“For me, I have periods of hearing fluctuations which means I needed to constantly either change my hearing aid settings, or my environment, which isn’t always possible in noisy clinical work settings or when I’m with my family. This left me feeling more like a burden than an active and contributing participant in life.”
A mum of two school-aged children, Kath increasingly noticed a sense of anxiety around “the external world being painfully loud at times, and people’s voices sounding like incomprehensible noise”.
“The unfortunate fact is that hearing loss is unique in the sense that it’s invisible, and without support, it can undermine every aspect of your life,” said Kath.
Not ready to admit defeat but unsure what path to pursue next, Kath was encouraged to reach out to Hear and Say and its new Adult Hearing program by a family friend.
“What I immediately appreciated was that Hear and Say is not a small, shopping centre pop-in store offering a one-size-fits-all generic solution,” said Kath.
