We are delighted to announce that we are one of the sponsors of Forget Me Knot, an independent Atlantic expedition to raise money for Dementia UK. In January 2022 the crew will cross nearly 4,000- miles of the Atlantic Ocean from Portugal to French Guiana, aiming to break two World Records and raise £100,000.

Rowing 24hrs in all weather and high seas, the expedition will be long and gruelling – but not in comparison to the daily challenges faced by many dementia carers. Leading the team is Johnnie Ball whose dad died three years ago, following a 15-year battle with dementia.  Having seen the pain dementia brings to families, Johnnie and two friends decided to embark on a mission to raise awareness and funding to help others facing a similar ordeal. 

700,000 families in the UK care for people with dementia. The relentless demands of care commonly lead to depression and mental health problems, but few carers seek support. Crewman Johnnie saw the anguish that dementia brings to the patient and carer alike over the 15-year period that his dad suffered from the disease. The family watched as his mum and dad went through a nearly two -decade ordeal. Hundreds of thousands of carers have similar stories to tell and the Forget Me Knot campaign to row an ocean will help fundraising efforts to ensure they don’t have to go through it alone.

Help in Hearing have decided to support this wonderful cause as there is such a significant link between hearing loss and the risk of developing dementia.

Research has shown that assisting hearing difficulties in mid life could help a person maintain their brain function as they get older and might also reduce their risk of dementia. Published on 21st July, a new study led by University of Oxford researchers on over 82,000 participants has shown that difficulty hearing spoken conversations is associated with up to 91% increased risk of dementia. This study was featured on the Today programme. If anyone is interested in catching up on the story here is a link – skip forward to 2hrs55 mins (last 5 minutes of the show).

To support the Forget Me Knot row for Dementia, we have become a 500 Club member and you could too! If anyone in your family has been affected by Dementia or you know someone that has, why not take a look at the expedition website to find out more!

https://www.forgetmeknotcampaign.com/

We are delighted to hear that Public Health England’s infection prevention control guidelines and hospital visiting guidance are set to remain in place for all staff and visitors  across all health services. Staff, patients and visitors will also be expected to continue to follow social distancing rules when visiting any healthcare setting as well as using face coverings, mask and other personal protection equipment.

The Chief Nursing Officer for England, Ruth May commented: “Face coverings and social distancing measures will remain in place across healthcare settings so that the most vulnerable people can continue to safely attend hospital, their GP surgery, pharmacy or any other healthcare settings for advice, care and treatment.

“And it is important for the public to continue to play their part when visiting healthcare settings to help protect staff and patients, particularly those who may be more vulnerable to infections. As restrictions are lifted, everyone has a part to play in helping to control Covid by getting vaccinated and acting responsibly”. 

At Help in Hearing we continue with our strict Covid protocol as it is our priority to keep our clients and staff healthy and safe. Find our more about our policy here.  

The pandemic brought social isolation to so many, and the impact on the elderly is even greater if combined with a hearing impairment. This is further compounded by research which shows that 77% of older people might need someone to help them through the process of setting up a new device. And yet our client Hugh Gurney is so adept at pairing and using his hearing aids and enhancing accessories, that you might be surprised to hear he has just celebrated his 95th birthday. In this interview, we talk about his work, his hearing and how he has embraced the world of technology.

In January 2020 Hugh Gurney booked to see our audiologist Wendy Davies as he was so impressed by the care his wife had received at Help in Hearing. Affected by a severe high frequency hearing loss, he was fitted with Oticon Exceed power aids, with which he has been delighted, as they are comfortable, easy to control from his phone and give plenty of flexibility to make adjustments across the frequencies.

Drugs causing hearing damage

Mr Gurney had been a scientist in the pharmaceutical industry for over 40 years. His first major project in 1948/49 was to develop and run a process to make Dihydrostreptomycin, a derivative of streptomycin used with great success as a course of injections to treat pulmonary tuberculosis. In its heyday it was listed by the WHO as critically important for human medicine. Unfortunately it was found  to be ototoxic causing damage to the cochlea or vestibular structures of the ear. Many patients cured of TB developed severe deafness, and when new more convenient oral drugs for TB became available the use of Dihydrostreptomycin in human medicine was discontinued.

After several years working with penicillin and other drugs, Hugh spent 4 years in Bombay setting up a factory to manufacture steroids and vitamins. On returning to the UK, he served as general manager of factories in Co.Durham  and Cumbria, with heavy machinery making some areas quite noisy. One factory had a youth club with a good pop band and he received regular invitations to their concerts, which he says were enjoyable but painfully loud when seated in the front row!

Time for hearing aids

Despite exposure to possible hearing reduction factors at work and as a wartime teenager to the noise of the London Blitz, Hugh hadn’t really noticed his hearing loss until the 1980’s when he realised he could not hear the alarm sound on a colleague’s new mobile watch. Soon after that he booked a hearing test and had aids fitted through a local optician.  Although these were very useful at the time, particularly for technical and supplier meetings in France, Italy and further afield, once he retired Mr Gurney found himself taking a break from wearing them for several years. However, in 2014 his wife “strongly encouraged” him to start his hearing journey once again.  

An NHS test confirmed that he had severe hearing loss at high frequencies and provided hearing aids which, with controls bought privately, proved quite useful. He said “I have no complaints about the advice and service I had from the NHS audiology teams but they were limited to equipment on the NHS list. Last year when I needed to update, I realised that hearing technology had changed dramatically with a much broader choice of audiological devices and accessories available which could improve the high frequency shifting I needed. I decided to move on. I was encouraged by my wife’s contacts with Help in Hearing to follow her and had a consultation in January 2020.” 

Choosing the right device

Our audiologist Wendy spent time with him working out the best option for his hearing, choosing Exceed aids by Oticon as the best devices for him. He has some experience of internet technology and is a dab hand at pairing with his iPhone, remote microphone and a TV streamer. He says he has been very pleased with the new hearing aids Wendy has prescribed and fitted, as well as all the advice and service he has had since, despite the difficulties of lockdown.

Covid has made all our worlds smaller and as the world re-opens these advances in hearing technology will make that opening up so much more meaningful. At Help in Hearing, we offer independent advice in order to find the right hearing solution for our individual clients. We take time to explain how the technology works, from the hearing aid itself to a range of supporting accessories – we are here to help, just call 0345 2220579. Or email mail@helpinhearing.co.uk.