Pilot project: Hearing mapping as a service method

Background:

Previous Dam projects: Ambulatory practical hearing courses in nursing homes, aimed at healthcare personnel, and Hearing Health in Nursing Homes.

Mapping has raised the following issues:

There is no fixed method for mapping the hearing status of recipients of municipal health and care services. Preliminary results from a completed hearing survey at nursing homes in Trøndelag confirm the suspicion that many could probably have had a different and healthier life if they had been fitted with hearing aids at an earlier stage. We want to develop, test and implement a method for mapping the hearing of older people who are recipients of municipal health and care services at home or in a care home. Is the hearing health in this group as poor as in those living in nursing homes? Do they have a higher degree of hearing aid use? Will this group be able to have a good effect on health and quality of life through measures with e.g. fitting of hearing aids is carried out at an earlier stage? Our goal is to highlight how important good hearing health is for quality of life and general health, as well as to give municipalities a method for introducing regular annual hearing surveys. Dovre Municipality welcomes the project, and sees the project as a great opportunity to prepare its service offering.

Hørselstest ved eldre på sykehjem.

Implementation:

A methodological pilot project in the form of hearing mapping will be carried out in Dovre municipality, where the target group in the project are recipients of public municipal home-based health and care services. The project will be evaluated, among other things, through digital mapping, where statistics will be collected on how many of the participants have impaired hearing, how many use hearing aids or not, and how many are referred to a public hearing center or contracted specialist for further investigation and possible fitting of hearing aids. The project is a methodological pilot project because there is no implemented method for conducting hearing mapping at the municipal level in Norway. The developed and implemented method, as well as results from the pilot project, will be shared and made available to other Norwegian municipalities with a view to the method being implemented in other municipalities. The privacy of the participants will be safeguarded through the use of digital online solutions that are encrypted, and sensitive user information in digital mapping will be anonymized. No major challenges are expected in this project, as many people want to have their hearing ability mapped.

Expected effect:

The expected effect will be that many older people will have their hearing loss detected, and that those in need will have new hearing aids fitted or their hearing aids updated. Through good hearing and good use of hearing aids in the form of hearing aids and other accessories, the participants in the project will experience improved quality of life and communication skills, and that social isolation and the risk of developing dementia and cognitive impairment can be reduced or postponed. This may lead to the participants being able to live at home in their own home or in a care home for longer. Another desired effect is that Dovre Municipality implements and continues hearing mapping as a method and service offering after the project has ended, and that other Norwegian municipalities will also want to use hearing mapping as part of their service offering.

Dissemination and exploitation:

The project itself and results will be disseminated in various media in the form of a website, Facebook, local media houses, Helsearbeideren, Vi over 60, Audiografen, Din Hørsel and more. If the opportunity arises, the project will also be presented at various health and professional conferences in Norway. The project will also be disseminated to all municipal directors within health and welfare via newsletters and method descriptions. Good marketing of the results and method will increase the possibility that more municipalities implement the method in their service offerings.