16 January, 2026
Social Development Drive: How Hearing Works improves access to basic healthcare across South Africa
Hearing Works is transforming the South African audiology landscape through social entrepreneurship and an innovative store-in-store service model. Here is how the company creates awareness and makes hearing care affordable and accessible nationwide. 
Mostly due to lack of awareness and appropriate resources across all geographies, access to hearing healthcare in South Africa has long been limited to the privileged few. But Hearing Works is changing that narrative by integrating audiology into everyday spaces.
With a keen focus on social entrepreneurship and a passion for patient education, the organisation is helping more South Africans to take proactive steps toward better hearing health, one community at a time.
In this Q&A with Altron HealthTech, Hearing Works Head of Business Development Dr Bopane Mothemela gives insight into what sets the organisation apart. He highlights the importance of expanding access and gives insight into how partnerships, education, and technology are shaping the future of hearing health.
Q: What sets Hearing Works apart in the South African healthcare landscape?
A: Audiology has never really been in retail before, and this is just the start. We pioneered South Africa’s first store-in-store audiology model in 2017, following the path of Vision Works, our sister company. By placing audiology services within an optometry outlet, we’re bringing hearing care into everyday retail spaces.
Our store-in-store concept model not only improves access to hearing healthcare but also boosts advocacy and awareness. For example, consumers encounter audiology organically while they shop for other healthcare services.
Q: Tell us about your background and how it shaped your approach to hearing healthcare.
A: I’ve worked across clinical audiology and occupational audiology, where I was part of the team monitoring the hearing health of employees in industrial sectors like mining and construction. My own experience in this field revealed gaps in awareness among my fellow audiologists, especially in terms of training and awareness.
This is why training and sustainable operating models became central to my mission.
Q: Why is expanding access to basic hearing healthcare so important in South Africa?
A: Awareness about audiology remains a major barrier for most South Africans. According to a 2017 University of the Witwatersrand study, 87% of South Africans don’t know about audiology or what audiologists do. By integrating with Vision Works, Hearing Works creates a familiar and accessible entry point, especially for communities that may never have engaged with hearing healthcare before.
What we want to do is ensure that South Africans from all walks of life can access affordable hearing assessments.
Q: How is Hearing Works supporting low-income communities?
A: Affordability is a key focus. A hearing test costs the average South African about R495, but we have a special charging patients, just R90 for a hearing test. We believe everyone should have access to hearing tests and earwax removals, not to mention hearing aids.
While hearing aids can cost around R30 000 for an entry-level device, which makes them out of reach for most households in South Africa, we have hearing aids from R9999, which is something you wouldn’t find in our market.
And through instalment payments enabled by DebiCheck, more patients can access life-changing devices. Altron’s solutions are all technologies that facilitate how we do things and how we effectively run our business, while also easing financial barriers for patients.
Q: Does Altron HealthTech plan to partner with schools? And what about plans to model nationally?
A: Awareness in early education is a priority for us. By engaging with schools, Hearing Works aims to normalise hearing health for young people and help us identify issues earlier. We want to reach communities that don’t have existing audiology services. We are continuing to roll out our store-in-store model nationwide, and partnerships with educational institutions are a key part of our long-term social impact drive.
Q: How does Altron Health’s technology support Hearing Works’ mission?
A: When it comes to sustainable patient care, technology is crucial. This is why Hearing Works relies on several Altron HealthTech solutions for smoother administration, faster approvals and secure data management.
Real-time claims switching replaces manual processes, which can be time-consuming. But with Altron HealthTech, you get a claims response immediately, which means you always know where you stand in terms of cash flow.
In addition, products like HealthONE provide safe, secure cloud-based storage. Thirty per cent of our work is in administration, and these types of solutions take care of that. There’s also always a place to store and access patient files. Any information you need about your patients is at your fingertips.
More than a business model, Hearing Works is a company on a social-impact mission. They are combining the basic tenets of healthcare accessibility, financial inclusivity, education and awareness. Moreover, with technological innovation – and the support of Altron HealthTech –the organisation aims to positively impact South Africa’s hearing health landscape for generations to come.