The New Norm

It’s time to change perceptions of hearing aids

Too many people still see hearing aids through a narrow lens - as a sign of limitation, rather than an everyday tool for staying connected on your own terms.

We want to help shift that by encouraging media imagery that reflects the real diversity of people who use hearing technology. In our new campaign, New Norm vol. 2 for World Hearing Day, you’ll meet five individuals pursuing their paths and priorities - living life their way, with just a little hearing assistance.

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Meet the faces of The New Norm vol. 2

The New Norm photography campaign aims to challenge the outdated misconceptions of hearing aids and living with hearing loss and foster an environment where wearing hearing aids is seen as a symbol of empowerment and an integral part of enjoying life longer.

Last time we set out to change perceptions of hearing aids. Now it’s time to change perceptions of living with hearing aids. Let’s face it: nothing lives in a studio. If we want to change the norm, we need to see hearing aids out there in the real world and how it impacts the actual life of people using them.

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Bjørn Valentin, Actor and entrepreneur

Seven years ago, actor, model, and entrepreneur Bjørn Valentin couldn’t figure out why his fridge one minute was noisy, then completely silent the next. One day it hit him: He had a hearing loss in his right ear. Bjørn’s hearing aids help him when he is working, seeing plays, and having conversations when driving.

Bjørn Valentin, born in 1991, works as an actor and model. On top of that, he’s the CEO and co-founder of Lentii, a tool for holiday planning. He lives in Aarhus with his girlfriend.

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Johanna Højland, Studying jewelry design

In school, Johanna Højland tended to daydream. It was often described as a “concentration issue". But later, working as a waitress in a busy restaurant, she realized it wasn’t about focus: There were simply things she couldn’t hear. Johanna, now 26 and working as a jewelry designer, says getting hearing aids has made a huge improvement to her quality of life.

Johanna Højland was born in 1999 and designs jewelry in her own name, Højland Jewellery.

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Morten Paustian, Architect

Morten Paustian, a successful architect based in Copenhagen, can’t recall a time when he was not wearing hearing aids. Morten found great joy in drawing at school; he feels this was partly due to his hearing and ability to go inside a fantasy world. Morten functions and thrives in society with his hearing aids - when he takes them out, there’s silence.

Morten Paustian, born in 1965 in greater Copenhagen, is a trained architect from the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. Formerly a partner at Kim Utzon Arkitekter, he now runs Paustian Arkitekt.

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Lin Ly, Financial controller at Ganni

As a child, Lin Ly was diagnosed with hearing loss, but it wasn’t until a colleague at a company party many years later asked her directly, that Lin started to acknowledge it herself. In the years before Lin got her hearing aids, she withdrew from social situations. Now, she finds great joy in reconnecting with the world - and her nieces.

Lin Ly, born in 1982 in a refugee camp in Hong Kong, works as a VAT and accounting controller at Danish fashion brand GANNI.

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Ruqiya Saleh, Head of After School Care

No one really knows why Ruqiya Saleh has hearing loss, but it was discovered by doctors when she was four years old. Throughout the years, Ruqiya did well at school, but in adulthood she began to isolate herself from social situations. Only many years later - encouraged by her daughter - she finally got a hearing aid. It has, she says, opened the world to her.

Ruqiya Saleh, born in 1972, works as a Head of After School Care in Copenhagen. She was born in London to Tanzanian parents and moved to Denmark when she was 4 years old.

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The New Norm vol. 2