This TED Talk features ear surgeon Susan Emmett recorded live at TED Global 2017.

Listen to the sounds of why hearing matters to the Alaska Native people.

Hearing loss makes it hard to fish on the open water, hunt caribou and harvest berries,

activities central to Alaska native culture.

Hearing loss isn't unique to rural Alaska.

It's global.

The global burden of disease project estimates

that there are 1.1 billion people living with hearing loss worldwide.

That's more people than the entire population here in sub-Saharan Africa.

Over 80 percent are in low- and middle-income countries,

and many have no access to hearing care.

The impact on people's lives is tremendous.

Anuk is a three-year-old boy I treated in Alaska.

Ear infection started when he was barely four months old.

His parents brought him into clinic,

worried he didn't say much compared to his brothers.

Sure enough, many rounds of infections had resulted in hearing loss.

Without treatment, Anuk's speech will continue to lag behind.

He's more likely to do worse in school, have worse job prospects,

and experience social isolation.

But it doesn't have to be this way.

The World Health Organization estimates

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