A friendly face

Hearing loss, balance issues, gestures and expressions

Going out ‘in public’ has been a real problem, especially when the Meniere’s was at its worse and Sue regularly had loss of balance and spin/drop attacks. Holding her hand at all times has been a wonderful way of supporting her physically and emotionally.

The simple act of holding a partner’s hand can mean a lot as well as providing a simple way to communicate – tapping my fingers on Sue’s hand is now a way of alerting her to oncoming traffic, other people zeroing in and stuff like that. It’s also, if you’ll excuse the sentimentality, affirming.

And don’t forget to smile, it can make a huge difference just to see a friendly face and, for someone who can’t hear, expressions are really important.