GENEVA, May 10 (Xinhua) -- Swiss hearing care company Sonova opened its global hearing institute in the Eastern Chinese city of Suzhou on Monday, aiming to train hearing care professionals who are highly demanded in China and the Asia Pacific Region.

According to the Geneva-based World Health Organization (WHO), as many as 360 million people worldwide are suffering from disabling hearing loss, 32 million of whom are children.

Faced with severe shortage of audiology experts and hearing care professionals in China, the Swiss company hopes to improve awareness and enhance the training of clinical practitioners in China.

The institute's training facility hosts the latest in audiological assessment equipment, as well as the latest innovations in educational technology.

The center will also be the training ground for the Swiss International Hearing Academy's professional hearing care course.

"Through this initiative, we create a state-of-the-art practice space for current and future hearing care professionals, and continue to meet customer needs, create a win-win cooperation model for Asia Pacific," vice president of Sonova Asia Pacific Leonard Marshall said.

Co-operations with local and international government and academic institutions open the center facilities to learners in the wider community and international key opinion leaders in the field of Audiology.

WHO said unaddressed hearing loss posed an annual global cost of 750 billion U.S. dollars, highlighting interventions to prevent, identify, and address hearing loss are cost-effective and can bring great benefit to individuals.

Based in Stafa of Switzerland, Sonova is one of the largest providers in the hearing care sector worldwide.