On 14 November 2016 the Marshal of the Senate of the Republic of Poland Stanisław Karczewski had invited the active and full of professional, social and physical senior citizens for the meeting ‘Active, healthy ageing’. The occasion for the meeting was the National Day of Seniors; the intent of the meeting was to formulate the conclusions relating to the most effective forms of activity and inspiring senior citizens to joining them.

The representatives of the Institute of Physiology and Pathology of Hearing – Beata Dziendziel, Justyna Kutyba, Joanna Rajchel, Izabela Pajdała-Kusińska and Monika Miąskiewicz – during the meeting in the Senate had joined in the prevention of hearing loss among seniors conducting hearing screening examinations, which were met with a very large interest. According to the studies conducted in the Institute of Physiology and Pathology of Hearing it is estimated that hearing loss touches about 50% of people after 65 year of life, statistically more often men than women. Hearing loss in the retirement age does not have to lead to the social exclusion. Today our possibilities of treatment of various hearing disorders are enormous. Besides different types of hearing aids, in the therapy of hearing disorders in seniors the Institute of Physiology and Pathology of Hearing uses also hearing implants: cochlear, middle ear, bone conduction devices focusing on the optimal delivery of sound to the inner ear or direct stimulation of the inner ear. These are the state of the art devices and there are age limitations as to their application. Thanks to them many people with different degrees of hearing loss can hear well and communicate, staying active for the long years.

The visit in the Senate had been for the seniors an occasion to learn about the principles of the Program 500+ and fully refundable drugs for people over 75. In the meeting participated also the Minister of Family, Labor and Social Policy Elżbieta Rafalska, Deputy Minister of Sport and Tourism Witold Bańka, Deputy Minister of Health Marek Tombarkiewicz and Chairman of the Coalition for Healthy Ageing Prof. Bolesław Samoliński. Minister Elżbieta Rafalska had reminded demographic forecasts saying that before 2050 the population of Poland will shrink by more than 4.5mln of people. Following further prognoses the number of children and adults will decrease significantly and the proportion of people over 60 years will grow from today’s 22% to 40%. This is why the social policy focusing on seniors has been adopted as a priority. The Council for Senior Policy had been created at the Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Policy as a platform of open dialog about the problems of ageing and their counteracting. Deputy Minister Marek Tombarkiewicz had presented in detail different possibilities of physical activity, mentioning also the intergenerational sport activities. Seniors participating in the meeting took also part in the Nordic walking practice with Marshal Stanisław Karczewski and Ministers.