AN ONLINE COURSE
that teaches in 2 hours about why hearing is important, how to assist with communication, and how to help with the care and use of hearing aids.
Why Should Nurses & Caregivers Receive Hearing Aid Training?
As we know, some people have difficulties handling hearing aids, caring for them, and changing their batteries. Even if someone can handle their hearing aids and they were properly fit, they may need assistance with watching movies and television.
Understanding why and how to help someone with hearing loss is a huge help to making a difference in someone's quality of life.
Too many times we've arrived at a senior community and found people who were wearing their hearing aids in the wrong ears, or they're wearing the hearing aids with dead batteries, or they simply weren't wearing the hearing aids because someone locked them into a safe cabinet to reduce the chances of losing them. As an audiologist, this is so frustrating and saddening because I don't know if this is a one-time incident or is this a normal day.
6 Reasons To Implement This Program
Increased Happiness
When someone can hear better, they are more connected with others, have better self-esteem, higher abilities to learn, tend to talk more, and can enjoy watching tv and listening to music at lower levels.
Decrease Chances of Loss of Hearing Aids
When caregivers are more knowledgeable about hearing aids, they are more invested in why they are necessary, how to keep track of them and how to properly insert them.
Increased Staff Confidence
With more knowledge, caregivers will be less likely to shy away from helping those they are assigned to care for and will have the skills to take their interactions to "the next step".
Higher Resident Satisfaction
When someone can hear better, they are more connected with others, have better self-esteem, higher abilities to learn, tend to talk more, and can enjoy watching tv and listening to music at lower levels.
Better Community Morale
When caregivers are more knowledgeable about hearing aids, they are more invested in why they are necessary, how to keep track of them and how to properly insert them.
Equal Staff Training
With more knowledge, caregivers will be less likely to shy away from helping those they are assigned to care for and will have the skills to take their interactions to "the next step".
Educate your ENTIRE staff and hold them accountable to what they learned.
Hearing Better Improves
Mental Health,
Reduces Cognitive Overload,
and Decreases Chances of Dementia.
The Hearing Aide Certification course was designed to quickly and easily provide you the information you need in an online short-course format. You and your fellow staff staff members will learn more about hearing loss and what to do if someone is struggling with their hearing aids.
I've taken everything I've learned from my doctoral level education in Audiology as well as my 21 years of experience helping people with hearing loss and I created this overview course with the intent to teach in an easy-to-digest way to those who are caring for someone with hearing impairment.
I take the topics step-by-step, giving enough information to answer the basic questions about hearing loss, the importance of hearing, and suggestions of room modifications and assistive listening devices to help someone hear in different environments. I also teach and explain the different parts of hearing aids, batteries, and proper care and use.
I've designed this course, so that someone can individually watch videos, or they can be projected and taught in a group. There are quizzes at the end of each module and a final quiz at the end of the course to help with comprehension and accountability.
I want everyone to succeed and I know that empowering your staff with the proper knowledge and know-how will create better outcomes in the lives of those you serve.
If you're a director of a senior community or home health agency, you are keenly aware that a great deal of the population you care for have hearing loss. If you're a nurse, certified nursing assistant, or caregiver, you've probably found that there are little teaching programs that can help you quickly learn more about hearing loss. What if you want to know more about how to take care of hearing aids, too? You are here because you already know how important hearing is for the people you are caring for everyday.
Let's improve Resident Quality of Life and Employee Job Satisfaction!
Warm Regards,
Dawn Heiman, AuD
Despite the reasons to educate your staff about hearing loss & hearing aid care
is a complete no-brainer, the process involved in actually creating and implementing the program is anything but easy.
Ready to Educate Your Staff? Yes!
But where do I start?
In 2008, the Journal of Gerontological Nursing published the "Evidence-Based Guideline Nursing Management of Hearing Impairment in Nursing Facility Residents" (Vol. 34, No. 11, 2008) reviewed the incidence of hearing loss in the aging and stated, "The goal of this evidence-based practice guideline is to improve the quality of life for nursing facility residents with hearing impairment."
As an already busy director, your time is valuable and while it seems like a nice idea to educate your staff on something so important, it can seem like an insurmountable task.
