EFHOH has a long-standing tradition of collaborating with the European Association of Hearing Aids Professionals, joining respective events to foster deeper links between service providers and the users of the services.
This year, on May 25th, in addition, we have activated an outreach program of working visits to meet the local community. EFHOH President Lidia Best and General Secretary Claire Landesmann attended the Mini Symposium of the European Association of Hearing Aid Professionals (AEA) in Valletta, Malta. Key discussions included inclusive employment, quality hearing care, and debate on the future of telecoil technology, where EFHOH and AEA reaffirmed the need to keep telecoils available until Auracast is fully implemented as expected in 10-15 years.
Lidia Best presented the need for inclusive approaches to employment for hard of hearing people, highlighting how the EU Disability Employment Package provides helpful guidance to address communication barriers and promote reasonable accommodation at work. As she noted in her presentation, “we are not walking audiograms”. While hearing aids and cochlear implants support communication, they do not replace the need for workplace accommodations.
This event offered the opportunity to meet with Carmen Grech, President of the Gozo Deaf Association, and Andrew Sciberras, President of the Malta Association of Audiologists, for in-depth discussions on hearing health and the inclusion of hard of hearing people in Malta.
EFHOH also had the opportunity to meet with Rhoda Garland, Commissioner for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and Annabelle Xerri, from the Malta Deaf Association during a meeting with the Malta Directorate for Inclusion and Voluntary Service, which provided a platform for exchanging knowledge on national policies for the inclusion of the hard of hearing community, Key topics included inclusive education, employment, and access to hearing care support.
EFHOH working visits provide the opportunity to meet the local community of hard of hearing people, and anyone working in the area of hearing loss support, and create safe spaces to discuss issues that affect them. EFHOH continues with the program of meeting the community where they are, supporting mutual knowledge exchange and providing catalyst for meaningful change.
We warmly thank the AEA and the Malta Directorate for Inclusion for their invitation and collaboration. Partnerships like these are essential to creating a more inclusive Europe for hard of hearing people!
