A CAMPAIGN THAT WILL CHANGE CARE.
There is a resident in almost every care home in England who has quietly stopped joining in. They sit at the table at mealtimes but do not follow the conversation. They nod along in activities without quite catching what is being said. They have become, over months, a little more distant, a little more withdrawn, a little harder to reach. In many cases, the reason is hearing loss. And in most cases, nobody has done anything about it.
This is not because care staff do not care. It is because nobody has ever shown them what to do. Most frontline workers have never been taught how to clean a hearing aid, change a battery, recognise when a resident needs a referral or adapt the way they communicate. The environments residents live in are rarely assessed for background noise or lighting. And the systems needed to support hearing loss consistently, day after day, simply do not exist in most homes.
At least nine in ten care home residents live with some degree of hearing loss. Fewer than a quarter of those who would benefit from hearing aids actually use them. Only half of residents with dementia receive any help with their hearing at all. These are not peripheral statistics. They describe the daily reality of hundreds of thousands of people.
Building the case for change
In 2025, Engage, Care England and Nightingale Hammerson came together to publish a whitepaper examining hearing loss in care homes and setting out the case for change across the sector. The paper brought together frontline experience, sector insight and practical evidence to look beyond hearing aids alone and consider the much wider impact hearing loss can have on daily life.
It explored how unidentified or poorly supported hearing loss can affect a person’s ability to communicate, participate in activities, maintain relationships and engage with the people around them. It also highlighted the implications for care teams, from understanding an individual’s communication needs to creating environments and routines that make it easier for people to hear, understand and be understood.
Crucially, the whitepaper was not simply about identifying a problem. It set out practical opportunities for care providers to improve their approach, including greater awareness among staff, better identification and recording of hearing needs, more effective communication, improved use and maintenance of hearing equipment, and environments that take hearing accessibility into account.
The message was clear: hearing loss should not be treated as an inevitable part of ageing that care services can do little about. There are practical changes that providers and care teams can make, many of them small, which can have a significant impact on people’s independence, inclusion and day-to-day experience.
That work provided the foundation for Small Changes, Big Difference, taking the evidence and recommendations from the whitepaper and turning them into practical resources, conversations and actions that providers can use across their services.
From evidence to action
In 2025, Engage, Care England and Nightingale Hammerson came together to publish a whitepaper examining hearing loss in care homes and setting out the case for change across the sector. The paper brought together frontline experience, sector insight and practical evidence to look beyond hearing aids alone and consider the much wider impact hearing loss can have on daily life.
It explored how unidentified or poorly supported hearing loss can affect a person’s ability to communicate, participate in activities, maintain relationships and engage with the people around them. It also highlighted the implications for care teams, from understanding an individual’s communication needs to creating environments and routines that make it easier for people to hear, understand and be understood.
Crucially, the whitepaper was not simply about identifying a problem. It set out practical opportunities for care providers to improve their approach, including greater awareness among staff, better identification and recording of hearing needs, more effective communication, improved use and maintenance of hearing equipment, and environments that take hearing accessibility into account.
The message was clear: hearing loss should not be treated as an inevitable part of ageing that care services can do little about. There are practical changes that providers and care teams can make, many of them small, which can have a significant impact on people’s independence, inclusion and day-to-day experience.
That work provided the foundation for Small Changes, Big Difference, taking the evidence and recommendations from the whitepaper and turning them into practical resources, conversations and actions that providers can use across their services.
Bringing the sector together
The Small Changes. Big Difference. campaign will formally launch at a national event in London on 17 November 2026, bringing together senior leaders from across adult social care to focus on how we can improve support for people living with hearing loss.
The event will mark the start of the campaign’s next phase, building on the evidence, articles, resources and sector engagement developed in the months leading up to it. Through expert insight, practical discussion and shared learning, we will explore the changes care providers can make to improve communication, hearing aid support and the environments in which people live.
Most importantly, the event will be an opportunity for the sector to come together around a shared commitment to change. The aim is simple: to make better hearing support part of everyday good care, so that fewer people experience avoidable isolation, frustration or exclusion because of hearing loss.
The work will continue beyond 17 November, with the campaign providing an ongoing platform for practical action, shared learning and wider sector engagement.
The Small Changes. Big Difference. Programme is now live
The full programme for our Small Changes. Big Difference. national launch event on 17 November 2026 is now live.
Taking place at Nightingale Hammerson in London, the event will bring together senior leaders, providers, partners and experts from across adult social care to explore how the sector can improve the way hearing loss is recognised, understood and supported in care homes.
The programme sets out a day of practical discussion, shared learning and sector leadership, with a strong focus on turning evidence into action and building lasting change beyond the event itself.
Please note: The below form is an expression of interest form, you will receive an email invitation in due course.
Small Changes. Big Difference. Campaign Materials
In the lead-up to the event, Care England and Engage will publish a series of practical articles exploring the impact of hearing loss in care homes and the simple steps providers can take to improve support for residents. Covering everything from communication, hearing aids and accessible environments to wellbeing and the financial case for better hearing support, the series will help turn awareness into practical action across care services.
Read about the launch of our Campaign here!
Why hearing loss should be a priority in care homes
Understanding the impact of hearing loss in care homes
Five simple ways to improve communication
Ten ways to make events more hearing
accessible
Stay Tuned for Article 5!…
Stay Tuned for Article 6!…
Stay Tuned for Article 7!…
Who are Engage?
Engage are the leading experts in the UK for deaf awareness training and development for care staff. They were inspired to set up this innovative service, having identified the scandalous lack of response to the World of Silence report – the plight of people with hearing loss in care homes, published by RNID back in 2012. The report highlighted the loneliness and isolation experienced by older people with hearing loss living in care homes and recommended actions.
Engage was set up to help care homes address this. Since 2016, we’ve worked with more than 40 care services and trained over 4000 staff and 160 Hearing Loss Champions. They go beyond training to achieve sustained culture change. The outcomes achieved are overall better quality of life, health and wellbeing for people living with hearing loss.
MEET
OUR SPONSORS
We are proud to be supported by a fantastic group of sponsors who have helped make this event possible. Their backing enables us to bring the sector together, share practical learning and drive forward the ambitions of the campaign. We are hugely grateful for their support and commitment.
“Improving hearing support in care homes can make an enormous difference to people’s independence, confidence and quality of life. This campaign is about turning that ambition into practical action, and I am extremely grateful to our sponsors for helping us make it possible. Their support means we can bring the sector together, share what works and make better hearing support part of everyday care.”
Professor Martin Green OBE
Boots Hearing Care
Boots Hearingcare is one of the leading private hearing care providers in the UK with hearing care services in over 400 locations. With over 40 years experience in providing expert hearing care, Boots Hearingcare offers a large range of products in varying styles and price. More information about Boots Hearingcare can be found on www.bootshearingcare.com
Symphony Sound
Symphony Sound helps care homes create clearer, more inclusive environments for people with hearing loss. Their specialist technology combines wireless microphones, soundfield speakers, direct hearing-aid connectivity, neckloops and headphones, supporting people both with and without hearing aids. The system can be used during activities, entertainment, meetings, dining, faith services and family visits, helping residents hear speech more clearly and participate with greater confidence. More information about Symphony Sound can be found on https://symphonysound.co.uk/