HAVANT audiologist donated teddy bears with their own hearing aids to children at the Queen Alexandra Hospital during Easter.  

Specsavers audiologist Ruth Avierinos is the founder of not-for-profit organisation Faith Ears. Her goal is to help reduce the negative connotations associated with hearing aids . 

   Havant, Farlington and Waterlooville Specsavers have been fundraising for Sophie’s Legacy, based in the Queen Alexandra Hospital, which hopes to change the way children’s hospitals run –  with more play, nicer food for kids and parents, and for more people to understand childhood cancer. 

The charity was set up after 10-year-old Sophie passed away in 2021 following her battle with cancer. 

To mark Easter, Specsavers Havant wanted to do something special for the children with hearing conditions who spent the long bank holiday weekend in hospital.   One of the children on the ward, Thomas Andrews, who underwent cancer treatment and lost his hearing in both ears, received a special teddy with hearing aids in both ears. 

His mother, Vicky, says: ‘This is such a wonderful idea. I have been looking for teddies with this kind of representation but never been able to find anything.  

‘We are grateful to Specsavers and Ruth for this really special gift.’ 

Ruth and Clive kindly offered to donate her teddies to the children at the ward where Sophie’s Legacy resides.  

Ruth says: 'This was such a pleasure to do, my goal with these teddies is to reduce the stigma around hearing conditions and wearing hearing aids’

Sophie’s Legacy is always open for donations through its website: https://www.sophieslegacy.co.uk/about 

Anyone unable to visit the Specsavers Havant store unaccompanied due to disability or illness can receive care at home via a team of mobile opticians. The Specsavers home visits service covers more than 90% of the UK.  

For further information, call the store on 02382 553219 or visit https://www.specsavers.co.uk/stores/havant