Hearing loss is hard – not only for the one impaired, but also the people around them. The Hear Me Out Kit addresses these relational difficulties by involving close relatives in the process of adapting to a new hearing aid.
Learn more about the design solution by watching this short, 3-minute product film.
How it works
The “Hear me out” kit is a social tool that initiates dialogue between a new hearing aid user and his/her loved ones in order to build mutual understanding of what the other person is experiencing.
How we did it
In codesign, we never design alone. This is why we involved hearing-aid users and their families in the process of developing the Hear Me Out Kit. The process was iterative, starting first with an open exploration of the contextual issues surrounding hearing loss, and then moving on to rapidly prototype possible solutions in close dialogue with our project participants.
Using props to stage photo shoots enables us to pose critical questions through thought-provoking visual material.
Performing scenarios with project participants allows active exploration of possible futures.
A mailbox probe is used to capture insights about the relational dynamics of a family affected by hearing loss.
Keywords: Codesign, co-creation, concept development, project management, ethnographic research, interviews, probes, role-play, scenario performance, dialogue tools, prototyping, film documentation, film editing, film production, photography, product design, design experiments
Take a closer look at our process here:
“The Hear Me Out Kit is designed to support new hearing aid users and their families in adjusting to a hearing aid – taking the process step-by-step, and day-by-day.”
This project was created by Melanie Povlitzki, Sofia Germani, Ingeborg Himle Matland, Andrea Østmo da Costa in collaboration with GN Resound as part of the Codesign Master’s Program at KADK.
