Motivation Tools and Ideas Competition Presented at Conference for Danish Hearing Care Professionals

By Timothy Cooke

The Ida Institute conducted a half-day workshop at a conference for members of the hearing and communication rehabilitation community in Denmark. The Southern Denmark Regional Health Organization and the Center for Communication and Assistive Devices arranged the three-day conference, which took place in Vingsted, Denmark, from 29-31 August.

At the conference, Ena Nielsen and Anette Molbech from the Ida Institute conducted a half-day workshop featuring the Motivation Tools and the Ideas Competition. Ena Nielsen presented the Motivation Tools and explored the different ways the tools can be implemented in hearing clinics. Workshop participants then practiced using the tools on virtual patients using an Ida ethnographic video for inspiration. Afterwards, Anette Molbech conducted a mini-workshop featuring the Ideas Competition. The mini-workshop aimed to inspire participants to create innovative and creative ideas to raise awareness for hearing loss.

“This was a fantastic opportunity for the Ida Institute to reach out to a group of hearing care professionals in Denmark that share our values and our approach to audiological rehabilitation, focusing on the psychosocial aspects of hearing loss,” states Ida learning specialist Ena Nielsen. “We were very happy to discover that many of the conference attendees were already using the Ida tools in their clinic. After an engaging workshop, we hope that many more hearing care professionals in Denmark will be inspired to integrate Ida’s tools and methods in their daily practice.”

The main theme of the Vingsted conference was “Cognition, the Elderly, and Hearing Loss” and included presentations by a number of researchers in Scandinavia. Neuropsychologist Laila Øksnebjerg from the Denmark National Research Center for Dementia discussed the connection between dementia, hearing impairment, and communication. In another presentation, Thomas Lunner, professor at the Department of Behavioral Sciences and Learning at Linköping University, contemplated whether we will be talking about “cognitive hearing aids” in the future, as memory-based arguments for using hearing aids and cochlear implants continue to grow stronger and more numerous.

The Center for Communication and Assistive Devices (CKHM), which helped arrange the conference, provides municipalities in Denmark with health services for their citizens and their professional staff. CKHM conducts special counseling and education programs for people with significant and lasting disabilities within the areas of speech, hearing, vision, and mobility.