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Social influencers: What makes good acoustic design for hard of hearing? Nobody likes being left out of the conversation, to feel like thery are not important enough to be considered and included.  Yet this is the sad reality for many older people who struggle with retirement villages or aged care homes that have poorly-planned social spaces. That is why the National Foundation for Deaf and Hard of Hearing (NFDHH) is calling on facilities -new and older -to consider their residents’ needs in social situations. “Like going to a noisy restaurant, often rest homes can have people talking at increased volume, there’s activities on, it’s by the kitchen – all adding up to a scene older people want to avoid,” Natasha Gallardo, chief executive of NFDHH says. “It’s important to create spaces that work well for people with hearing loss, and that communal areas are designed for their needs, because research suggests being socially isolated and lonely may put them at a higher risk of depression, cognitive decline, neurological issues and other health conditions.” More than 332,000 people are aged 75 years-plus, according to Statistics NZ. A 2017 NFDHH report – Listen Hear New Zealand – identified that 84 per cent of men and 77.6 per cent of women aged 75+ having hearing loss, 42.2 per cent of men and 34.4 per cent of women having moderate hearing loss. A hearing aid wearer herself, Natasha says that COVID-19, and the need for people to wear masks has exacerbated the feeling of exclusion and isolation for people who are hard of hearing and rely on lip reading and facial expressions as clues to help them understand what is being said. “Facing so many barriers to be heard and understood can be a real deterrent to socialising.” Natasha says. “If you’re a resident in a retirement home or aged care facility, and there are noisy common areas that are vacuous and echoing, the struggle is heightened resulting in people retreating. “Large communal spaces that have little sound absorption can make socialising far too challenging if you are hard of hearing. And as a result people become introverted and isolated. It’s not a good mix. “Tackling anit-social spaces in communal areas is a big issue right now. I’m getting emails from residents and elderly groups, wanting to lobby retirement villages to imporve the acoustics in the community areas. Minimising the background noise is a key for many, not having ways to sit in smaller configurations that are facing each other is another.” An important elelment of retirement village life is encouraging people to keep active and to join in and do things together. But that can mean en-masse gatherings. Natasha says the principles of shared office spaces being constructed with a multitude of needs, are concepts that would also work well in retirement villages. By 2048, the number of people aged 75-plus in New Zealand is projected to grow to 883,000. More than 47,000 people live in a retirement village, with a large number of new properties being built to meet anticipated demand.  But for existing properties, she suggests simple changes to help hearing aid wearers:
“We aren’t suggesting elderly residential properties should be sterile and devoid of music and other sounds – but just that there are areas people can still congregate and catch up with others where it’s quieter. These community spaces must still be the heart of their home, welcoming and enjoyable.” Home care help for hard of hearing Discovering how social your home care clients are can be a key to ascertaining how they are managing their hearing loss. “Even as an informal chat can identify whether people are going out less, if they are avoiding social situations -and it gives you a conversation starter, to check on why,” Natasha says. “The COVID-19 pandemic makes people reluctant to go out, particularly if they struggle to understand people talking while wearing a mask. So clients may also be putting off having simple hearing aid checks, but these are vital.” She recommends making notes on the level of volume you need to use when talking to clients, to be understood, and if you notice that deteriorating between visits, suggest they see an audiologist. Another sign that a person’s hearing is deteriorating is the volume on their TV or radio, so keeping a record of that can also alert home care staff to issues. “Often elder clients are not savvy with new technology, so when checking TV volumes, look to see if they have enabled captions, to help them watch their favourite shows.” If you have time during your appointment, ask when they had their hearing aid batteries checked, or do they need repairs. “These are often questions that family and friends don’t ask, so simple check-ins like this could make all the difference.” How to tell if someone may have increased hearing loss:
For more information visit the National Foundation for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing website: www.nfd.org.nz Aged Care New Zealand Issue 02 2022 Comments are closed.
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AuthorShonagh O'Hagan Archives
July 2025
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