Research project examines whether mobility programmes are useful outdoors

Picture of two people in a research project investigating whether mobility programmes are useful outdoors. They are standing by a road. A woman is holding a piece of paper in one hand and pointing ahead with the other. A man is standing next to her. He is holding a white cane in his hands and looking towards where the woman is pointing. In the background is traffic.

Would you like to participate in the research project "Mobility programme in hearing aids for people with combined visual and hearing impairment/deafblindness"? Anne-May Førland works at Eikholt as an audiologist. She is also a master's student at NTNU in Trondheim. Her master's degree project is investigating whether mobility programmes in hearing aids are useful outdoors.

Two people are walking across a pedestrian crossing. One is using a mobility cane
Project manager and audiographer Anne-May Førland and project participant on a trip outside

Do you want to be involved in checking whether mobility programmes are useful??

To participate, you must:

  • Be over 18 years of age
  • Wearing hearing aids on both ears
  • Have such impaired vision/blindness that you can receive visual aids from NAV Assistive Technology Centre
  • Be outdoors at least once a week, with or without mobility aids
  • Understand and provide feedback on vision, hearing and mobility issues

You cannot participate if you have a Cochlear Implant (CI) or other hearing implant in one or both ears. You cannot participate if you are deaf in one ear and/or use a CROS hearing aid.

What does it mean to participate?

The project is conducted at Eikholt in Drammen. It will take approximately three and a half hours to participate. We will take breaks along the way. The aim of the project is to investigate whether mobility programmes in hearing aids are useful.

  • First, you answer questions about gender, age, hearing, use of hearing aids, vision, orientation and mobility.
  • A hearing test is then performed with beeps, with and without hearing aids (audiometry).
  • Audiographer Anne-May Førland adds an extra programme "mobility programme" to your hearing aids. Your regular programme will not be changed. You will not be told what is your regular programme and what is the new mobility programme.
  • A sound localisation test is performed. You sit on a chair in the centre of a circle with 12 speakers. Sounds come from the speakers and you have to say which speaker makes the sound. The test is done both with the new mobility programme in your hearing aids and with your regular programme.
  • We go out for a walk for approx. 1 hour and test both the new mobility programme and the regular programme in practice outdoors. You use your mobility aids, such as a white cane, interpreter/companion or guide dog. We walk across pedestrian crossings, junctions and cycle paths. Questions will be asked and answered along the way.
  • When we return from our trip, the hearing aids will be reset to the way they were. You can choose whether to delete the mobility programme or keep it.
  • As a thank you for your participation, you'll receive a gift voucher of NOK 500.
Trip out to test mobility programme in hearing aids and answer questions
Research project investigating whether a mobility programme is useful outdoors uses a room with many speakers on stands. In the centre a chair.
The room where the sound localisation test takes place

How can you participate in the project?

Participation will take place from August 2024 to December 2024. The time of participation is determined by what is suitable for you. We will help organise travel if needed.

If you have any questions or would like to participate, please contact Anne-May Førland by email: anne.may.forland@eikholt.no.

More information about the project

The the information and consent form -Word format

The the information and consent form -PDF format

Contact person

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