This week marks Deaf Awareness Week and newly-appointed deaf and hard of hearing support adviser Cathy Orintiene, who has 15 years of experience behind her, said it was important to work with people on an individual level.
‘My experience helped me to develop an appreciation for how the sense of hearing, and all the difficulties that can be experienced with it, are felt uniquely to each person,’ she said.
‘I have learned to appreciate the frustrations and difficulties that living with reduced hearing can pose.’
Following financial support from the Guernsey Community Foundation, the role was created to bridge the gap between assistance given by medical specialists and how this is applied to everyday life.
This involves making home visits to assist islanders with new technology, training care home staff, and liaising with businesses about offering support.
‘Part of my role is to support the information people are getting from other hearing care providers and to help them in their journey,’ Ms Orintiene said.
‘There are many different ways you can adapt things.’
With a wave of technological advances, some hearing aid users may struggle getting used to the new features.
‘I want to make sure people feel confident,’ she said.
‘Simply wearing hearing aids is not the same as waving a magic wand to wave away the difficulties.
‘Hearing nerves in the ear can take up to six weeks to re-adjust to the signals they are getting when fitted with a new hearing aid.’
She can help people change the TV settings to reduce background noise, show them useful speech-to-text apps, and introduce them to smart doorbells, which link to a person’s phone to alert them through their hearing aids that someone is at the door.
‘I think it’s the little things that make a big difference,’ said Guernsey Hard of Hearing chairman Jamie Toynton.
‘The success of hearing devices and teachings means people are able to achieve more.’
Mr Toynton said the new role was important to help people adapt to using hearing aids in their own settings.
‘The committee members are so grateful to the Guernsey Community Foundation’s kind support and are really excited for this new development,’ he added.
‘Cathy brings a wealth of knowledge and experience together with huge enthusiasm for this challenging role.’
For more information about free services or financial support for purchasing hearing aids, email corintiene@ghh.gg or phone 07781 169952.
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