Perhaps at one point in time, when you were brainstorming with your team, you came up with the idea to create an initiative to educate your staff. You decided to bring in audiologists who agreed to conduct in-services for your staff for all 3 shifts. Unfortunately, you may have found that this scenario is flawed, due to the inconsistent teaching, and the difficulties measuring staff comprehension or tracking competencies for accountability.
I can tell you, it's not too late to make hearing education a part of your required annual competency training. I feel as though a pre-recorded, online course, like this, could be the answer to not only uniformly educate your staff (even with round-the-clock schedules), but also to improve your community's overall level of happiness.
Uniformly Educating Your Team
Hearing has a profound effect on someone's quality of life and if you've ever witnessed someone being given back their hearing aids after they were fixed, you'd seen their face light up as soon as the hearing aids are put on them again.
Unfortunately, it is reality that are large portion of the senior population are unable to handle putting the hearing aids on by themselves or doing regular care and maintenance. This could be due to low vision, poor manual dexterity, or even cognitive decline. In that scenario, who has been trained to help them?
Audiologists worry...
The Goal is to Empower Staff!
HERE'S HOW IT ALL
BREAKS DOWN
We all want successful outcomes and this course helps with that by teaching many fundamentals to imbed why hearing is one of our most important senses. With this strong foundation, nurses and caregivers are more likely to apply their knowledge everyday and everyone in the community benefits.
The Hearing Aide Certification Course is an online course comprised of short video lessons that reduce overwhelm. There are four teaching modules, with 5-6 video lessons in each, and a short quiz. The final module is a brief overview video with a final quiz. The entire course could be completed in under two hours if someone had the time and energy to do it all in one sitting.
Module 1
Introduction to the Ear and Hearing
Module 2
Hearing Aids & other Devices
Module 3
Care & Use of Hearing Aids
Module 4
Tips and Tricks for Hearing in Different Situations
Module 5
Final Wrap-Up
Get Started Now
Choose The Membership Plan That Works Best For You and Your Facility Size.
Individual Course Purchase
Great individual caregivers, such as a family member, or someone that works as a private home caregiver.
One Payment of
$39
USD
Annual Facility Unlimited Package
Great for facilities with a team of staff members. Great when the staff members' annual reviews and educational requirement deadlines are rotating all year long.
Annual Membership with Monthly Payment
$109/ mo.
USD
Annual Facility Unlimited Package
Great for facilities with a team of staff members. Great when the staff members' annual reviews and educational requirement deadlines are rotating all year long.
Annual Membership
$1250
USD
Are You Interested in Implementing this Program for Your Team?
but first, would like to schedule an informational meeting?
What People Asked Before Signing Up for the Hearing Aide Certification Course:
Who should take this course?
Anyone whose job involves assisting someone who wears hearing aids. It would also be helpful and insightful for activities coordinators and social workers, who are involved in social activities planning and care plan coordination.
How long does this course take?
This could be taken over a period of time. The videos are short to reduce overwhelm. It could also be taken in one, 2-hour sitting, if someone wanted to block out the time during their work day.
Why doesn't this course exist anywhere else?
We're not really sure. The incidence of hearing loss is high and the understanding of the importance of hearing is also high, but an organized course to teach caregivers simply has never been created before now.
Can I receive continuing education credits?
We are working on being accredited by the national nursing and caregiver's associations. Currently, we can give you a certificate of completion for your company file.
Can my company use this as a marketing tool?
Absolutely! Being able to say that your staff has had specialty training in caring for someone with hearing loss is a huge accomplishment and future residents and families will be impressed when you let them know that your community is able and ready to support them.
How does this program create a happier senior community?
Studies show that when people are able to hear and communicate, they tend have better inter-personal relationships, higher self-esteem, lower levels of paranoia, less chances of depression, and exhibit greater levels of independence.
How does investing in this program save me money?
The more you and your staff understand how hearing aids function, why they are important, how to put them on correctly, and how to properly manage them, the less likely the community is to lose the costly devices. Also, knowing how and when to put on hearing aid retention cords also drastically reduces unnecessary breakage and loss.