Doctor of Audiology Students Further Hearing Health in Mayan Communities During Yearly Trip

Six UT Dallas students in the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences’ (BBS) doctor of audiology program will travel to Southeast Mexico next week to provide free audiological services to hundreds of children and adults.

This will be the third year that Clinical Assistant Professor Dr. Cornetta Mosley leads Project Yucatán – a yearly week-long service trip to the city of Mérida – where students from three universities pay daily visits to rural villages of the Mexican state of Yucatán to provide services and promote hearing-healthy habits.

“When you think about college students on spring break, this isn’t the first thing that comes to mind,” Dr. Mosley said. “But that’s exactly what we’re doing. It’s a humanitarian service trip, and the students love it.”

Dr. Scott Griffiths – a UT Dallas clinical professor of speech, language and hearing who recently retired – started Project Yucatán more than 20 years ago while he taught at the University of Florida. Since its inception in 2003, Project Yucatán has expanded its offerings to include additional disciplines, such as medicine, pharmacy and speech-language pathology, and includes student volunteers from three universities.

Once in Mérida, the students work with the Yucatecan Association for the Hearing Impaired (AYPRODA), a local nonprofit organization that supports families of children with hearing loss. They travel across the state to provide various services, from hearing tests to ear canal cleaning.  When needed, they make recommendations to the patients on whether they should seek further medical treatment. Over the 5-day experience, the students can treat almost 1,000 people.

“Each morning, AYPRODA picks us up on the charter bus from the hotel and we drive to these different remote areas. We’re waking up at 5 a.m. and we’re not coming back to the hotel sometimes till around 9 p.m.,” Mosley said. “Even though it’s only five days of work, day-one compared to day-five is like night and day regarding their clinical skills, and their comfort working with children and older adults.”

Project Yucatán is currently in its last stretch to make a fundraising deadline of $1,750. Anyone interested in supporting the project can make a donation before March 15 at https://impact.utdallas.edu/yucatan.