Awareness week aims to 'amplify deaf voices'

A hearing loss charity has said its annual awareness week aims to "emphasis the importance in amplifying deaf voices".

Deaf Awareness Week, which started on Monday, was first launched in 1993 and was designed to promote inclusion and understanding of some of the challenges faced.

On the Isle of Man, there are about 13,000 people who face hearing loss.

Chief executive of Manx Deaf Society Lucy Buxton said: "Hearing us is one of those things that if you can't hear what is going on around you, you can't necessarily contribute to the conversation."

As hearing loss was a hidden disability, the awareness week helped to "bring it back into the forefront of people's minds", she said.

"It is all about how can we be a better, more welcoming, accommodating and compassionate society because you never know when you are going to lose your hearing," she added.

Lesley Cullen from Port Erin, who faces hearing loss said she can find socialising hard and as she can only hear people when in one-to-one situation it can be "very lonely".

She said: "A positive is I can't hear the tap dripping, storms at night or the clock ticking", adding: "I'm not distracted when I'm playing golf."

But she said increasing the the number of hearing loops available in public places would make things better from her perspective.

"When someone is giving a talk the facilities should be improved for people with hearing loss so we're not left out," she added.

Heather Hurt from Peel said her hearing had been deteriorating since she reached her 40s and as a result she started to use a hearing aid.

She said while she had lost her confidence in social situations since experiencing hearing loss, she had "become more confident" in advocating for herself and others with a similar disability".

"I would like more people to be aware of what it means when someone is wearing a sunflower lanyard", she said, referring to the initiative which identifies that a person has a hidden disability.

Nigel Latham, from Douglas, who gradually lost his hearing said the biggest challenges he faced were isolation and missing out on sounds around such as people or traffic.

He said he wears a badge that says "I'm a lipreader, please face me", which was helpful for when he needs people to understand that he cannot hear them.

Ballaugh resident Pam Ashcroft, who is deaf in one ear and has little hearing in the other, said it could be "exhausting constantly trying to figure out what someone is saying".

In a group she said she is lost, and has struggled to hear cars so has walked out in front of them.

"A positive is I can take my hearing aids out and read a book when everyone else is watching the tv, and I don't get woken up in the night when the kids come in late", she said.

But, she added that when someone raises their voice for her it does not help, as she needs the context of what is being discussed.

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