Emerging from the solitude of silence

Long history

Her association with hearing aids goes back 14 years. In 2005, Li quit her job selling clothes and became a salesperson in a hearing aid store in Harbin.

"In fact, I knew nothing about the structure of the ear and hearing aids at that time," she said.

"I couldn't even clearly answer customers' questions, so I failed to sell any devices in the first three months."

Determined to succeed, she began to pay close attention to the hearing-aid fitter in the store when he served the customers, taking notes on important aspects.

She also bought lots of technical books on hearing aids and read after work.

Gradually, Li became so familiar with the small device that she became the best salesperson in the store.

But after she gained her certification in 2017 and took part in the Shanghai project, she found her volunteer work as a hearing-aid fitter was taking up more of her time.

Li said she received invitations to go to Gansu, Yunnan and Shanxi provinces, Tibet and the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region for similar government-funded projects.

"I always tried everything to coordinate my schedule and participate in them," she said.

In July, 2017, she was invited to Chamdo in Tibet.

"It was my first time in Tibet and I didn't make any preparations before departure," she said.

"I was sent to the hospital immediately after getting off the plane because of serious altitude sickness, including a severe headache and difficulty breathing."

Despite her great discomfort, she started work with her companions early the next morning after several hours of oxygen treatment in the hospital.

Over two weeks, they tested more than 800 patients, from children to the elderly, and fitted 200 hearing aids.

"Because of travel inconvenience, some of them had to spend several days on the way to downtown Chamdo," she said.

"When I saw the room full of people waiting anxiously, I forgot all the physical discomfort and only wanted to do more for them."