT doctors.
Decibel offers courses, activities and networks for the whole family
In Decibel we regularly offer family courses and activities for children and young people focused on everyday life with hearing loss as well as hosting a conference aimed at professionals in the field of hearing. We also run local network activities so that families can get-together. Decibel publishes an annual magazine, monthly news-letters, a website and a Facebook page.
Get in touch
Phone: (+45) 23 90 23 16
E-mail: decibel@decibel.dk