Give Mum the Gift of Hearing for Mother’s Day
Lorraine, a proud UK mother of one of ihear’s esteemed clinicians, was fortunate enough to be sent on a life-changing journey to the Starkey headquarters in Stockport, UK. Through this trip, Lorraine received the precious gift of sound, enabling her to communicate in ways that were previously impossible. Her experience has left a profound impact, compelling her mother to share her inspiring story.
“I had hearing problems as a child, so I learnt to lip read at an early age, my deafness became more apparent when we started wearing masks in my job as a nurse, I soon realized it was worse than I thought, suddenly the vertigo and tinnitus then complete deafness in my right ear around nine or more months ago, every day has been a struggle, in working, and home life, I felt quite lonely in a house full of people, avoided conversations and socialising, for fear of not hearing correctly and constantly asking people to repeat themselves is absolutely exhausting, and embarrassing. Attempting to hear speech became harder and more depressing every day, I avoided the office, and worked from home at every opportunity. Telephone calls were difficult, unable to work out where sounds were coming from and often made to jump when I didn’t know anyone was close!
My daughter Krystal was training to be an audiologist and loving her career with ihear, so she was advising me as much as possible but she lives in Australia and I am in the UK. Our NHS is a bit behind and low on funds so getting any help was challenging.
She could tell I was really struggling now, and discussed this with her boss Matthew, who contacted Paul an audiologist for Starkey in UK. Between them arranged an appointment for me to visit Paul for an appointment.
The alarm went off at 03.00am it was dark and cold, but I was so excited to be going for a hearing assessment, my husband packed us a picnic and we set off from Dorset, 255miles, to Stockport. It was a long journey but 5 hours later we arrived.
Parked up and walked into the lovely large building, welcomed in by the receptionist who informed Paul we were there.
I was feeling hopeful and excited, Paul invited us into the office where he listened and understood my problems, he made me feel very comfortable and he was confident.
I trusted him, and listened, he looked in my ears and showed me on the screen, I went in the booth and had a hearing test, we discussed my needs and expectations, he gave me a choice of colours, he fitted the aids and showed me how to. We downloaded the app and he explained how it works, and the features. He then took his aids out to show me they were the same, and I had not even realised he was wearing any.
Suddenly the voice of my husband who sat behind me was crystal clear, I didn’t need to watch his lips move.
I realised I could look into Paul’s eyes as he spoke, again I didn’t need to lip read.
The sound was amazing and how it made me feel was equally incredible.
I heard raindrops for the first time in many years, the TV volume is normal and bearable for the rest of the family, I can hear my granddaughter’s soft voice without asking her to repeat herself several times. I can hear the kettle boiling.
I can hear the cars coming as I cross the road. I’m much less tired from concentrating and trying to understanding people. I feel I can live my life again, and have really enjoyed my first 24 hours of hearing again!
I am looking forward to work tomorrow knowing my hearing won’t let me down again, these beautiful hearing aids are so comfortable and I feel proud to wear them. I love how they look and feel, how easy they are to clean and recharge, the features of the app. All fantastic.
I cannot put into words how happy I am and how truly grateful I am to you all.
You have helped me more than I ever felt would be possible.
Unbelievable how the two continents, opposite sides of the world have made great connections to make this work for me aka “Krystal ‘s mum!”
Forever grateful.
Many thanks
Lorraine Head”
“Thank you Paul, I am so grateful for your huge part in my mum’s journey to better hearing. We spoke last night for over an hour about our hearing aids. We are both such big fans of Evolv AI! Thank you for giving my Mum the gift of hearing, just in time for Mothers Day. I am so pleased I asked and will be forever grateful for you making this happen.”
Krystal Allen
ihear Clinician
Give your mum, mother figure, or mentor the gift of hearing, book a hearing test at your local ihear clinic.
