Hearing Café

Most towns have a local coffee shop or café. Why not arrange weekly meetings where people can discuss hearing related challenges over a cup of coffee or tea?

You could advertise the weekly meetings online, in the local newspaper, and at the coffee shop itself. Inviting a local audiologist or audiology student to attend some of the meetings could help jump start conversations and introduce useful information about hearing loss and potential treatment options.

Café Philosophique is a grassroots forum started in 1992 by philosopher Marc Sautet in Paris, France. His idea was to bring together people in a public forum so that they could freely discuss ideas.

The concept has spread and there are now thousands of Café Philosophique events taking place all around the world. 

Hearing café meetings can bring the topic of hearing loss out into the public arena. Instead of meeting behind closed doors, meeting at a café can bring the topic out into the open. People who frequent the coffee shop or see the flyers can get drawn into the conversation.