Australian cricket great, Brett Lee, was today announced as Cochlear's first Global Hearing Ambassador.
As one of the world's fastest bowlers, who has smashed multiple cricket records, Brett's new target is 360 million people - and raising awareness about hearing loss.
360 million is the estimated number of people worldwide suffering from a disabling hearing loss. Many, however, are not aware of the effects it can have on them or what treatments are available.
As Cochlear Ambassador, Brett will participate in a campaign to raise awareness of the significant medical, social and economic impacts hearing loss can have on individuals and their families.
Speaking in London, prior to the start of The Ashes, Brett said, "Hearing loss is a huge global public health issue. I can't imagine cricket without sound, off the field not hearing team mates, or at home not hearing family. I can't imagine it."
"A cochlear implant can change all of that. I've seen it happen. The implant takes a person from silence to sound. It is a wonderful, life changing moment."
"And through the language of cricket, a game with three billion fans across the world, we can expose more people to implantable hearing technologies. We can help more people go from silence to sound."
Brett said his association with Cochlear began when he was filming the soon to be released movie unIndian.
"When we were filming at Cochlear's headquarters in Sydney I got to know some of their recipients and even saw some of them 'switched on' for the first time, when they suddenly hear sound! I saw their sheer joy at being able to hear life. It really affected me. I'm honoured to be Cochlear's first Global Hearing Ambassador."
Cochlear CEO, Dr Chris Roberts, said "We are delighted to have one of the true greats of sport working with Cochlear. Sport is a universal language and cricket is one of the most communicated languages in the world."
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