July 15, 2022

Barbie Gets Hearing Aids!

In June 2022, Mattel, the makers of Barbie, launched new dolls as part of a effort to increase diversity and inclusion. Barbie has been around for 63 years and this is the first time a Barbie with a hearing aid is available. The company worked with an educational audiologist to accurately represent hearing aids on the doll. This Barbie comes with a hot pink behind the ear hearing aid, hopefully encouraging children with hearing loss to consistently wear their devices, which historically can be an issue. Pediatric audiologists are thrilled that their patients now have a doll that looks like them.

Mattel’s Global Head of Barbie Dolls, Lisa McKnight, brought out another key concept. These Barbies can be used to help other children “understand and celebrate the importance of inclusion”. These dolls can be found in Walmart, Target, and on Amazon.

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Check out the link below for more information:

https://www.cnn.com/style/article/barbie-hearing-aid-ken-vitiligo/index.html

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