Jobs for the deaf.

Sncjw

Hi all

I am currently working in a retail sector as a shelf filler but it isn not where i want to be in life. I was on a course to study adult nursing which i needed to complete and pass two modules before i could return to third year to finish the course. during the time of preparing for my module exam and assignment which i have passed. i lost more of my hearing in my right ear resulting in a dead ear. i have always been hard of hearing or deaf all my life but the dead ear means no hearing in right ear. i have severe loss in my left side. after many occu health and what i belive an unfair workplace assesment i have been removed from the course. I have been sent an hnc in health studies.

i want to work in the health care sector ideally. i would want to stay away from wards as they would probably knock me back from the report that the local hospital has of me on the wards.
I have looked in the admin side of things but even those that you need no experience i am concerned with the telephone as i cant use a phone as i can hear noise but its not clear what it is. alot of these roles say you will be required to answer telephones.

I am stuck in what job i could do as theres no clear cut info for deaf people. any idea would be great please

DomRavioli

Sncjw wrote: »

Hi all

I am currently working in a retail sector as a shelf filler but it isn not where i want to be in life. I was on a course to study adult nursing which i needed to complete and pass two modules before i could return to third year to finish the course. during the time of preparing for my module exam and assignment which i have passed. i lost more of my hearing in my right ear resulting in a dead ear. i have always been hard of hearing or deaf all my life but the dead ear means no hearing in right ear. i have severe loss in my left side. after many occu health and what i belive an unfair workplace assesment i have been removed from the course. I have been sent an hnc in health studies.

i want to work in the health care sector ideally. i would want to stay away from wards as they would probably knock me back from the report that the local hospital has of me on the wards. Care to elaborate what you mean by that as it could be hugely important.


I have looked in the admin side of things but even those that you need no experience i am concerned with the telephone as i cant use a phone as i can hear noise but its not clear what it is. alot of these roles say you will be required to answer telephones. There are assistive devices for those who are hard of hearing - you would need to contact access to work to see if you could get help with the costs associated with it.

I am stuck in what job i could do as theres no clear cut info for deaf people. any idea would be great please

There is a bit of info above - being deaf doesn't disqualify you from some roles, although it could exclude you from careers which you may want.

You need to elaborate on this "report" that a hospital hold on you; what is it, why is it relevant etc, as this could exclude you from a lot more dependent on the nature and content of it.

If you're struggling, make an appointment with your local disability employment advisor at the job centre; you don't have to be unemployed to see them, and they can arrange a BSL interpreter for you if you need one for the appointment.

specialboy

As above, you can get aids to enhance your hearing in your left ear and should be able to lead a normal life without the use of the other.

Annisele

Being deaf doesn't prevent you from becoming a nurse. If you google "deaf nurse" you'll find several newspaper articles. (Admittedly the fact the articles exist suggests that it's unusual for deaf people to become nurses - but it's certainly not impossible).

You could also get in touch with Action on Hearing Loss (which used to be the Royal National Institute for the Deaf) and see if they have any suggestions.

KentishLady

At my employers (a local council) we have a number of D/Deaf staff undertaking admin type roles - one of whom brings their hearing dog to work and has adapters for the phone to enable them to speak to customers on the phone.

It's quite common to see conversations taking place in BSL rather than spoken English.

Being Deaf or Hard of Hearing may limit some work activities but you don't have to be stuck shelf-filling for the rest of your working life (unless of course retail is a career you want).

I second contacting a disability employment adviser, and contacting action for hearing (RNID). Also do you have a social club for the deaf or an active local deaf community as they may also be a source of support or advice on local deaf friendly employers.

Sncjw

basically i had a workplace assesement on a ward to get me back into my nurse training. the report is what happend on the ward that i couldnt hear many buzzers and they talked behind me and i had to write what was being said . i didnt do well in that but if heard someone talking i would turn round. i used a phone and they were told by myself that i dont use phone at home because i cant hear anyone. they used an amplifer on anothr ward but it was just louder blur.

this was done by the occu health team at the hospital and they would likely keep a record of the report which could come back to haunt me. they didnt mention any adaptions they expected me to know what was avalibale. when my mam said in a meeting about a pager or something for buzzers the placement facilitator said that there isnt anything like that and there is. aprrently its a trust that has deaf nurses but they felt that bringing someone in who is deaf to advise was inappropriate.

i have a hearing aid in my left ear. i dont know bsl as it is a costly thing to learn. i only know very basic things.

i am aware of deaf nurses in fact i am in contact with them. im unlikely to go back as they are getting rid of the diploma programme and its all degree based and i have only 5 years of commencing the programme to complete it which is going to be soon.

i have contacted the action on hearing loss but not much info there.

i was thinking of doing admin but its the telephone that puts me off because even with my loop i do struggle to hear sometimes. my loop allows me to hear my mobile via my hearing aid.

jobbingmusician

I wonder if it would be worth you contacting the EHRC http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/ and telling them your story. It appalls me that your training provider doesn't seem willing to make any adjustments for you - I think you should report them!

Sncjw

Yes my mam has emailed them as scope also recxomeneded the equality rights commission.

Savvy_Sue

Sncjw wrote: »

scope also recxomeneded the equality rights commission.

Does that indicate that you have other disabilities as well as the hearing loss?

Our local audiology dept has a number of hearing aid users on the staff team.

Can you find a local lipreading class? I found them really helpful, not just for improving communication, but also for swapping tips about how to manage various situations.

t0rt0ise

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

Does that indicate that you have other disabilities as well as the hearing loss?

Scope deal with all disabilities and not just the ones you're thinking of. They changed long ago.

Sncjw

No i dont have any other disabilites. Scope is for all disabiltys.