Help for Hearing Impairment

ninja-lewis

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

I think that local authorities social services depts should have a Social Worker who provides advice etc to clients with hearing problems. Whether this person would be able to arrange a stamp, I don't know - possibly only if you were already known to them.

How long will your battery book be gone for? The railcards themselves seem to come extremely quickly!

I don't actually have a battery book at all so will need to go down the hospital to get one. Never had one in paedriatic audiology and it's now far easier to buy them from the local chemist than travel to the hospital every time.

Savvy_Sue

ninja-lewis wrote: »

I don't actually have a battery book at all so will need to go down the hospital to get one. Never had one in paedriatic audiology and it's now far easier to buy them from the local chemist than travel to the hospital every time.

Ah, but they are FREE from the hospital! :money: I can also pick them up from some local surgeries: worth checking with the hospital all the places you can pick them up, or whether you can request them by post?

I know it's called a battery book, but mine also has details of my aid and its settings and any problems I've had. Surprised you don't have anything similar - or have you only just 'graduated' from paediatric audiology?

rosieben

ninja-lewis wrote: »

I don't actually have a battery book at all so will need to go down the hospital to get one. Never had one in paedriatic audiology and it's now far easier to buy them from the local chemist than travel to the hospital every time.

I got told off by the audiologist for buying batteries, he said they're part of my prescription. I get them from my doctor's surgery which is much easier than the hospital, and they will send by post if I send my book and an SAE as I live a bus journey away

dizzybuff

bit late with this one ( as usual )

I have a high frequency bi-aural sever deafness, I wear 2 aids and get my batts from the docs.. I cant hear surrounding noises or people behind me . My aids help but my deafness is so strange it is hard to get the frequency right .

I was diagnosed when I was 23 thought i was going mad .. but the diagnosis made sense.

Because of my deafness my education has suffered. I have problems with dyslexia , spelling , language and balance..

Although i have worked hard and i am now doing a masters with help from the council with my language structure.

I have specialist language software at work and on me pooti which helps alot .

All in all I am me , Im deaf i dont care and i'll get where i bloody well want in my own time with hard graft

I thank you mexxxx:D

MrsCook_2

re battery book, when i have asked for batteries i dont have my book, its disappeared somewhere in the house but its not a problem getting batteries because details are held on the computer. not used a battery book for years to be honest.

also not all surgeries stock batteries, mines doesnt but i know of one outwith my area that does. info is usually up on a poster at your audiology dept or at the surgery

MrsCook_2

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

I think that local authorities social services depts should have a Social Worker who provides advice etc to clients with hearing problems. Whether this person would be able to arrange a stamp, I don't know - possibly only if you were already known to them.

How long will your battery book be gone for? The railcards themselves seem to come extremely quickly!

it used to be that the deaf community had their own social worker to deal with all their stuff but this all changed quite a few years ago when everyone regardless of what kind of disability they had got lumped under hte occupational therapy dept.

its a lot of faffing around now, old days equipment came pretty quick but now its a few months referrels etc.

for concessionary cards it was a case of going into the local council office getting your card and back out the door. now you have to get a letter from your audiologist dept to say you qualify for the concessionaries. still havent been yet as i lost my letter so need to do it all over again.

ninja-lewis

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

Ah, but they are FREE from the hospital! :money: I can also pick them up from some local surgeries: worth checking with the hospital all the places you can pick them up, or whether you can request them by post?

I know it's called a battery book, but mine also has details of my aid and its settings and any problems I've had. Surprised you don't have anything similar - or have you only just 'graduated' from paediatric audiology?

Moved up a few years ago now but ny contact with the main audiology clinic has been limited to emergency stuff as tbh they're pretty useless (took 6 weeks and 2 cancelled appointments before they finally fixed my aid earlier this year while the first time I went along they didn't actually check whether I had a digital aid already before they started setting up one for me!) Popping into one of the private clinics in town is so much less hassle, even if it isn't free.

Anywya, when I was young, I used to get the batteries free from the visiting support teacher of the deaf as necessary. Then someone decided that the Education dept weren't allowed to hand out batteries and that only the Health department through the main audiology clinic could. When the change was brought in, they also introduced a silly rule requiring old batteries be returned to them completely drained before you could get one-for-one replacements, which was no use when my (analogue) aid went very quiet as the battery ran out nor when batteries went missing as they tend to do with children. So the paediatric clinic (who were excellent) simply told everyone to buy their own and sod the bureaucrats.

MrsCook_2

lol i remember sending back in the batteries too! a lot of faffing around in those days. we had heck of a lot of batteries being three in the family needing them lol

Savvy_Sue

MrsCook wrote: »

it used to be that the deaf community had their own social worker to deal with all their stuff but this all changed quite a few years ago when everyone regardless of what kind of disability they had got lumped under hte occupational therapy dept.

its a lot of faffing around now, old days equipment came pretty quick but now its a few months referrels etc.

for concessionary cards it was a case of going into the local council office getting your card and back out the door. now you have to get a letter from your audiologist dept to say you qualify for the concessionaries. still havent been yet as i lost my letter so need to do it all over again.

I think it may vary from one area to another: I know my parents have just started to (re-)involve whatever they're calling the Sensory Social Workers, and mum was sent a card pretty quickly recently, plus Dad has one for not being able to see (they make a fine couple!) However I know mum hasn't been as impressed with the help / assessment she's been offered this time as she has been in the past.

MrsCook wrote: »

lol i remember sending back in the batteries too! a lot of faffing around in those days. we had heck of a lot of batteries being three in the family needing them lol

I still do hand my batteries back in, as far as possible, but as for checking they're completely drained ...

I know my mum used to find that the batteries she got given via NHS were never as good as the ones she could buy. I've always just managed with NHS batteries, but then I don't use my aid that much.

MrsCook_2

its probably regional differences, i can access two different depts (prob a third) and none ask for old batteries to be returned