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If you or someone you know is experiencing a hearing loss, you are not alone. You'll find some stories below from people who have faced up to their hearing loss.
"The first very clear sign of hearing loss involved not being able to hear people speak at noisy dinner parties attended by large numbers of people – hence these functions had to be struck off the social calendar. Next, it becomes progressively more difficult to hear the television – with the inevitable family problems entailed in turning the television/radio volume up (or else having to miss what was being said). This was followed by the very real danger of not hearing cars coming up behind me while out walking to collect my daily newspaper – most particularly, if I managed to hearing the first car, I could pretty well guarantee not to hear the car immediately behind it!
Eventually I overcame my reluctance to visit my doctor and discuss my hearing loss and "hey presto" I was referred to my local hospital for an audio test and was duly fitted with digital hearing aids, instead of the old-fashioned analogue 'barnacles' which I had been brought up to believe was my only entitlement on the NHS.
Now that I have my digital hearing aids (having seen just about every individual member of the hospital’s audio staff over the past two years, for adjustment and re-fitting of one kind or another) I can now safely walk the streets and lanes without fear of being run over; listen to the television without the need for an unduly high volume setting (although when my wife is taking a telephone call I do make use of headphones to enable me to hear the television with the volume turned low) and hear all the sounds of town and country that I hadn't realised I was missing out on. But those noisy dinner parties are still beyond me!"
"Can I please recommend everybody take the test! I have been to the GP a few times with my hearing difficulties but his reaction is usually "Well, you can hear me ok." This seems to be a standard reaction having spoken to various friends of mine, either GPs are extremely apathetic towards hearing difficulties or are trying to keep the waiting lists down by not referring people.
Either way, stand up for your rights! Take the test, if the results show you there is a problem, DEMAND your GP refer you!"
"I'm 45 years old and in good health with a growing family. I noticed about a year ago people started to get cross when I missed what they said.
Being a busy sort of person they thought I wasn't paying attention and I got to thinking I wasn't too. I knew my Grandma was almost totally deaf but she is 86, then I was at a family party and my dad and his brothers and sisters were all discussing their varying degrees of loss- that was a weird experience – pardon? eh? what was that? The TV needs to be louder, I can't concentrate on the phone with any background noise and rooms full of people is now very trying.
I went to the GP who said it was an infection and wax build up so I took the antibiotics and went to have them syringed a week later. Shock! They were as clean as a whistle. So clean the nurse wouldn't syringe the second ear! But the hearing was still not good. I went to the GP twice more, both times asking for a full hearing test but he's just stalled me. I think he thinks I'm too young.
Then this week I did the RNID telephone test and my left ear was below normal and the right was well below normal. I have gone back with the results and have finally got my referral. Thank goodness for the telephone test. I was beginning to doubt my sanity and really fear for my future. Now at least I can do something about it and my family will thank the RNID too!"
