Recently, under the guidance of the Department of Aging Health of the National Health Commission, the National "Action for Promoting Hearing Health among the Elderly (2024-2027)" series of training and free medical consultation public welfare activities were successfully held in Zoucheng City, Shandong Province. The event was hosted by the Chinese Society of Geriatrics and organized by the Ear Science Branch. It brought free hearing health check-ups and professional technical training to rural grassroots areas, effectively bridging the "last mile" of hearing health services for the elderly in rural areas.

With the intensification of population aging, age-related hearing loss has become a significant public health issue threatening the physical and mental health of the elderly. Hearing loss increases the risks of cognitive decline, falls, depression, and loneliness among the elderly. Conducting early screening, prevention, and intervention for hearing in the elderly is an important measure to practice a positive view of aging, promote healthy aging, and contribute to the construction of a healthy China. This event is based on the actual hearing health needs of the elderly in rural areas and adopts a dual-track model of free medical consultations and specialized training to promote the downward flow of specialized medical resources to rural areas.

On October 31st, an expert team conducted a free medical consultation at Zoulu Xinqi Hospital. Experts in the field of otorhinolaryngology from across the country provided one-on-one hearing health consultations to over 200 rural elderly people. Audiologists completed more than 80 free audiological tests and provided personalized hearing assistance intervention and referral guidance plans based on the individual conditions of the elderly. At the same time, they carried out ear protection science popularization and education to convey the concept of "early detection, early diagnosis, and early intervention" in hearing health to the public. Enable rural elderly people to enjoy national-level expert medical services right at their doorstep.

On November 1st, a special training session on elderly hearing health was held at the New Era Civilization Practice Lecture Hall in Houbailigou Village, Zoucheng City. The training was conducted in a combination of online and offline formats. Over 300 grassroots medical workers and villagers' representatives participated in the training on-site, while the live broadcast attracted 3,860 relevant practitioners from across the country to watch and learn. Wang Qiuju, Xu Anting and other domestic experts in the fields of otolaryngology and geriatrics gave lectures on key topics such as the "Implementation Plan for Promoting Hearing Health in the Elderly", diagnosis and treatment of deafness and tinnitus in the elderly, and the connection between hearing and systemic diseases. They shared the ten-word mnemonic for ear protection in the elderly and conducted interactive discussions focusing on the practical difficulties in grassroots clinical operations to make up for the shortcomings in the hearing health service capabilities at the grassroots level.

This event at Zoucheng Station is a vivid practice of the implementation of the national "Action for Promoting Hearing Health among the Elderly (2024-2027)" in counties and rural areas. By providing free medical consultations to directly serve the elderly and empowering the grassroots medical team through training, a service platform has been established where national-level academic societies, medical institutions and rural bases work in coordination and interaction. Next, the Chinese Society of Geriatrics will continue to promote the allocation of elderly hearing health resources to grassroots and rural areas, popularize the concept of scientific ear protection, improve the integrated service chain of screening, diagnosis, rehabilitation and follow-up, safeguard the clear hearing of hundreds of millions of elderly people, and help enhance the sense of happiness and gain of the elderly group.