With 59 million people in Europe experiencing hearing loss, many still face significant barriers in accessing healthcare. A new 2024 report by EFHOH, Accessibility of Healthcare Services for People in Europe, reveals that inaccessible phone consultations, limited visual aids, and a lack of assistive listening systems continue to prevent hard of hearing individuals from receiving essential care.
Many individuals with hearing loss rely on assistive devices, lipreading, and visual cues to communicate, yet face major obstacles to having access to healthcare services, which worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic through mask-wearing and inaccessible remote consultations.
To better understand these issues, EFHOH conducted a survey from August to September 2024, as part of the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values Programme (CERV), funded by the European Union, to collect insights into the specific obstacles, inequalities, and barriers hard of hearing individuals encounter when accessing healthcare.
The survey results highlight critical gaps, including low awareness of available communication technologies and limited access to assistive listening systems during medical visits. Many participants also stressed the need for healthcare staff to enhance their basic communication skills and improve their understanding of assistive technology to provide better support for patients with hearing loss.
Such findings underline the urgent need for healthcare systems to become more accessible, ensuring that people with hearing loss can equally benefit from healthcare services.
EFHOH President, Lidia Best, has said: “This report is a timely reminder to healthcare providers and policymakers to take immediate, concrete steps to improve communication methods, offer more assistive technology, and ensure healthcare staff receive adequate training. Only through such actions can accessibility of healthcare be improved for everyone across Europe”.
EFHOH wishes to thank WHO Europe for their endorsement to this report.
Read and download the report on Healthcare Services here: FINAL UPDATED EFHOH Report – Accessibility of Healthcare Services for people with hearing loss
