Tag hearing

Visiting the Deaf Culture Centre

thewrongear 1 Comment

Just over a week ago I took the time to do some research into organisations, that either work with the deaf community or work in the realms of research and development in audiology. Reaching out to a couple of society groups via twitter didn’t prove fruitful at all, however reaching out to a Birmingham based charity BID that are also based in the UK’s first deaf culture centre has proven to be highly rewarding and enlightening to myself. 

Firstly just the conversation with Emma from BID on the telephone was really useful to start with, as someone not only had an interest in my story but by the nature of her job can speak with a level of authority and empathy about my own experiences. I had originally been looking to do a q&a about hearing, and what can be done to look after my hearing now and in the future. What the meeting turned out to be wasn’t a q&a session (being so busy with work hadn’t given me time to really give some questions much thought), but had turned out to be far more useful to me than a q&a session would have been. 

I agreed leaving work early with by boss, and he was quite interested in finding out if there was anything that could be done that would make things at work easier. I find that refreshing to hear, we spend a large chunk of our lives in the workplace, so it being a good environment to work in is extremely important. I personally don’t think there is much more that can be done at work as there are lots of small adaptations I have made without people noticing. Maybe there may be some changes that are made in the future, or even technology that comes along to help as it has done for others, including some I work with.

The walk across town in the autumn sunshine was a great way for me to process some of my apprehension about what I had agreed to. I have never really engaged with the deaf community at all, and wondered how I would be received when I arrived. I still hadn’t really managed to come up with some questions, but as I had been informed that I would be meeting someone who had, had a similar experience to me, I decided this would be an ideal opportunity for a bit of learning from someone else, and to let the conversation dictate any questions I had.

Upon arrival I noticed all the people there communicating with each other using a mix of speech and British Sign Language, and I instantly felt an air of positivity and happiness about the place. I met Emma at the reception desk right away, and within that first minute of being in the building those nervous thoughts from the walk disappeared. Emma introduced me to Terry and we headed to an office to talk.

The whole discussion was really engaging, and could have gone on for longer if we had had the time to. It started very much around finding out about each other and me sharing some experiences. The first key takeaway message that came out of it for me, is that in general when I tell people, they are actually helpful. That comes from being more accepting and being more comfortable with my own hearing loss, and not keeping it as a closely guarded secret as i have done ever since I left school.

We spoke about caring for my hearing, I don’t use earbuds for environmental reasons, and because of the risk they pose if you push them too far down the ear canal. I instead use an olive oil spray to break down wax build up and let my ears clean themselves there after. Some of this practice has come from having to have my ears syringed now twice after waking up on two mornings not being able to hear at all. All because of excess wax build up in the ear that works. When I go to gigs I try, and sometimes fail to take ear plugs with me just so my ears aren’t ringing for a couple of days afterwards. You hear stories of DJ’s and performers suffering with Tinnitus as a result of the loud venues they play in night after night, and I don’t want to add to what I already manage. Both Emma and Terry confirmed were great approaches to have

I also learnt about a range of terms, acronyms I had never heard of our used before. I also learnt about different types of hearing aid, and got to spend a short amount of time experimenting with one.  The one I tried is a bone-anchored hearing aid or BAHA which created the vibrations that the bones inside the ear should do, but like mine are fused together and can’t perform that function. I could definitely feel the vibrations the aid generated as we were talking, but it didn’t make any difference to what I was hearing.

The trying out of a hearing aid lead to a longer discussion around potential options for me going forward. Emma and Terry encouraged (it didn’t take much) to consider going back for an audiology test again. I haven’t had one since I was tested and found out about my hearing as a teenager, and like most things technology, knowledge, and testing techniques have likely moved on. It’s been almost 20 years since those test and MRI scan as a teenager. It was also a comfort and interesting to hear how good the Queen Elizabeth Hospital BIrmingham in audiology, and the advice I received to be insistent that my GP makes the referral to there over and above anywhere else. I also hadn’t realised that places like Specsaves or Boots also take hearing test referrals from GP’s, but given my where my own hearing is they wouldn’t be the right fit for me.

I am going to go forward and have a fresh audiology test done, firstly to reaffirm what I was told as a teenager and what I have been told since by. I am certainly intrigued to find out more about what is going on inside my ear, and whether there are any options for me. The dilemma for me has to be what I do about those options. I’ve been so used to having things quite hidden, and although hearing aid technology has moved on so much, and has become so much less obvious that someone is wearing one, would I want to wear one? I would say the same would be true if by some miracle there was a way of completely restoring my hearing. However it would be nice to know what my options are, and be able to continue to follow advances in tech and treatment in the future. 

