Have you ever smiled sweetly at a store clerk with a blank or baffled expression, and then provided a completely inappropriate response to the clerk's query?
Have you had your spouse grumble because the television is turned up too loud?
If you've ever tried to visit with a family member on the phone and spent most of your time just saying "uh huh" and "I see" because you had no idea what the other person was saying, a display in North Battleford Tuesday, May 21 may be of interest to you.
The Saskatchewan Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services will set up a display table at the North Battleford Co-op mall that day from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
According to SDHHS, hearing loss affects one in five people in Saskatchewan with many unaware of the services and products that can support them and their families. Case in point is the following experience common to many:
"I was devastated when at age 26 my hearing loss became so pronounced that I had to wear the dreaded hearing aids," said Carlene Good of Saskatoon. "I had low self-esteem and hoped that wearing inner ear hearing aids would mask my disability."
Now some 10 years later, Good works as a professional radiation therapist at the Saskatoon Cancer Center, she proudly wears visible hearing aids behind her ears, and has come to terms with her hearing loss.
"I wish I would have known about SDHHS services and supports back then," said Good. "It wouldn't have been such a traumatic ordeal for me."
It is stories like this that compels SDHHS to endorse the national initiative of Speech and Hearing Awareness for the month of May 2013, according to a press release.
"Public education and awareness regarding hearing loss engenders a balanced, holistic perspective of the individual," stated Roger Carver, executive director of SDHHS. "As a society we need to focus on the abilities of the person and not on their disability."
Since 1981, SDHHS is a provincial non-profit organization, which has been providing an array of services including communication devices for the hard of hearing, oral deaf and culturally deaf to citizens with a hearing loss.
"Our assistive technology promotes independence and accessibility," said Jerry Markin, manager of communications and marketing. "There are several viable and affordable communication options for individuals or families affected by hearing loss."
According to Carver, their assistive devices program is a top priority for SDHHS as it helps remove communication barriers.
"SDHHS endeavours to 'bridge the gap' by keeping current issues such as quality of life and independence for all citizens with a hearing loss."
