A Day at the Seaside

Research on hearing partners of people with hearing loss

Anyone out there still unsure about volunteering for the hearing partner’s research programme? Well, let me assure you it’s not only going to help other partners, it’s beneficial for the volunteer as well.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a free counselling session as the chat isn’t (at least in my case) about how to improve the volunteer’s coping skills, it’s about what the volunteer has been doing to make life for, and with, the hearing impaired partner easier. Blimey, trying to be PC and not use words that could offend is difficult. Forgive if I cause offence, I certainly don’t intend to.

So, let me put it another way.

What we spoke about was how our lives have been affected through Sue’s loss of hearing, the things we took for granted that are now difficult or impossible, the ?? ………. well, in general, our lives, together.

Living our lives as a couple means we’ve both encountered problems, face more problems and must cope. We, the ‘existing’ hearing partners know some of the problems faced by ‘new’ hearing partners and sharing our experiences with those who will be helping the ‘new’ partners can only be a positive move.

Hearing partners – did you feel overstretched, lost, when your partner first became deafened? Help Dick with his research and someone will have the help you’d have grabbed if it had been available. He’s a good guy too, a regular at HL rehab weeks and understands life for the deafened and the family.

There’s other advantages to having a day in Eastbourne; a stroll along the beach, walking on the pier, shopping and proper fish and chips on the seafront. When will food engineers make chips healthy?

Contact Hearing Link at enquiries@hearinglink.org to find out more, or visit Hearing Link’s news page.