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April 23, 2021How Roger technology changed this teacher’s life
Ulrika Magnusson’s life has changed since she started using Roger technology. She’s a better, calmer teacher in the classroom and at home, she says.
Discovering Roger Technology
Ulrika Magnusson is a remedial teacher at Granbergs School in Bollnäs, Sweden. Since she was introduced to Roger technology as an adult, her personal and professional life have benefitted.
With the help of a welfare hearing officer, Magnusson made contact with an audiologist with knowledge in occupational aids. This was when she was introduced to hearing aid products for the first time. Magnusson now uses Roger Select and Roger Table Mic II in the classroom and at conferences where the host of the meeting uses a neck worn microphone to amplify their voice.
“Previously, I felt a lot of frustration both inside and outside of work,” Magnusson says. “My frustration stemmed from wanting to participate but I didn’t hear everything that was being said. It prevented me from taking full part in everything that was going on. Today I feel a lot better and a lot more calm. All the energy I previously spent on frustration and the will to be in the here-and-now can now instead be used on other things I want to do. Now the energy is quite simply available.”
“My frustration stemmed from wanting to participate but I didn’t hear everything that was being said.”
Everyday Life with Hearing Loss
Granbergs School is an F-6 preschool. Magnusson primarily works with pupils who have difficulty learning to read. They’re usually the youngest children in the school.
“I wouldn’t be able to cope with my work in the way I want without my hearing aids,” Magnusson says. “In my work, I meet pupils who need a little extra support. I need to hear everything they are telling me so that I can give them the help they need. That’s what my job involves.”
When in the classroom, she positions the children so they’re always in front of her. If they’re sitting in different groups, she places a table microphone on each desk. That way she can clearly hear what’s being said, regardless of the direction the sound is coming from. She also moves a lot in the classroom and likes to approach the student who’s speaking.
Magnusson feels that she now has a completely different energy level at the end of the working day. Life after work with family and friends is now much improved compared with before. Then, she often ended up on the sofa in front of the TV because she was out of energy.
Read more: Watch: How to improve your communication with Phonak Roger
Learning From Her Hearing Loss
Magnusson’s students are learning from her.
“As a result of my hearing impairment, the children have thought about things they find easy that might be difficult for me, and vice versa,” Magnusson says. “We talk a lot about showing consideration for each other and helping one another when needed. The discussions might not otherwise have been quite so clear cut.”
Magnusson takes care that everyone in the classroom shows consideration for each other. In this regard her hearing impairment has played a major role in the calmness that prevails in her classroom today.
“Children happily talk over the top of each other because they are so eager and have so much to say,” Magnusson says. “But that doesn’t work for me. So now the pupils put up their hands when they want to talk, wait their turn, and listen to each other in a different way. We give each one the time he or she needs to make his or her voice heard and everyone gets to be heard. So overall, my hearing impairment has actually brought about something very beneficial.”
