Help for those with hearing problems

To address this issue, our charity is hosting an International Hearing Loop Conference on October 6th and 7th. We hope local people will consider attending. The two-day event is being held in Eastbourne, East Sussex, which may be some distance away but this is an extraordinary opportunity. The event is for hearing aid and cochlear implant users, as well as groups, clubs and organisations that could help us carry out an audit of hearing loops in your area. Professionals and experts will be at the conference, as well as service providers. Find out more at www.hearinglink.org/loopconference.

Hearing loops have been around for years but have often been poorly installed or inadequately maintained, resulting in people trying to use them having poor experiences. Frustratingly, the issues are usually easy to fix. Hearing loops are installed into buildings or used in portable form to direct sound and speech directly into hearing aids and cochlear implants. They can be used in shops, banks, care homes, theatres, places of worship and many other places.

This is the first time the International Hearing Loop Conference has been held in the UK and it is undoubtedly the last for years to come. People shouldn’t be concerned they won’t hear the discussions as we will have good communications support in place, including a hearing loop and large screens to display a text transcript of what is said. The event will be social and enjoyable as well as interesting.

Dr Lorraine Gailey

Chief Executive of Hearing Link