Sarah, a member of Better Hearing Australia (WA) for a few years now, had a salutary experience that reminded her that our focus on Hearing and Hearing Loss was only part of the journey. It also includes the skill of Listening. She sent us this story as it was such a powerful reminder for her.
I was recently staying with a friend in the country and we joined her craft group for morning tea at a café. I sat next to a lady of over 90 who like me has hearing loss. When we realised we each wore hearing aids we shared some of the frustrations and difficulties of not hearing or hearing incorrectly. Later she told my friend how helpful she had found it to talk to someone who really understood what it was like. I too enjoyed sharing with someone who understood.
Hearing loss is often a thing people seem to want to deny or are ashamed of, refusing to wear hearing aids but at the same time are quite happy to wear glasses because of sight deficiency. Personally I would like to have bright coloured hearing aids, deafness is not something of which to be ashamed and they would be easier to see when dropped or lost!