Helpful Hours launches at Hearing Information Day
Billed as a ‘lunchtime special’ at the heart of the Hearing Information Day in our northern training centre in Yorkshire; the very first live Helpful Hours session was delivered in style!
Titled ‘How to get the most from your audiology appointment’, it was developed at weekly sessions over a period of several months by a group of our peer support volunteers Julia, Emmanuelle, Sylvia, John and Katrina.
The narrative of the session follows five key areas:
- Preparing yourself for your appointment.
- Preparing your appointment – describing your hearing and lifestyle.
- What to expect – the language and procedure.
- Choices to make – your hearing aids and additional devices.
- Post-appointment – what’s next, what to expect and accept
The session was attended by nearly 30 guests and was delivered with care, empathy and a good sense of humour and was an instant hit. Immediate feedback included:
“I have been deaf for 40 years and you have totally changed my perspective [on hearing loss]”.
“I wasn’t expecting something so clear, comprehensive and so useful [in an hour]”.
“I feel more confident since attending these sessions and I’m not frightened of seeking answers to my questions!”
With more live sessions planned for the Hearing Information Day at The Grange on 29 September, and a series of bookable online dates from August, the future looks bright for this new service.