Wednesday 16th November 2022: Speaker, Mr Gerry Knight RNID
Gerry has been a volunteer with the Royal National Institute for the Deaf for the past 22 years, service which was recently recognised by the award of a British Empire Medal [BEM]. Gerry focussed his talk on what he does as a RNID volunteer., starting with drop-in clinics held monthly in various local centres. At these he does minor repairs to hearing aids as well as help people adjust to a new aid. When taken off hearing aids default to zero and it takes time for users to learn how to reset them. Hearing aids also require regular cleaning, something with Gerry is happy to demonstrate at clinics. For those who cannot attend clinics, home visits are arranged.
Gerry reported that hearing loss is widespread in the community with men being the poorest patients because of their reluctance to admit anything is wrong. GP referrals to an audiology clinic normally take about three weeks and hearing aids provided by the NHS are every bit as good as privately purchased aids costing upwards of £2,000. Hearing loss can be inherited but can also be due to a range of illnesses and reaction to certain types of medication. Over 500,000 people in the UK cannot use a telephone.
Gerry concluded his talk by discussing some of the latest developments in hearing aid technology which are allowing young persons to play musical instruments. Following an informative question and answer session he was thanked for his valuable talk by Oliver Loughran.
