Hearing Link: the UK hearing loss organisation ADASS Meeting London, June 8th 2012 Mike Turnill - Trustee.

Hearing Link: the UK hearing loss organisation

ADASS Meeting

London, June 8th 2012

Mike Turnill - Trustee

Background

• More than 10 million people in the UK live with hearing loss

• 6.4 million are of retirement age • 3.7 million are of working age

• Around 2 million use hearing aids

• 800,000 people are severely or profoundly deaf

The impact can be Profound• Hearing loss can be mild, moderate, severe or profound

• It can pose real challenges to every aspect of daily life

• Such as Relationships, Leisure, Employment, Education Hopes &

Aspirations

• Family Members feel the strain too

• Hearing Aids, Cochlear Implants, Assistive Devices and

communication support can be enormously beneficial

• Access to the right INFORMATION & SIPPORT is essential

• Opportunities to CONNECT with others are INVALUABLE

• FAMILY MEMBERS also need information and support and opportunities to

connect with others too

How people can feel

• People react in different ways • They accept, adjust & adapt at different rates

and to different degrees• Many

– become withdrawn – feel isolated– become depressed, sometimes acutely

• For those with sudden profound deafness, the process can be particularly tough

Hearing LinkHearing Link is the UK hearing loss organisation that makes it easy for people to find:•the right information•appropriate services•meaningful ways to connect with others

•Our goal is to improve the quality of lives of individuals and their families or dependents

– To help them re-orientate their everyday lives in the workplace, at home, at leisure

– To adjust to & manage, the practical, social and emotional challenges of hearing loss

Our mission

To achieve the best possible quality of life

for all adults affected by hearing loss who

communicate through speaking and

lipreading.

Remember the person

“If we forget to focus on the person, rather than on their ears, we will fail to derive maximum benefit from today’s technology.”Dr Lorraine Gailey, CEO, Hearing Link

“I deal with patients’ medical needs but cannot meet their emotional needs on a long-term basis. Emotional needs are very important and this is what Hearing Link does so well.” Anirvan Banerjee, consultant ENT surgeon

Our history• Emerged from clubs formed after First War to

help soldiers with damaged hearing

• 1947 - British Association of the Hard of Hearing was formed to bring these clubs together

• Early 1990s, renamed Hearing Concern

• 2008 – merged with The LINK Centre for Deafened People (founded 1972) to become Hearing Concern LINK

• In 2011 we re-launched as HEARING LINK

A royal celebration

May 2012 –

our history & future

was celebrated

with a fundraising

dinner in

St James’s Palace under patronage of HRH The Princess Royal

Where we work

• UK-wide, community-based• Offices in Eastbourne and Edinburgh• Very active in England and Scotland• Building presence in Wales and NI• Services delivered via a network of

community-based volunteers and through partnerships with other organisations

Connecting People

• Bringing people together is essentially what Hearing Link is all about.

• People living with hearing loss have a great deal to offer each other

• We create the right opportunities and environment so that exchanges of knowledge, information, experience and support can happen

Volunteers• At heart of organisation

• Support others based on shared experience

• Raise awareness

• Raise funds

• Distribute information

– to local surgeries, community centres, libraries and audiology departments

• Support our Intensive Rehabilitation Programmes and our Self-Management Courses

• Participate in advisory groups

• Write for our magazine and/or website

• Do many other things to assist in the delivering of our services

Helpdesk• Single point of contact (personal or electronic)

– ask questions, discuss your circumstances, be directed to what you need

• Signposting to appropriate services provided by:– Hearing Link, other charities, statutory organisations, commercial

organisations

• Information on wide range of issues & subjects e.g.

hearing loops, TV subtitles, Access to Work

We plan to expand Helpdesk service using volunteers and specialist Responder Panels

Discover our website

• First class source of information for people seeking help & advice about managing hearing loss, whether for themselves or a family member

• Makes it easy for people to find others facing similar challenges

Impartial information Facts, statistics & news

Signposting to other organisations Blogs & personal experiences

www.hearinglink.org

Direct SupportAn important aspect of

Hearing Link. Includes: • One-to-one support

• Group support

• In person or remote

Delivered in a variety of ways, including:• community support volunteers

• our renowned Intensive Rehabilitation Programmes for severely/profoundly deafened adults

Intensive Rehabilitation Programmes

• A unique 5-day residential programme for deafened people adjusting to acquired profound hearing loss (APHL), and their families

• Offers a mix of peer support and specialist input • Run in different regional locations across the UK• Includes specialised programmes for patients diagnosed

with Neurofibromatosis Type 2 (NF2)• Very highly regarded by participants & professionals

A crucial lifeline for people whose lives

have been devastated by hearing loss

Other Support• Self-management courses

– Focuses on communication, coping skills and self-confidence– Run by experienced and trained volunteers – Uses goal-setting and action-planning techniques.

• Computer Classes – Hard of hearing people are provided with opportunities to improve their

computer knowledge through training courses run by deaf aware staff

• Connecting through Books– Book Clubs for hard of hearing providing support in a social setting

• Affiliated groups & clubs– Hearing Link provides support to local and regional groups and clubs that

provide support and social opportunities to deafened and hard of hearing people

Membership• Individuals can join us and

feel at the heart of what we do• Other organisations can

join us to show support for our

work and to be kept informed through our

membership magazine• Local and regional groups can affiliate with us

and help to strengthen our voice at national level

Influencing Others• A powerful voice – we provide a platform so that the voices of individuals

can be brought together and given due representation at local, regional, national & international level

• A national and international voice – Working with audiologists, hearing therapists, doctors, sensory impairment

teams and other rehabilitation professionals – Presenting papers at workshops & national conferences including the British

Society of Hearing Aid Audiologists, the British Society of Audiology, and the British Academy of Audiology.

• Influencing policy makers .

– Sit on vital policy bodies e.g. All Party Group on Deafness, Scottish Parliament Cross-Party Group on Deafness, Welsh Assembly All Party Group on Deafness, UK Hearing and Balance Group, Hearing Alliance, UK Council on Deafness, and Audiology Services Advisory Groups

Conclusions

Hearing Link:– a developing UK-wide charity– complements many other organisations in the

voluntary, statutory & commercial sectors– participated at the Reading event– willing to work with you to continue to ensure that

people with hearing loss have opportunities to participate fully in an inclusive society

– Contact: [email protected]

People

Chief Executive:

Lorraine Gailey, BSSc, PhD, Dip CCS, Reg MRCSLT, MIoD

Trustees:

Nigel Williams (Chairman)Andrew Meredith, FRCS DLO  Debbie BroughallRonnie BourneRuth Holmes Bill Morrison Mike Turnill

Royal Patron:

HRH the Princess Royal Patrons:

Kate Adie, OBEEsther Rantzen, CBEThe Lady Annaly John Graham, FRCSSian WilliamsDu’aine LadejoSteve DayPamela O’Cuneen

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