Integrating Lived Experiences into Audiology Education to Bridge the Empathy Gap

Community-engaged learning (CEL) offers a unique opportunity to bring the lived experience of hearing loss into the classroom, enhancing empathy and the implementation of person-centered care (PCC) among audiology students. This paper describes an initiative at the University of Connecticut that integrated CEL into an advanced hearing aids course. Students engaged with patient narratives through the book Hear & Beyond and attended a community meeting hosted by Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA). Reflections demonstrated enhanced awareness of real-world challenges and a renewed commitment to PCC. This pilot project offers a model for incorporating CEL into audiology education to improve hearing care outcomes.