Read Liz's story and find how she went to Amplifon to prove that her hearing was fine.
Liz said that it was other people that initially noticed my hearing loss before I did as she was reluctant to notice it. Her husband noticed it more than anybody and she just blamed him for mumbling. I was constantly saying “Sorry, can you stand still when you’re talking to me or please don’t walk away when you’re talking to me. It could become quite fractious really. Then it was television was the next thing that actually made me think there is actually something in this."
Liz used to put something on the TV to watch and if her husband was watching it too he’d say that the volume was really loud and she would tell him it was ok to turn it down. "I could still hear it but I just couldn’t quite catch it. I don’t think I was to bad with volume but it was clarity."
"It made me feel frustrated that I would give up on watching programs."
What made Liz think that she needed to do something about it was that "I was missing things that my grandchildren were saying and I if I kept saying sorry sweetheart, can you repeat that, they would perhaps begin to not bother”
Liz went to Amplifon "the reason I went there was to prove that my hearing was fine." When she rang Amplifon, Liz was asked whether there was anything else she wanted to tell them "Yes, I need to tell you that I am quite vain and I don’t want these great big things sticking out of my ears and I have very small and very flat ears. I was anxious that there wouldn’t be anything that was pertinent for my ears which is really silly thing to think so it was just another one of things of pulling back rather than actually facing up to the fact that I needed something."
"The testing process at Amplifon was fantastic; the whole experience at Amplifon in Bristol was fantastic. It was a very relaxed atmosphere. When the testing began it was very comprehensive,very in-depth and it wasn’t intrusive."
Liz was shown the results of her hearing test on the Audiologists computer screen "I felt very secure in that a really good job was being done."
"The hearing aids have really improved my life, I can’t stress that enough, probably with confidence more than anything. If I’m asked to go out now I don’t think will there be too many people there, or will we be in a crowded bar."
"It gives you that extra edge, loss of embarrassment in those social situations when you're trying to keep up with the conversations and you know that you don’t stand a snowballs chance. You kind of put on that fixed smile and look at everybody as though you’re hearing everything they are saying, when actually you cant at all, as they are all talking at once and it’s a nightmare, that has gone and you can’t put a price on that."
