“I’m now in my second year of a Bachelor of Midwifery and absolutely love it. I’m very passionate about women’s health,” said Siena.
“I have delivered six babies so far on my university placements, with another one due this week!”
It was also during the peak of coronavirus last year that wearing masks in hospitals was made compulsory. Siena, who was diagnosed with hearing loss at three years old and wears hearing aids, said she found it difficult not being able to see their faces. It meant extra effort was needed for conversations with staff and patients, and she was constantly left feeling exhausted at the end of each day.
Siena came to Hear and Say for a series of specialised speech therapy sessions (known as auditory learning) to help make listening less draining and get the most from her hearing aids .
“When my hearing loss was first diagnosed when I was three years old, I did [LEAP] playgroup at Hear and Say. It was great to then go back last year and do some speech therapy which helped me with ‘listening fatigue’ when I’m at my hospital placement,” said Siena.
