Hearing Health Outreach in Retirement Villages
Our Hearing Healthcare Outreach Programme empowers residents by breaking the silence around hearing loss, dispelling stigma, and offering a safe space for open discussions.
We provide free on-site hearing checks, clean hearing aids, and teach basic sign language, so that Deaf and hard of hearing residents feel valued and understood.
We also conduct workshops for the staff at retirement villages, equipping them with the tools they need to better support Deaf and hard of hearing residents.
Our goal is to reach 50 retirement villages in 2024 to make a tangible difference in the lives of Deaf and hard of hearing people living in assisted care.
New research shows just how essential providing timely hearing healthcare is for older people.
Recent studies reveal that age-related hearing loss can double the risk of dementia and have proven a direct link between untreated hearing health and cognitive decline.
The good news is hearing aids can reduce the risk of cognitive decline by 48% for adults with risk factors for dementia. Learn more here.
Thanks to our free on-site hearing screening, residents with undiagnosed hearing loss are being identified and supported. Our work does more than improve residents’ hearing health; it helps to enhance long-term quality of life.
Our findings:
-
Around 67% of residents who attended our workshops have an identified hearing loss.
-
Less than half (47%) of those with hearing loss were using hearing aids.
-
72% of residents reported finding hearing challenging in communal environments at the rest home, with over 30% refraining from participating in group activities due to hearing difficulties.
-
53% of residents wished the staff at their rest home better understood how to support their hearing loss.
-
61% indicated needing more assistance with their hearing health and hearing aids.
What happens at these events?
Hear from Lisa Talbot and Linda Holmes from team NFDHH about this new programme and the difference it's making.
Linda: "We bring residents together for a Hearing Health morning tea, where we talk about the experience of hearing loss and its impact. We have fun, and residents also have a chance to try their hand at some basic sign language. We offer free hearing screening and hearing aid support, like cleaning and new batteries."
Lisa: "We show residents how ignoring hearing loss can make life harder and lonelier. And the ways this can impact their emotional and social wellbeing. They nod along because they get it, empathising with partners exhausted from repeating themselves, resonating with the struggle to participate in social activities."
Download Hearing Matters to read the full interview on pages 5-6.
What residents are saying.
Our programme encourages people to take their hearing health seriously. A Grace Joel Retirement Village resident reflected, "After listening to the workshop you presented this morning, it encouraged my husband to test his hearing today. My family and I have been asking him to do this for years."
One Remuera Gardens Retirement Village resident exclaimed, "YAY, I can hear properly again! Thanks for being here today, as it is not easy for me to go to the clinic."
Another resident from Logan Campbell Retirement Village shares that she now feels more understood and anticipates more people trying to use sign language to communicate with her. "Thank you so much for coming today. It made me feel included. I know this will help the staff and my friends better understand what it is like to have hearing loss in a hearing world, and maybe they will try to learn some sign language to communicate with me."
Your support can transform lives!
Your donation of $50 can help ensure that in 2024, we can reach Deaf and hard of hearing residents at 50 retirement villages and expand our reach to include Auckland, Hamilton, Bay of Plenty, Rotorua, Christchurch, and beyond.
To contribute to our cause, to invite us to visit a retirement village, or to learn more about our impactful programme, please contact Lisa Talbot: lisa.talbot@nfdhh.org.nz or call 09 307 2922.
Your support can transform lives, reigniting the simple joys of connection. Together, we can make a significant difference.