Deaf Awareness in a Technological Age

DIDCOT, U.K. - May 20, 2013 - PRLog -- A launch event was attended by the Lord Mayor of Nottingham Councillor Leon Unczur and  Lilian Greenwood MP for Nottingham South. The Lord Mayor said how happy he was to support The Ear Foundation and he wanted to encourage people to donate towards the charity's current major appeal to raise £0.7m to help expand its services with the building of Sound Space, a new building at their existing premises in Lenton.

Lilian Greenwood MP emphasised how spreading the word through surgeries and pharmacies about the help available to people with hearing impairment would inspire them to seek support and thus be able to interact more easily with families and friends.

Jan Sanderson, who lost her hearing as the result of emergency surgery 13 years ago, inspired guests at the launch by explaining the traumatic impact losing her hearing had on herself and her family. She spoke of how six years ago she had a cochlear implant and that with the support of The Ear Foundation,  she was able to take the long journey back into the 'world of sound'.

Jan encouraged anyone with hearing loss to take the first step by acknowledging and accepting they have a problem, then to ask their GP for a referral to an audiologist who would be able to provide the right support to face everyday life.

Chief Executive of The Ear Foundation, Sue Archbold, expressed her gratitude to the campaign supporters,  Action on Hearing Loss,  Age UK Nottingham, Hearing Link and Rushcliffe Clinical Commissioning Group. She said: "We couldn't get this information to the people who need it without their help. Today we have amazing technologies available to help those with hearing loss , but all too often they don’t know where to get help and the dramatic difference it can make to their lives."  

Also attending the event were Ed Wills and Jo Caunce,  students from the  Nottingham University charity Nottingham Karnival who presented a cheque for £395 to the Ear Foundation.  Jo said: "Every year we run an inter-halls competition to raise money for different charities. We backed The Ear Foundation as we think the work that they do is amazing." The donation has bought an ipad which will be used to play interactive games for deaf and hearing impaired children who visit The Ear Foundation for rehabilitation.

The campaign "Deaf Awareness in a Technological Age" aims to encourage older adults in the UK with hearing loss to seek help which can significantly improve their quality of life. Campaign leaflets emphasising how easy it is to get help will be widely distributed through GP surgeries and Pharmacies where people are being asked to look out for them. The main thrust of the campaign is to encourage these people to visit their GP and ask to be referred to an audiologist.

On average there is a 10 year delay  in people seeking help for hearing loss.  Eliminating this delay is important,  as people with mild hearing loss have nearly double the risk of developing dementia and this risk increases significantly for those with moderate and severe hearing loss. Hearing loss can also double the risk of depression in older people and those with severe and profound hearing loss are four times more likely to be unemployed than the general population.

Deafness is a hidden disability that does not always receive the attention it deserves. An estimated 41 % of people over  50 are likely to have a hearing loss, a figure which grows to 70% for the over 70s. And the  number of deaf adults in the UK is increasing with an ageing population with more than 14.5 million estimated by 2031.

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