Turn down the noise: Reducing noise and supporting people with dementia and hearing loss in social care settings

Background: Approximately 12 million people in the UK are affected by hearing loss, projected to reach 14.2 million by 2035. The risk of hearing loss increases with age, affecting nearly 80% of adults over 70. Nearly 7 million people in the UK could benefit from using technology such as digital hearing aids or personal amplifiers, but only about 2 million people do so. As dementia advances, using hearing aids becomes more challenging, leading to device disuse. Supporting people with dementia and hearing loss, along with their supporters and social care staff, can increase independence, social connections, and wellbeing. Providing hearing support can improve communication, quality of life, and reduce agitation and care challenges. Training, time pressures, and lack of access to audiology services are barriers to rehabilitation in care settings. Social care settings like extra care housing and community groups are underserved in staff training. Dementia design guidelines rarely consider noise reduction in these spaces. Aims and Objectives: The research aims to identify barriers and facilitators to using hearing aids and technology by people with dementia, their family supporters, and paid carers/community leads in social care settings. It will assess noise levels in social care settings and impact on those with dementia and hearing loss. The project will redevelop training and support for care staff and community leads, measure its impact, and determine environmental design considerations to reduce noise levels and support those with hearing loss. The goal is to positively impact those living with dementia and hearing loss, and their carers. Methods: This 30-month project (February 2026 to July 2028) includes qualitative interviews and focus groups to understand barriers and facilitators to using hearing aids and technology by people with dementia, their family supporters, and paid carers/community leads in community groups and extra care housing. The Expert Advisory Group and Public and Patient Involvement group will inform the project design and delivery. It will measure anonymous noise levels in social care settings and their impact through sound walks and sound scales. Analysis: Qualitative data about the facilitators and barriers to the use of hearing aids and technology in WP1 will be analysed using a Thematic Analysis. WP2 will provide descriptive data on noise levels and the sound walk data will be qualitative analysed. These findings will be synthesized and taken to WP3 co-design workshops. Three iterative co-design workshops will explore environmental design considerations to reduce noise levels and will inform the training content adaptions in WP4. Anticipated Impact and Dissemination: The findings and outputs from WP1-4 will inform the development of recommendations, guidelines and resources to support people with dementia and hearing loss in social care settings. These will be downloadable and printed booklets, web-based materials and videos aimed at a range of audiences including practitioners, social care providers, people affected by dementia, policy makers and designers and disseminated widely via stakeholder networks, a public launch event, at academic conferences and by publications.