About the webmistress
Hello! Hope you're enjoying hiype! Having started to put this idea into action in July 2001 I'm pleased to say it's come quite a long way.
So did I do it?
Back in 1989, aged twenty-two, I came to a turning point that changed my life forever. The light at the end of the tunnel? Making contact with, and eventually meeting, many other twenty/thirty- something people with a hearing impairment.
Let me digress...
It wasn't until I had a school medical that I was told I had a hearing loss and was lipreading. I was eleven and looking forward to life at the local comprehensive. I had no idea what lipreading was, and definitely didn't think any more about it for a few more years...
Blue Banana's *
Despite kicking up blue murder, I was then whisked off for a hearing test at the Royal National NTE in London and eventually went back to be fitted for my first hearing aid.
Okay so I could hear better, but it was strange! Suddenly I was trying to work out what the sounds were and where they were coming from.
So I suffered the type of hearing loss know as 'bottom draw syndrome' - which is where my hearing aids stayed for the next seven years!
Not a very nice person
As time went on, I didn't even know any OLD people that had one, let alone someone my own age. There was absolutely no way I was going to put the 'banana' on view for the rest of the world!
Although I had friends and a social life it was becoming increasing difficult to follow what was happening. Eventually I started to withdraw and become not a very nice person!
Loads of great people
I found out about Hearing Concern after writing a letter to Marjorie Proops at The Mirror newspaper, and read all about the Easter weekend away in the Lake District soon after.
I joined HC immediately but didn't actually get the courage up to book a weekend away until twelve months later! By this time I'd met up with some other hoh people locally and things were looking up!
Why not take the first step in meeting other people?
Dealing with a hearing loss is difficult but with the help of new friends to offer support things start to improve.
Find out all you can about your type of hearing loss, there's loads of great web sites that can help, or get in touch. Contact me here.
Good luck!
P.s.
Maria not only has personal experience of deafness and hearing loss but has also worked for a number of national charities in a wide variety of roles! She has also written for/been featured in magazines about her deafness.
She set up this website in her spare time and would love to hear from other people about their own experience.
* the 'bananas' actually started off beige but seeing as Phonak do a nice shade of blue I was able to trade them in!
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