A template, available on the idainstitute.com, enables the hearing care professional and the patient to keep a common record of decisions made and progress achieved. A video-based user guide is also available on the website.
"The Living Well tool enables hearing care professionals to bring the patient's perspective on his or her daily experience with hearing loss into the clinical setting," explains Ida Institute Managing Director Lise Lotte Bundesen. "Clinicians can then reinforce effective communication strategies and begin to explore alternate strategies for difficult situations. This patient-centered approach allows patient and audiologist to jointly decide on new strategies to implement, set goals for improved communication and formulate a plan for achieving those goals."
Using photo cards depicting real-life situations, patients select the situations that best match their daily lives and then sort the cards according to how easy or challenging each situation is for them to manage. Markers are used to indicate how important each situation is for the individual's lifestyle. Strategy cards that suggest communication and technology solutions are then applied to each scenario. Blank strategy cards are also provided to allow patients to craft unique strategies that are tailored to their particular situations. With this information, the hearing care professional is well equipped to collaborate with the patient to create a holistic plan that accurately addresses the patient's needs for managing communication in daily life.
Developed by Ida Institute faculty and staff, the Living Well tool represents the collaborative thinking of hearing and healthcare professionals from around the world who participated in the Ida Institute's 2011 "Living Well with Hearing Loss" seminar series.
Hearing care professionals can purchase Living Well - Managing Hearing Loss in Daily Life from idainstitute.com/livingwell or download a free copy for self assembly.
About the Ida Institute
Established in 2007 with a grant from the Oticon Foundation, the Ida Institute is a non-profit independent educational institute located in Copenhagen, Denmark. The Institute seeks to foster a better understanding of the human dynamics associated with hearing loss. By serving as a catalyst for knowledge sharing and the development of innovative and practical tools, the Institute assists hearing care professionals in helping hearing impaired people address the physical, psychological and social challenges of hearing loss. For more information, visit https://idainstitute.com/.
