Practical hearing course for healthcare personnel in health and care services.

More of the elderly population are now using hearing aids, and more are now receiving either municipal home-based care in the form of home nursing, or are being placed in nursing homes due to increased need for assistance, both physical and mental. This also means that the elderly population is becoming increasingly dependent on assistance for the maintenance and use of hearing aids.

Unfortunately, most healthcare professionals have little or no knowledge or experience with hearing aid maintenance, and many are therefore reluctant to assist older people with their hearing aid use. As a result, the hearing aids are not used as intended. This in turn can lead to increased exclusion, poor communication, the development and strengthening of dementia and cognitive impairment, as well as more use of coercion during care situations for the elderly.

Healthcare professionals surveyed confirm that they want more knowledge about hearing and hearing aid maintenance, so that they can better assist older people with proper hearing aid maintenance and increased use of hearing aids.

To achieve this, the project will develop and offer healthcare professionals a practical course on hearing, communication and maintenance of hearing aids. The course will focus on training in the use and maintenance of hearing aids, as well as providing information about other hearing aids or technical solutions that may be relevant if the user is unable to use hearing aids.

The course will travel to the following 12 municipalities in Trøndelag, where there are around thirty home care units that meet with older users: Oppdal, Rennebu, Midtre Gauldal, Melhus, Holtålen, Røros, Skaun, Orkland, Heim, Trondheim, Malvik and Stjørdal.

The project is financially supported by The Dam Foundation.