Help for Hearing Impairment

cazziebo

:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: I am the HR department! (along with other responsibilities!) Only 7 of us in the office, and mostly we're out and about in the rest of the organisation.

Thanks for your post - it's so great to see I'm not alone!

somebody_else

cazziebo wrote: »

My problem is other people's attitudes. I work in a small office, and I've explained to colleagues that I have a hearing problem, can they quieten down when I'm on the phone, and not send stuff to the printer. They think it's a bit of a joke. Similarly, at home, my children don't take it seriously at all, and having mumbled something several times which I haven't heard, then say "Doesn't matter". Worst of all is probably the bf - strong glaswegian accent of which he is so proud - I have to ask him to repeat everything several times. (Why can some people not open their mouths when they speak?!)

It really gets me down sometimes - especially as I know it can only get worse. I'm not interested in benefits etc as thankfully I've got a good job that I love, but would there be any point in getting some sort of "proof" that what I have is "real"? Is there such proof?

If asking nicely doesn't work (and this will only really work if you're not in the habit of doing it), have you considered losing your rag? I know most of us don't like doing it, but I'll give you an example.

I had a swivel bather and a toilet frame installed in my bathroom. Every time my son went to have a shower, he took the bather off the bath and forgot to put it back. Frequently, when he went to the toilet, he'd move the frame away from the toilet and forgot to put it back when he'd finished. Which left me with no 'support' when I wanted a shower or needed to go to the toilet. I did ask him nicely several times not to do it, he'd be very apologetic and then promptly forget to put things back again. I'm afraid one day I just got thoroughly fed up with it and had a right go at him about it. I will confess that I did feel very guilty about it afterwards, but since then he's always put the frame back round the toilet and has taken to moving the bather to the other end of the bath instead of taking it off the bath and putting it on the floor.

Like I say, I wouldn't recommend it as the first course of action, but if all else fails?

somebody_else

cazziebo wrote: »

:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: I am the HR department! (along with other responsibilities!) Only 7 of us in the office, and mostly we're out and about in the rest of the organisation.

Thanks for your post - it's so great to see I'm not alone!

Have you considered speaking to your line manager about the issues in the office? Maybe a word from someone more senior might have an effect?

I do sympathise, as I know how difficult it can be to listen on the phone while someone with a loud voice is carrying on a conversation elsewhere in the office.

cazziebo

Might try that, somebody else. I never lose it, usually just smile and get on with things so worth a try.

I'm next to the MD, and as he's the worst offender then nowhere to escalate - unless I threaten to get nasty and mention the DDA. (although that's not really me).

That's the problem really - it's a small team, male, informal. My colleagues are not being deliberately ignorant; they do think it's just something else to make a joke about. I do feel guilty in not making more of an issue of it - these attitudes shouldn't be accepted, and by not doing anything about it I'm accepting it.

rosieben

Things aren't going to improve unless you make an issue of it but its possible to do that nicely I think (it sounds as if you're like me and would prefer to go the 'nice' route though unfortunately that doesn't always get us anywhere). Have you talked to anyone at Access to Work? they may be able to support you and give some advice and I suspect they may even talk to your employer to discuss ways of dealing with the problem (not sure about this last one but at least worth asking).

I worked with an all male, mostly young, team who were really good. The atmosphere was really friendly and I felt a part of the team - they would throw paper balls at me to attract my attention but also they would make sure that I was sitting in a position to hear what was going on at meetings and would include me in their jokes (not all of them thank goodness, just the less rude ones!). Sadly I had to leave that job as I moved but I think they would have been supportive throughout and had also bought equipment to help me do the job. So even if it comes to the point where you have to look for a different job, don't despair there are supportive employers and colleagues out there!

somebody_else

cazziebo wrote: »

Might try that, somebody else. I never lose it, usually just smile and get on with things so worth a try.

I'm next to the MD, and as he's the worst offender then nowhere to escalate - unless I threaten to get nasty and mention the DDA. (although that's not really me).

That's the problem really - it's a small team, male, informal. My colleagues are not being deliberately ignorant; they do think it's just something else to make a joke about. I do feel guilty in not making more of an issue of it - these attitudes shouldn't be accepted, and by not doing anything about it I'm accepting it.

Phew. Wasn't sure my first suggestion would go down too well, to be honest.

One of the biggest problems in situations like this is that there's no real way of getting others who don't have hearing/sight/mobility problems to fully understand how these issues affect us.

