Hearing Link: the UK hearing loss organisation

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

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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react in different ways • They accept, adjust & adapt at different rates and to different degrees • Many • become withdrawn • feel isolated • become depressed, sometimes acutely • For those with sudden profound deafness, the process can be particularly tough

5. Hearing Link Hearing 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

6. Our mission To achieve the best possible quality of life for all adults affected by hearing loss who communicate through speaking and lipreading.

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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

13. 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

14. 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

15. Direct Support An 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

16. 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

17. 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

18. 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

19. 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

20. 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: mike.turnill@btinternet.com

21. People Chief Executive: Lorraine Gailey, BSSc, PhD, Dip CCS, Reg MRCSLT, MIoD Trustees: Nigel Williams (Chairman) Andrew Meredith, FRCS DLO Debbie Broughall Ronnie Bourne Ruth Holmes Bill Morrison Mike Turnill Royal Patron: HRH the Princess Royal Patrons: Kate Adie, OBE Esther Rantzen, CBE The Lady Annaly John Graham, FRCS Sian Williams Du’aineLadejo Steve Day Pamela O’Cuneen

22. Q & A