The hearing and balance instrumentation and software developer will provide testing equipment to assess the level of hearing loss among the 4,000 international athletes competing in 16 sports at the event, which runs from July 26 until August 4.

"Fair play for all is an absolute cornerstone in the Deaflympics," ICSD chief executive Mark Cooper explained.

"To ensure fair play, it is vital that we are able to prove the eligibility of our athletes and that means demonstrating their deafness.

"We are delighted to announce this partnership with GN Otometrics.

"With their products, we know we'll have results we can rely on. "

Nearly 300 athletes will be tested prior to and during the Deaflympics, with testing being carried out by audiologists from the Institute of Sound and Vibration Research in Southampton, United Kingdom.

"It is an honour and a true pleasure to support the Sofia 2013 Deaflympics," said GN Otometrics' Danish senior vice-president Søren Holst.

"I am highly confident that Otometrics equipment and the UK audiology team will secure comfort and security for each and every competing athletic participating in testing.

"But overall, I am just happy to be part of this great event.

"I am impressed by the set-up and will be looking forward meeting Danish athletes running off with many gold medals."

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