NAERUM, DENMARK — A workshop was recently held by the Ida Institute in Denmark, that brought together people with hearing loss, hearing care professionals, and the representatives of patient organizations. The purpose behind the workshop, entitled “Partners in Hearing: Learning Together”, was to develop new ideas and concepts that can support people with hearing loss on their hearing journey.
The workshop, which provided an opportunity to gain different perspectives and expertise, was organized in collaboration with the Action on Hearing Loss, the Hearing Loss Association of America and The Ear Foundation.
“We consider professionals and patients as equal partners in hearing rehabilitation. Bringing these stakeholders together is conducive to the innovation process and a way for us to ensure that the solutions we develop are relevant and can be implemented in practice”
–Lise Lotte Bundesen, Ida Institute Managing Director
For two days, participants worked in groups to generate useful ideas for tools that could support people with hearing loss in different aspects of their lives. A number of themes were explored, such as:
- Empowerment: How to ensure that people with hearing loss have the support they need to advocate for themselves
- Peer-to-peer support: New ideas for how people with hearing loss can connect and share knowledge and experiences
- Family and friends: How to address communication issues related to hearing loss together
- Journey planning: How to improve the hearing journey
- Workplace: How to make the workplace more accommodating and empower people with hearing loss at work
According to the organization, the workshop was a success and “led to a number of concrete ideas and concepts which will be further refined in the coming months”.
Source: Ida Institute
