Deaf Awareness Week and Why I Love My Little Robot Ear
Single-sided deafness (SSD) can create significant barriers, even when it is not visible to others. In this blog, I share my experience of living with SSD and receiving a cochlear implant after eight years without hearing support on my left side. I reflect on access to treatment, why cochlear implants are not the right choice for everyone, and what my “little robot ear” has changed for me.
Sudden Hearing Loss Support Is 5 Years Old!
Through reading the experiences of others in the group, I also realised there was a lack of awareness and comprehensive information about sudden hearing loss, not to mention very little support. People were often seeking medical attention outside of the optimal treatment window, and some were being misdiagnosed, both of which I had experienced myself. That realisation was the turning point that led me to start building something more structured, accessible, and supportive for others going through the same thing.
Protecting Young Ears on World Hearing Day
After losing hearing in one ear, former Early Years teacher and hearing health advocate Carly Sygrove saw the classroom differently. In this World Hearing Day blog, she reflects on noise in schools and shares simple, practical ways teachers can help protect children’s hearing while supporting calm, healthy learning environments.
Sharing Your Hearing Needs with Confidence
It can be tricky to explain your needs when you meet someone for the first time, have a work conversation, sit in a noisy café, or go on a date. Explaining your hearing loss clearly and confidently is something you can learn. With practice, you can feel more in control in conversations, and communicating can become less tiring.
This guide offers practical tips and examples to help you handle these situations with confidence.
Grieving the Old You After Hearing Loss
Hearing loss doesn’t just change how you hear; it can also change how you see yourself. Many people are surprised by the sense of grief that can come with it. You might still be working, parenting, and socialising, and on the surface, life may look much the same. Yet hearing loss often reaches into many areas of our lives, because hearing plays such a key role in how we interact with the world, make sense of our surroundings, and feel safe.
How Hearing Loss Affects Relationships and Tips for Staying Connected
When you’re used to relying on your hearing to communicate, any change, whether gradual or sudden, can naturally shift how you connect with others. This can shake the foundations of even the strongest relationships. That does not mean hearing loss has to be a negative disruption, but it does bring new challenges for communication and relationships as you learn to adapt.
What I Wish I Knew About Living with Hearing Loss
Losing part of your hearing can feel like losing a part of you. It’s not just sound. It’s connection, ease of conversation, confidence, and your sense of place in the world. Looking back, I realise how important it was for me to accept the reality of my hearing loss. I gave myself time and space to process it all. I allowed myself to be in shock, angry, frustrated, and sad. I took time to reminisce about times when my hearing played an integral part in my enjoyment of life, such as summer music festivals, honouring the hearing I had lost.
What We Wish Our Loved Ones Knew About Living with Hearing Loss
This article was inspired by a touching conversation with a client during a coaching session. They had recently been diagnosed with hearing loss and were beginning to navigate their new reality—figuring out where to sit in restaurants, how to advocate for themselves in public spaces, and how to adapt. While they were proud of their progress, one thing remained hard: helping their loved ones truly understand what living with hearing loss feels like.
Navigating the Emotional Impact of Hearing Loss: From Grief to Growth
If you’ve experienced hearing loss, you may have found it to be a life-changing experience. Often, learning to live without full sound not only means figuring out the practical implications, such as whether a hearing device might be helpful or the best place to sit in a restaurant to hear the people at your table but also means working through a landscape of emotions. Hearing loss not only affects how you interact with the world but also how you feel about yourself, and for me, the emotional impact of hearing loss was huge.