The majority of people that know me, know that l am deaf. However, l do not have any speech impediment so if l am wearing my hair down it is not obvious to strangers. It’s easier in the summer time as l have accessorised my hearing aids with brightly coloured stickers and had the moulds made in matching colours so they stand out quite well.
It would be nice to have them made brightly coloured but l believe you need to go private for that option. I have been wearing hearing aids since l was a teenager, l have a moderate to profound bilateral hearing loss. I have been under the local NHS audiology team for many years. It was extremely hard at school as back in the early 80’s there wasn’t the understanding and adjustments that we have now. Back then my teacher would have to wear a receiver round their neck which was the size and shape of a brick and nearly as heavy, and l would have to have a box that looked like a really naff briefcase under my desk.
This created a loop with my aids to enable me to hear. You can imagine the stick l got about this. However, l suppose they do say what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. I spent 30+ years working in retail all the way up to management levels, l did presentations to staff teams and loved working with customers.
Eventually though this became unworkable, l could no longer hear the customers, mainly because of back ground noise, especially when there was music playing. I lost a lot of confidence during this time. I decided to leave retail and started working as an administrator, this was fine for the first two years, but after another ear infection and more loss l found answering the telephone extremely difficult.
This caused a lot of issues within my department, (mainly negative attitudes. I have since moved to another department.) I was taking my aid out to answer the phone, by the end of the day l was totally exhausted and had to have an hour’s nap on arriving home most nights. On discussing these issues with the audiology team, they decided to upgrade my hearing aids to the danalogic Actio. Wow what a difference! I feel l have my life back!
The danalogic Actio aids are Bluetooth enabled. I have an App on my phone called BeMore which l can use to adjust the aids. I can answer the phone, calls on mobiles stream straight to my hearing aids, l can play music or watch videos on my phone, and they stream straight into my aids so no one else around me can hear any of it.
If l go anywhere noisy they automatically adjust to lower the background noise without lowering the voices close around me. I can also adjust this manually using the app. The restaurant setting is extremely useful as it works directionally, it filters all the background noise down, leaving the people in close proximity clearer.
It has filters and adjustments you can use if someone’s voice is proving difficult, you can raise or lower the bass or treble. I do not need to use that part very often, but it is invaluable on the times l have. Sound in general is so much clearer, less mechanical sounding, more how, l remember sounds to be.
They have meant l no longer shun social engagements, as with the various programmes available l can manage a nosy restaurant, cinema, travelling. Some things are still difficult like hearing announcements on tannoys – but my hearing friends seem to have trouble with these too.
Work wise l have a Multi Mic, which is an accessory that you can get for these aids. It means most calls now come through my laptop via teams and stream straight to my aids. I can also audiotype! – Most people are astounded that there is a deaf member of staff who audio type’s all the department’s letters. All this has made huge strides in restoring my confidence (coupled with better attitudes in the new dept). So much so that in March l have been asked to do a PowerPoint presentation on teams to a group of staff. I can thank Danalogic and the audiology team for giving me my life back – sounds dramatic but it’s true.