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Brain Health Roadshow – In Partnership with Dementia Australia
In Partnership with Dementia Australia
Regional Victoria
April 2026
From the community
The conversation began with a simple question: what can we all do to look after our brain health as we get older? Through the Brain Health Roadshow, Country Hearing Care partnered with Dementia Australia to take that conversation directly into regional communities.
Working closely with local First Nations communities and groups, the initiative provided education and practical information about dementia risk factors and prevention strategies, while highlighting an important connection that can sometimes be overlooked: the relationship between hearing health and brain health.
Making Prevention Part of the Conversation
Dementia can be a difficult subject to talk about. But conversations about risk reduction and healthy ageing don’t have to wait until concerns arise. The Brain Health Roadshow created
an opportunity for people to learn, ask questions and consider the things they can do throughout life to support their overall health.
For some visitors, the information provided a new perspective on familiar health behaviours; for others, it prompted conversations with parents, partners, friends or members of their community.
The Crucial Role of Hearing
One of the key messages of the roadshow was that hearing loss is recognised as one of the major modifiable risk factors associated with dementia. That doesn’t mean hearing loss causes dementia, or that treating hearing loss prevents dementia. Rather, it highlights the importance of considering hearing as part of broader healthy ageing and brain health conversations. Hearing is about communication, connection and participation—and maintaining those things can be an important part of living well.
Listening to Community
An important element of the roadshow was its work with local First Nations communities. Meaningful outreach requires more than simply delivering information. It requires listening, building
relationships and understanding the needs and experiences of each community. The partnership with Dementia Australia brought together different areas of expertise and created a
broader conversation around healthy ageing.
Recognition for Rural Outreach
The impact of the Brain Health Roadshow was recognised when Country Hearing Care was named the winner of the Outstanding Contribution to Rural Outreach Provision Award at the 2026
Victorian Rural Health Awards. For the Country Hearing Care team, the recognition reflected the people behind the initiative and, most importantly, the communities who welcomed the roadshow.
“The strength of the roadshow was the collaboration. The different organisations brought different expertise, but everyone was working towards the same goal—supporting the community.”
— Malcolm Comfort, CHC Managing Director
Why this story matters
Not everyone who attended needed a hearing test. Not everyone was ready to make a change—and that was okay. Sometimes healthcare begins with information. Sometimes it begins with a conversation.
And sometimes it simply begins with someone realising that looking after their hearing could be part of looking after their broader health. Through initiatives such as the Brain Health Roadshow, Country Hearing Care is proud to help make those conversations easier to have. Better health in regional communities starts with making good information accessible—and giving people the opportunity to act on it.
Students at the Swan Hill Allied Health Work Experience Week Graduation Lunch had spent the week exploring the possibilities available across allied health. For Country Hearing Care Audiologist Tia Liu, being invited as guest speaker was a chance to show students what a career in audiology can look like—and the opportunities that exist in regional Australia.
The Bendigo Seniors Expo brought together members of the local community for a day of information, connection and ideas for living well. Country Hearing Care’s Bendigo Clinical Team Lead, Courtney Di Battista, attended to meet visitors, answer questions and talk about an aspect of healthy ageing that can sometimes be overlooked: hearing.
The Bendigo Health Foundation Supporter Appreciation Event brought together businesses, community organisations and supporters who share a common goal: strengthening healthcare for people across the Bendigo region. Country Hearing Care attended as a proud Friend of Bendigo Health and joined an evening recognising the contribution of supporters across the region.
The morning sun was already warming the fields around Gunbower when the Country Hearing Care Mobile Hearing Van arrived at Harvesting Health. Local farmers, agricultural workers and families had gathered for a day focused on health and wellbeing, creating a familiar and relaxed setting to talk about something that can easily be overlooked in busy rural lives: hearing health.