Despite my nerves, and not quite getting the q&a session I had envisaged. The whole meeting has given me plenty of food for thought, and some actions for me going forward. Starting with contacting my GP to get the ball rolling. The session has also really helped me on my journey to better accept my hearing loss, to be more open about it and willing to tell people as people will generally be positive in their response, which from the comments, and message I have received since I started this have been fantastic! So thank you!

If you would like to find out more about BID, the work they do, who they support, and about the Deaf Culture Centre as a whole please visit https://www.bid.org.uk. It’s a brilliant facility, and just from the hour or so I spent there it’s made a difference to me.

Applications and Interviews

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In my first entry I talked briefly about not telling my employer more widely about my hearing. The primary reason behind this is that I have never felt the need to say anything as I haven’t felt it would have any impact on what I do as part of my job. The second reason comes down to the experiences I have had previously when telling people about my hearing.

As mentioned in my first blog post, when I found out about my hearing deficiency and did the sensible thing and let the school know, one particular teacher’s reaction to it made up my mind for how I would, and who I would go about telling in future. I had been taught by this particular teacher in english lessons for most of the year before I found out about my hearing. The lessons were your average run of the mill lessons, nothing really stood out about his teaching style or lessons. Everyone has those lessons and teachers they most remember from back in school. If it wasn’t for this teachers actions my time being taught by him wouldn’t make the cut.

This teacher decided to approach things like he was the expert, and was going to change things for my benefit. His first point was how he had observed my head being turned more in one direction to hear what has been said. He also decided to tell me and my parents how much of an expert he was in teaching people with hearing loss. If there is one thing I have learnt about myself and seeing other people with a range of disabilities is not to treat people differently, or single them out. It doesn’t do either party any good whatsoever.All the other staff members at the school that knew took it as part of everyday life, as if well it hasn’t affected you so far so why should it change anything going forward.

When it came to applying for sixth form, jobs, and university I made the conscious decision to tick the no button to any questions about disability or any special arrangements I required should i be selected for an interview. I didn’t want people I didn’t know to find out or automatically be treated any differently to any other candidate as a result.

In applying for jobs including in the very recent past I have noticed some employers giving a higher priority or even a guaranteed interview for people with a disability if they meet a certain standard in their applications. As I don’t see myself as having a disability, (even though by definition I do) this approach by employers has never sat comfortably with me. In fact it’s encouraged me further not to tick those boxes and let an employer judge my application purely on its merits.

Even in my most recent application in having to apply for my own job, despite my boss knowing about my hearing I still chose not to tick that box on disability. I did though for the first time take longer to think about it this time round, which has been as a result of being more open about my hearing.

Disability and employment was a challenge I was set to work with at an event recently hosted by Birmingham City University. It brought together people from across the public sector as part of a data jam and challenge to find solutions to a set of problems. It was great to work with people from the university, DWP and third sector to look at how we get more people with disabilities into work.

It was really interesting to hear in particular from the DWP how both employers still struggle to get their heads around employing people with disability (although its improving all the time) and how people with a disability either don’t have the confidence to apply for roles, or like myself choose not to disclose on application forms when applying. It was also pleasing to hear examples of where a disability has later been discovered, or developed employers taking the right steps to accommodate the disability or in some cases create roles that utilised some of the skills that a personals disability enhances.

I came away with a couple of bits of new information that I didn’t know previously and one certainly needs greater attention. Firstly i learnt that there is a programme in place that employers can take advantage of and demonstrate they are well set up to employee people with disabilities. The programme is called “Disability Confident” and comes in 3 levels. I had never heard of it before, and really should have given some of my day job involves working to ensure young people with education health care plans or have other special educational needs are transitioning into employment following completing their studies. I also learnt that the most common disability amongst adults in the UK are mobility based, where as amongst children behavioural is the largest group of disabilities.

From deciding not to disclose at all about my hearing after the experience of one teacher at school until I left the data jam event, my outlook on hearing has changed. Although I still don’t think I’ll tick those boxes on application forms relating to disability, as I feel the quality of application alone should be enough to decide whether the application is taken forward or not. However in work I feel I can now be a little more open about my hearing, as there are definitely situations and occasions where it would be of a benefit to me and the people around me.