It might be that you have to get very insistent about the effect your hearing loss is having on you. My local age concern used to run 'training courses' for want of a better word for people who were volunteering with them. They'd have to wear cloudy glasses, or weights on their arms and legs, (not sure how they replicated hearing impairment) for a whole day to give the volunteers (especially the younger ones) some idea of what it was like to be getting older and more infirm. The one drawback to this was that at the end of the day they could say goodbye to the impairments, so didn't get a real taste of what it was like to live with them day after day with no hope of things getting better.

Good luck with whatever course of action you decide to take.

Savvy_Sue

I'd thoroughly recommend lipreading classes, if you can find one near you. As well as marginally improving my lipreading (obviously), our class gives a huge amount of support to each other in terms of discovering different coping strategies, and swapping equipment tips!

I was gutted to find they weren't running it as an evening class this year but a bit of agitation means they may be restarting from January.

ninja-lewis

Very helpful thread.

I'm profoundly deaf in my left hear with a hearing air and have no useful hearing whatsoever in my left as a result of Meningitis when I was 3. Other than that I've always been fairly 'normal' - mainstream school, oral (no BSL or formal lip reading), no interaction with other deaf kids, and just got on with it.Interesting to see how much help is available though Access to Work schemes. When I was at school I worked hard enough to teach myself the subjects so the school didn't realise just how difficult it was! However, now I'm at university I have access to electronic note takers, which are essential - without them I could not cope at all.

There were a couple of issues mentioned in this thread I'd like to add to:

Hearing aid batteries: I used to get these free from the Department of Education lady who visited me at school to check my aid every week. Then the Council stopped the teachers giving them away and you had to go to hospital to get them. They would only give you one packet at time in return for a packet of fully-run batteries (anyone with an analogue aid knows the sound decreases as the battery nears the end). Therefore it was far easier to buy them in boots. Now I see quite a few people get them through the hospital so do they still have these conditions?

Moulds: I get my from a local private clinic who I have trusted for years and they are spot on every time - get them back within a week for £40. The NHS paediatric audiology department had a few attempts but they were absolutely horrendous - they would come back in the wrong type (hard instead of soft) and didn't fit - once they just chopped the tip and said "there you go". So it's worth paying for the mould if you have to IME.

Swimming: I was taught on a 1-to-1 basis by a student at the local PE College. We then had swimming lessons as a class at school. The trick was to position myself in the shallow end (teacher always started with the deep end) and watch what everyone else did. Applied the same principle for outside sports too.

I think I may also suffer from tinnitus from time to time. Unfortunately it's exactly the same sound as the fire alarm, which makes me a bit paranoid! (as if I wasn't already because of constant worrying about whether I've missed something or if someone is talking to me) I've never tried any of the vibrating/flashing alarms - I simply keep my aid in all the time. I feel vulnerable without it now. My biggest bugbear is when looking at the specialist equipment on the RNID site such as the phones - they're all great big ugly wired ones with large keys for your granny. Rather frustrating when all you need is for a little bit more volume from normal models.

altocumulus

ninja-lewis wrote: »

,,,,,,,,,,,, Unfortunately it's exactly the same sound as the fire alarm, which makes me a bit paranoid! .

he he he, :rotfl:when I walk I often set up a rhythm, with my tinnitus, that sounds just like a fire engine/ambulance/police car siren speeding towards me ...

rosieben

ninja-lewis wrote: »

... They would only give you one packet at time in return for a packet of fully-run batteries (anyone with an analogue aid knows the sound decreases as the battery nears the end). Therefore it was far easier to buy them in boots. Now I see quite a few people get them through the hospital so do they still have these conditions?
.....
Moulds: I get my from a local private clinic who I have trusted for years and they are spot on every time - get them back within a week for £40. The NHS paediatric audiology department had a few attempts but they were absolutely horrendous - they would come back in the wrong type (hard instead of soft) and didn't fit - once they just chopped the tip and said "there you go". So it's worth paying for the mould if you have to IME. ...

I've never had to swap old batteries for new so must be a regional thing. I used to get mine from the hospital (after audiology dept told me off for buying my own as they are part of the prescription!) but now I get them from my Dr's surgery whenever I call in or else I send my brown book and SAE and they will post to me.

I've had NHS moulds ever since I lost my hearing and never had a problem. It might be worth trying your audiology dept again?

I admire you for the way you coped with your hearing loss at school, and I'm glad you're getting help at Uni. :T