A few years ago I enrolled on a philosophy course, and in spite of putting a great deal of effort into ensuring the college understood my difficulties and how they could help, I had to withdraw after two weeks because I was not able to hear the lecturer or the other students
So it was with some trepidation that I enrolled on a map reading course. I knew it would involve a lot of work in mountainous country, and I knew that I cannot hear anything at all if there is even a slight breeze, as it completely swamps my hearing aids. I coped with the first year of the course, but the second was going to be much harder. We had to navigate in the dark, and I knew communication would be difficult if I couldn’t see the speaker. We would also be spending much more time up in the hills.
The Intensive Rehabilitation Course at Hearing Link gave me a strong desire not to let hearing difficulties stop me from doing the things that I want to do. But they also gave me many tools to help me cope. The course instructor and fellow students had all demonstrated a willingness to help me cope as well, so I went for it.
The result of all this support is that I have just spent an amazing weekend improving my navigation skills in the Black Mountains. Most of the time, even when there was a wind of about 25 mph I was able to hear the instructor thanks to my new piece of technology. If I couldn’t hear, the instructor was always prepared to explain again on a one-to-one basis.
The solution to my difficulties was a complex combination of technology, knowing when and how to ask for help, improved lip-reading skills, and a sense of humour when I navigated to the wrong place because I misheard the briefing – well that’s my excuse anyway!