This is a bit of a new one for me… but here goes…
It’s a bit lengthy, so bear with me. The majority of people that know me personally will know that I am deaf and I wear hearing aids. People that don’t know me won’t know this, of course, first meetings etc, it’s never noticeable. I don’t have a speech impediment; my hearing aids are usually hidden.
What astounds me still after almost 40 years (really) is if I say ‘sorry can you repeat that, I’m deaf’ the amount of people who laugh and genuinely believe that I’m joking is insane! Maybe it’s a nervous reaction? not quite sure what to say or whether to believe me, as for some reason, I could be joking?! Why would I? 🙂
This post isn’t actually to rant 😀 it’s a really positive post, something that has changed my working life in fact.. Just over a year ago, I started investigating what was out there for people like me, with respect to making my workday easier.
Not sure how many this will resonate with, but I am constantly having to remove my hearing aids to make and receive calls whilst using a headset, 10, 20, 30 times a day, it is tiresome, so much so, I stopped wearing my aids on so many occasions, sometimes for years at a time!
This time it’s different, I’ve stuck it out, I wear them every day regardless, because I want to hear my colleagues and join in with conversations and the office banter, I want to be a part of the team. Last week, so much changed for me after 12 months of searching for an accessory to help me in the workplace (if it existed) and after trial and error of other recommended accessories, I received my device, after over 14 years in the industry things were about to change!
To say I was excited is an understatement! For a whole week I haven’t had to remove my hearing aids once, I haven’t had to wear headphones, my Teams calls connect via Bluetooth and come straight through to my hearing aids!! It’s revolutionary!!
And on top of that, today I stopped wearing my Samsung buds, instead I connected my hearing aids to my mobile phone and listened to my music!! Yes, it can be a little glitchy, but I can handle it, it works…