Hard of Hearing

Dizzy_Ditzy

You'll have a lot more on your side if you have an audiogram in front of you and an opinion from an ENT specialist as to the severity of your hearing loss and it's prognosis

TELLIT01

I'm in a similar situation to the OP. The job has changed dramatically in the past few months. Previously we wrote out for any information we required but now we have to phone for it. I simply can't do it as I have tinnitus which becomes far worse if I have to use the phones much. My employer is talking about audiogram but aren't happy about the cost. I'm certainly not going to foot the bill to obtain information about a problem brought about by their change of working practice.

Another_not_new_user

TELLIT01 wrote: »

I'm in a similar situation to the OP. The job has changed dramatically in the past few months. Previously we wrote out for any information we required but now we have to phone for it. I simply can't do it as I have tinnitus which becomes far worse if I have to use the phones much. My employer is talking about audiogram but aren't happy about the cost. I'm certainly not going to foot the bill to obtain information about a problem brought about by their change of working practice.

The problem wasn't brought about by the change in their working practice. The problem already existed. The employer is not responsible for diagnosing your problem or identifying the issue - that is what the NHS is for. Then, if it is possible, they make reasonable adjustments to allow for your condition. Why can out doctor not refer you for the tests that you need?

lurkylurky

dosh1 wrote: »

Thanks for all responses.

I appreciate the job does require a fair amount of phone work. An alternative is face to face communications however I deal with people at other locations around England so travel is not always feasible and could be seen as costly to the organisation.

Could you communicate by e-mail? I work for a large multi-national company and I would say 90% of my communications are via e-mail.

googler

Is a headset and microphone rather than a traditional telephone an option?

google 'call centre (center) headsets'

Sncjw

Hi I have hearing issues so may be able to help.

Have your employers looked into acsess to work to get a telephone with a loop system on. The loop will cut out background noise and only connect the call to your hearing aid, I use one for my mobile phone but use a neckloop. It helps but I don't use it phonecals a lot as I still struggle.

When I was looking for work I did put on disability and ask what could be put in place when I attend interviews. I have tried an amplifier on telephone but doesn't help. Different equipment will be better for different people due to different level of loss. Now I'm lucky as I got a job not predominately telephone based. So could your employers make reasonable adjustments in your job by getting others to use phones or changing your job role slightly so you don't need to use phones. I know this may be hard due to managerial level may require more work on phones.
There is not much support out there for deaf as its a unseen disability plus a lot of asumptions are made due to people thinking hearing aids will give them normal hearing when it just amplifies what you can actually hear.

dosh1

Yes I agree that there are assumptions made that someone who wears hearing aids has normal hearing. As you say hearing aids just amplify a voice however if the hearing disability is more clarity then whether the voice is quiet or loud, understanding is still not possible.

Yes, I have tried the phone amplifier too but with no joy (as above).

Thanks for all the helpful responses.

dosh1

Another_not_new_user wrote: »

There was an awful lot of sound advice given to you on the same subject five months ago. Can you tell us which you have followed up so that people aren't wasting time repeating things you have already been told about?

I have tried to find the thread but struggled to do so hence why I raised the question again.

TeaCake

This one? https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5073192

If you click on your username at the top, then statistics, then find all threads started by dosh1 it'll appear.

JournalGirl

dosh1 wrote: »

Yes I agree that there are assumptions made that someone who wears hearing aids has normal hearing. As you say hearing aids just amplify a voice however if the hearing disability is more clarity then whether the voice is quiet or loud, understanding is still not possible.

Yes, I have tried the phone amplifier too but with no joy (as above).

Thanks for all the helpful responses.

Hi
Hearing aids do not 'just amplify' unless you have the most absolutely basic instruments. They offer sound processing which will make the most of spoken voices, and can be adjusted for clarity.

There are telephone modes which will take the sound from one ear and put it into the other ear so that you can hear from the phone in both ears.
There are also models which can integrate with a phone so that the phone communicates directly with the hearing aids.

Go and talk to a hearing aid dispenser about what is available. Even if your hearing aids are Nhs they will be a good processor - although may or may not have wireless function

Look into access to work for funding for such equipment