Communication Rings Taught at Eriksholm Summer Camp

By Amanda Farah Cox

Eriksholm held its Summer Camp, sponsored by the Oticon Foundation, last week. The five days of workshops and seminars, held from 27-31 August at the Eriksholm Research Centre in Snekkersten, Denmark, brought together 55 audiologists from around the world. The focus of this year’s Summer Camp was how audiologists can help meet hearing aid users’ individual needs. 

Ida staff members Ena Nielsen and Hans Henrik Philipsen presented a workshop on the Communications Partner Tool, how it can be used to engage a hearing loss patient’s support system, and the role of communication partners in a patient’s rehabilitation. The ethnographic film, Gill and John, which tells the story of how Gill, who has hearing loss, is supported by her husband John in social situations, was shown. Following the film, participants were introduced to the Communication Rings. They were then split into pairs, and were asked to fill in GPS tool based on the interactions they watched between Gill and John.

At the end of the session, participants were asked to write down on an index card what they learned from the workshop. Several replied, “It’s not hearing loss, it’s communication loss.”

This was the ninth Erikson Summer Camp, which began in 1997. Other presenters during the week included staff from the Eriksholm Research Centre, Oticon, and Oticon Medical.