Andreas Dimopoulos

Art in Hearing

In the sessions that I do every day with people who have hearing loss as a symptom and are looking for a solution, one of the points that we will discuss is the aesthetics of the headset that has indications for their own case. It is known that not all types of headphones fit in all cases. But in each case, the people have, for the first time, been offered a chance to vote. The impression in Western culture for people with hearing loss is that they look older, less capable and in some cases have cognitive or other disorders. These beliefs have been cultivated by societies but also by individuals who suffer from the symptom. Hearing loss and hearing aids have been linked to aging and the perception of disability as a more general concept (Wallhagen 2010). In these cases, I believe that art with its properties can help significantly.

There are several studies that highlight the beneficial effects of art on the recovery and overall health of the individual (Kirklin and Richardson 2003). Music, architecture, painting and even poetry can offer significant benefits to people with health problems (Smith 2002).

Ecologist Patricia Reiff went to Jordan in 2017 as a volunteer to help adults and children from Syria who had lost their hearing from the war in that troubled country. She used the painting to entice the children to a fun activity while she was taking the template from one child or making adjustments to another's headset. The adults became involved with the children and painted together. With their creations they externalized their emotions and with the hearing aids they communicated again ("The Stories of Syria: Art & amp; Hearing Loss - Associates In Hearing" nd).

In November 2017, while watching the news of the day on the internet, an article from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York caught my eye. They referred to the possibility to download, without special permission, anyone who wishes, paintings from the museum collection in digital format. Personally, I have always admired the works of great painters and their aesthetics. This initiative of the museum gave me the inspiration to combine works of art with Acoustic Enhancement. To bring to the fore the healing property of art in relation to the "stigma" of hearing loss and hearing aids. I have selected from thousands of works some representative of great painters that with the help of digital technology I put headphones, screw or bone-implanted headphones. The result of this work became cards, posters or digital images that I used on the website and in other activities of our company. According to most of my clients the result was excellent and as they mentioned, this action goes beyond the ordinary and creates a different image for hearing aids and hearing aids. My goal is to create an information campaign about the Audio Amplification solutions available today, the technologies they use and the benefits they offer through a different approach.

Andreas Dimopoulos