How many people miss a concert, a theater performance, or simply an evening out because they can’t hear and fully participate?
This is one of the questions we began with on October 12th at the Turin Academy of Medicine, during the roundtable discussion “Hearing Loss, Culture, and Society,” promoted as part of the Trame d’Ascolto project by the Cultura e Salute association.
A rich discussion, bringing together the scientific, healthcare, cultural, and community sectors, with the participation of, among others, the Soundset Association, the Teatro Stabile di Torino, the Rivoli Music Institute, Uni Health Points, the School of Specialization in Audiology and Phoniatrics, the Degree Program in Audiometry at the University of Turin, and RAI.
The discussion highlighted several key points.
– Technological solutions exist, but simply existing isn’t enough. They must be recognized, adopted, and made truly available.
– Accessibility must be planned from the design stage, not added later to meet perceived special needs.
– Awareness must transcend specialized contexts and become a shared heritage, because hearing loss affects millions of people of all ages and can lead to isolation and social exclusion.
I found the call for the need to move beyond a vision of accessibility as a purely technical or health-related issue particularly important. It is also, and above all, a cultural and social issue.
This process also includes the collaboration with Narrazioni Parallele, in the belief that culture can help build relationships, break down barriers, and promote new forms of participation.
The Trame d’Ascolto project is supported by the Piedmont Region, with the support of the Akusia Foundation, and is being developed thanks to the collaboration of a network that includes Lucas, the University of Turin – Department of Surgical Sciences, APIC, and MED-EL Italia.
The process continues, with the aim of transforming awareness into concrete practices.
