In the world a child out of a thousand is born totally or partially deaf; partial or complete deafness is the sensory impairment most common among men, with a lifetime incidence of 1 in 10.

In Palestine 3% of the population has hearing problems. In some particularly isolated villages, the percentage rises to 15% of local residents, ranking it among the highest in the world.

The spread of deafness in our area is almost entirely attributable to genetic heritage and not to trauma or infections occurred during childhood. In the Palestinian territories about 40% of marriages is endogamic, that is arranged within the extended family or directly between first cousins, which increases the probability that the genetic deficiency appears in the offspring.

Deafness may be accompanied by a number of psychological and social individual consequences. A deaf person may have difficulty in learning if not followed in the process of schooling, and may have socialization problems if not helped to integrate into his community and in the world of work. In addition there are the social, psychological and economic challenges that the Palestinian people are facing, especially since the second Intifada in September 2000.

In Palestine, hearing-impaired children cannot often qualify for care and help services; this is not only due to the inadequacy of public facilities or difficulties of access to them, but also to the fact that the local culture is still lacking in information and sensitivity with respect to these issues.