A mild hearing impairment was highlighted by a visiting NHS Audiologist whilst at school and several operations to rectify the issue proved unsuccessful. The ENT Consultants suggested that I should have few difficulties but constantly reminded me that sitting at the front of the class might help my education.
A keen musician, my primary ambition was to work in the recording business. As with several false starts in other sectors due to my hearing impairment, my career as a sound engineering career was also brought to an abrupt end.
I discovered Audiology (or Audiology discovered me) in 1994 and gained a full understanding of my hearing difficulties. I was fitted with hearing aids during my studies which helped enormously and qualified comfortably a year later. Since then, I have tried and tested a wide variety of hearing aids; both NHS and private.
Using hearing aids at the early onset of hearing reduction helps maintain the brain’s ability to listen, understand as well as it can hear in our community of relationships. This “catch it early” approach involves regular routine hearing checks as changes in hearing ability are, for most us, very slow.
Many people wait until they are really struggling to hear before seeking help. If a personal base level of hearing is established, comparisons with future checks across the years can be made.
As there is a recognised correlation between reduced hearing and dementia, could this perhaps be another reason to consider routine checks of your hearing?
My spare time is taken up with rowing, parish council stuff, choral singing and tickling the ivories on my piano. I’ve had no complaints from neighbours yet after a dusting down of my violin and recently been encouraged to tread the boards in the village annual panto…..