App will help deaf Elton John fans hear the music
October 24, 2019
How this ASL online video game can benefit deaf teens
October 28, 2019From hearing her grandchildren to thriving at work, hearing aids changed Bev’s life
The moment Bev Gray was able to clearly hear her grandchild was when she realized how much she was benefitting from wearing hearing aids.
“Grandma, now you can hear what I’m saying, have you had your ears fixed?” These were the words of Bev’s youngest grandchild, who turned towards her, pleasantly surprised, when she could hear what he said for the first time.
“That moment and those words mean a great deal to me”, says Bev, who previously needed to lip-read to understand what anyone was saying.
Improved work-life
Bev works in the office at the York Housing Association housing company in York, England. Her working days are fully booked and no working day is like the other. Meetings follow on from each other and it is very important to be able to communicate and go quickly from one work task to another.
Bev wasn’t born deaf but her hearing gradually deteriorated while she grew up. She wasn’t offered much help during her childhood because, to put it simply, there was not much help on offer.
“I had a hearing aid that didn’t work particularly well, and I hated it right from the start,” she explains. “Of course, it wasn’t a great start, but I used it anyway during my first years at school. When I grew older I refused to use it at all.”
So she used other tricks to get by in school. Apart from already being skillful at lip-reading, she chose to always sit right at the front of the classroom. Despite a variety of tricks, she admits things were difficult at school because of her hearing impairment.
A whole new world
But three years ago, a whole new world opened up for her. These are Bev’s own words when she describes her first experience of digital hearing aids.
“It was an audiologist at the hospital in York who introduced them to me for the first time,” she says. “After a visit to my workplace, they made sure I got exactly the aids I needed. At the same time, I got training, advice, and tips on how they should be used. So good and well thought-out”.
Most of all, Bev uses the Phonak Roger Pen and Roger Table Mic II microphones.
“The Roger Pen is the product I use most by far,” Bev says. “I always have it with me and in principle use it all day. It works perfectly for me as someone who talks a lot on the phone because it connects easily via Bluetooth, both to my landline phone and to my mobile.”
She uses the Roger Table Mic II table microphone most when taking part in meetings at the office, especially in larger meetings in which it can sometimes be difficult to understand everything being said when a lot of people are sitting around the table. “
The microphone works perfectly because it automatically focuses on the person speaking at the time and so it picks up the discussions around the table in an effective way,” Bev describes.
The worry of not being able to cope with the work is gone
Jane Maddison is a colleague of Bev’s, and she finds that the positive changes are beneficial to both Bev and her colleagues.
“Everything is a lot easier for everybody now that Bev can take part in conversations and discussions on the same terms as the rest of us,” Jane says. “It’s so great to hear her talk on the phone without any trouble because previously she was forced to communicate via email.”
In principle, Bev doesn’t hear anything at all without her hearing aid products, so without them her life would have been very restricted.
“Previously I was worried I would be forced to leave my job because of my hearing impairment, but now that worry is completely gone”, she says.
She believes that the products have meant that her life really is fully functional and that she can’t understand how she could make things work at all before she got help.
Also, she says that she wouldn’t hesitate to recommend these hearing aids to everyone looking for this type of product.
“I only have one piece of advice – take the opportunity, it will change your life.”
Read more: How my Roger Select helps me in the workplace
How have hearing aids or Roger helped you?
