In June this year I was invited to speak on one of GN ReSound’s roadshows.

I was particularly interested in this roadshow as it involved speaking to audiences of NHS audiologists around the country.

There were 5 locations, Glasgow, York, Nantwich, London and Bristol.

It was a fabulous opportunity to raise awareness of Usher Syndrome and how the needs of the deafblind differ to the needs of the deaf, of my experiences of going from deaf to deafblind and my reliance on the best possible assistive technology, the importance of best possible smart hearing aids which without a doubt can and do compensate with the onset of blindness. 

As most of us on the Usher Syndrome journey start out as deaf individuals audiologists really must understand and identify the initial signs of the condition and consider how different a journey life is being deafblind.

Having had my Linx2 hearing aids for 18 months I have become a different person, my confidence has grown, my speech has improved, I can and do regularly adjust my hearing aids depending on the environment.  For the first time in my life I understand my own deafness.  

Life has become so much more inclusive, I no longer feel like an outsider trying to look in at social events I am a part of all social events.

I cannot see danger but I can certainly hear it now.  I can speak and hear clearly on my iPhone, speaking of which I can use my iPhone as a microphone no more faffing around with roger pens to hear.

A pair of fantastic hearing aids have brought the world into my ears.

It remains there is no cure for Usher Syndrome or retinitis pigmentsosa (RP) the blindness I live with however thank goodness for amazing technology deafness, Linx2, game changers.