Hearing Loss

For those of you who know me, you will know I have a significant hearing loss and wear hearing aids. Hearing aids are just that an aid. They don't fix the problem.

I find accents, and people who speak very softly incredibly difficult to hear orunderstand and in large groups I often don't hear anything - it is just a whole lot of noise that doesnt make any sense.

The purpose in me writing this on the blog is I don't think people who have good hearing understand how debilitating and disabling hearing loss is. Many people just retreat into their shell and don't speak out about it.

I am not one of those people. I do speak out and I do ask questions. I havr never felt happy how I was handled by audiologists either. The reason for this is I know they understand hearing loss but I don't think they understand the people who have hearing loss.

When you go to see them or have hearing aids adjusted it is in a totally false situations - a sound proof room with audiologists who have very clear speaking voices with good clear tone and timbre.

What happens when you leave this false environment, the general noise hits you - you have suddenly faced with so much noise it can be very unsettling and make you cringe.

Do we take any of these things into considerations for people in our care who have hearing loss? I don't think so. If you don't know what it is like to be hearing impaired it is impossible to identify with a person who is.

So give a little thought when people look at you blankley, retreat to their room or misinterpret what you say. If they have hearing aids, take good care of them, make sure they are free of wax are clean and the battery is working.

Believe me, it is no fun not being able to hear. And for you, if you have good hearing, protect it and look after it. It cannot be repaired or replaced and it worthwhile treasuring.