Tell us about yourself (interest, work, anything interesting, etc.)
I am originally from Scotland, married to Mike and we have a blended family together of my three grown-up children and his two younger boys, who are 12 and 15 years old. I also have five grandchildren, who I absolutely adore!
I trained as a midwife in Scotland and moved to New Zealand in 2007. Since arriving in New Zealand, I have worked in several midwifery roles across North Shore, Auckland and Middlemore Hospitals. My current role is with the Care Capacity Demand Management Team at Middlemore Hospital. This programme is about matching staff resources to patient demand so we can improve patient care. I love to read, but my husband doesn’t understand my passion for books. My spare time is taken up with socialising with friends and spending time with my grandchildren. There are only two of them in New Zealand - aged 2.5 years and 9 months old - so they keep us all busy.
Tell us about your hearing loss and when you first noticed it
Retrospectively, I realise that I probably noticed my hearing loss during my early to mid-20s. I have always had tinnitus and at university I remember having to sit at the front of the class, otherwise I couldn’t hear. If people were talking around me, I was unable to catch all of what was being said. I remember now taking notes and leaving spaces so I could ask others after class what they had in their notes so I could fill in the blanks. From then on, I now realise that over the years developed coping strategies to get me through situations where I couldn’t hear properly.
Prior to getting a hearing aid, how did your hearing loss impact your life?
My hearing loss has impacted literally every area of my life. I even had a colleague ask me if I had offended them because she thought I had ignored her. During Covid, when mask-wearing became compulsory, I found it extremely difficult to fully understand many conversations. Where I was working at that time there were emergency situations and I would stress that I misheard something or missed it completely.
My family became frustrated with me for not hearing what they said and asking them to repeat things all the time. My husband didn’t take me seriously either and got snippy when asked to repeat things several times but he sounded to me like he was mumbling. Voices in general were muffled. The TV had to be turned up really loud, and I struggled to follow storylines. If I heard a new song, I would have to Google the lyrics as I could never make out all of the words. Telephone conversations could be difficult, this was frustrating with family members and caused disagreements. At work, I would constantly ask colleagues to repeat what they said and would blame the ‘mask’. They didn’t realise - and for a long time, neither did I - that I had a significant hearing loss - it was just something we all just ‘dealt’ with.
Meals out in a restaurant would be problematic. I would only talk to the person next to me as it was just too difficult to have a conversation with anyone further away. In social situations, I would end up not participating in conversations as I was unable to keep up with what everyone was saying. When my grandson began to talk, I would ask the nearest person to me to tell me what he was saying. Even he would get frustrated at being asked to repeat himself too many times. I couldn’t hear my car indicators, doorbell noises, and alarm beeps on my devices. Going shopping, if a stranger/shop assistant started a conversation, I would agree with what they were saying rather than ask them to repeat themselves.
At what point did you realise you needed to do something about your hearing?
The turning point for me was a couple of months ago at my new job - I was having difficulty functioning at work; this prompted me to get a hearing test. I work in a large office where I sit in a small pod of four people and I was unable to hear anything properly. If we had a zoom meeting, I would come off and ask others what was said as I hadn’t managed to keep up. In face-to-face meetings, I also struggled to hear people and would avoid participating just in case I had misinterpreted what was being discussed.
During meetings, I would feel anxious that I was asked a question and hadn’t been able to hear where the conversation had been up to. I also again kept having to ask my colleagues to repeat themselves multiple times and it was getting embarrassing. I couldn’t find any other coping strategies but I genuinely thought that I just had a build-up of earwax and it would as simple as getting it removed, so I booked the appointment for that plus a hearing test just to see what it said.
Did you do any research about hearing solutions before coming to Hobsonville Hearing?
I didn’t research anything about hearing solutions before my diagnosis because I was sure it was just blocked ears. I researched earwax removal and the best methods of removing it, as well as recommended audiologists. I kept going back to Hobsonville Hearing’s website as it was informative and had great reviews.
Tell us about your hearing aid journey and how it has impacted your day-to-day life
For me, getting hearing aids has been life-changing! I can’t believe how much sound was missing from my life. On the first day when I walked out of the clinic, the noise that struck me the most was the sound of birds chirping. On reflection, I realise I hadn’t heard that for a long time. I can now participate fully in work meetings both via video and face-to-face. My husband has even asked me a few times if he can turn the TV up because he can’t hear it, which I find rather funny. I can now follow the storyline of what we are watching without having to ask questions all the time. I can enjoy music again and don’t have the need to Google lyrics to understand what the song is about.
In our office I can now sit in our pod and hear full video meetings without having to be right next to the screen or person speaking. I also no longer have to see people's lips. Shopping is much easier and I don’t feel rude when someone strikes up a conversation. I no longer feel physically and mentally exhausted from having to concentrate so hard to get through my workday. My husband is also VERY happy with my hearing aids and doesn’t have to repeat himself quite so much. He was as surprised as I was with the diagnosis.