A health and care worker with hearing loss calls for empathy and understanding

Darja Pajk works as an occupational therapist at a long-term care facility in Slovenia for people with intellectual and physical impairments. She lives with severe hearing loss in both ears.

Her cochlear implants (surgically implanted hearing devices that provide a sense of sound to those with significant hearing loss), beautifully decorated with music notes, help her cope with her hearing loss.

Cochlear implants make a big difference for Darja. Yet like all people who use hearing devices, she still sometimes misses parts of conversations, especially in noisy places. The years when her hearing loss was very severe and her hearing aids were not providing enough benefit were extremely difficult for her, especially at work.

With smiling eyes, Darja shares that some patients at the long-term care facility where she works were faster at adjusting to her hearing loss than her colleagues. Daria points out that her colleagues, who were trained to support people with disabilities, still had some trouble and needed time to adjust to a co-worker’s disability.

WHO/Europe recognizes the vital role of health and care workers in strong and resilient health systems, and the importance of investing in their education and training and workforce optimization. Properly trained, supported and protected, formal long-term care workers like Darja increase the quality of care that users receive.

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HEAR DARJA’S STORY HERE

7 March 2025