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"I've
had a hearing loss for most of my life. I've been wearing a hearing
aid since I was 11- years-old following various childhood illnesses
- mumps, measles, etcetera - a long history of ear infections which
caused my hearing loss.
"So
I was issued with a national health, old fashioned box hearing aid
when I was 11 years old.
"I can remember being the only one in the school to wear one
and I was highly embarrassed with it.
"But times have moved on and my hearing has got progressively
worse. I'm now severely deaf. I can only hear - without my hearing
aids - very loud noises. I wouldn't hear voices at all.
"I
need to see their face to understand what they're saying, because
the hearing aids don't pick up everything. They don't restore normal
hearing, so I rely on my lip reading.
Watch
Sheila's
Video Nation short film:
Lipreading
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"Communication
can be very difficult if you have a hearing problem. It
can cause breakdowns with relationships, it can cause problems at
work.
"Normal everyday situations which people take for granted can
be very difficult: if you're attending a class, or you go to church
or the theatre. All those things can be very difficult.
"Social life is difficult. Background noise is an enormous
problem if you want to meet at a pub or go to a meal with friends.
If there is a lot of background noise or music playing, it will
mean you probably won't be able to follow the conversation so that
can be very difficult.
"When
I first had my hearing aid, I was just given my hearing aid and
that was it - off you go and see how well you manage.
"But now of course things are so much better. Television has
subtitles which are brilliant. I can remember them coming out in
the mid-1980s I think it was it was.
"We were lucky to get one programme a night with subtitles,
so I would watch that cowboy film even if I didn't like cowboy films
because at least I could understand what was being said.
"Communicating
with each other, well a lot of deaf people love the mobile phones
for texting each other.
"You find that most people are merrily texting away, the same
as everybody else. And email of course is a revelation. It's a great
way for us all to keep in touch."
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