Sophie's Story

Sophie: My name is Sophie Whitley. I'm 35, and I currently live in Liverpool. I split my time between being an events photographer, document photography and the manager for some musical acts that mainly play weddings and functions.

I've had a hearing loss for as long as I can remember. It certainly got worse as the older I became. A lot
of the other members of my family also struggle from hearing loss. It wasn't really until I met Helena from The Hearing Suite that it was properly investigated and I found out that it was a loss large enough to
require attention.

It has really impacted me socially, mainly. It's quite hard to join in in social situations in a busy bar or in a cafe. You might get maybe a quarter of the conversation that's being had and spend a lot of time nodding and smiling and trying to pretend that you've heard what's going on.
I've mainly managed by lip reading and using subtitles on the television. Obviously that doesn't replace human interaction in a social situation.

Helena: I'm Helena Milnes and I am an Advanced Audiologist and Lip Reading Teacher. I have been working in audiology for over a decade, and I am going to talk a little bit about Sophie's experience of hearing and why we decided to go with this product. I've known Sophie for a long time, personally, and throughout that time I've also known about her hearing loss. For a long time it was stable and we believe that it's been there since birth. I wanted to be able to
look at where her hearing was at and have a better assessment of what we could do to help.

I work with a number of differenty manufacturers, and when I'm looking at hearing aids for a client, what I'm looking for is what's the most appropriate for their lifestyle, their needs, and what suits their hearing loss. The reason why I went for a Signia Pure Charge&Go 7 IX is just how easy it would be for her to
adjust to it and how well the hearing aid performs in a number of environments. Sophie, in her life, will be in the mornings going on the school run, chatting to other mums with kids running around, all wanting attention and having conversations. And also she often attends a lot of social
settings, in noise, so I wanted something that would work in each of those, as well as having the app which is really handy. And who doesn't love that the Silk is rechargeable?

Sophie: I had always been quite hesitant to try hearing aids other than getting used to how loud the world was going to be. I was often worried about how they would look. Hearing aids in the past being kind of large, ugly, beige things that make you feel a little bit self-conscious. Being a young woman in my
30s, it was really great for me to be able to find a hearing aid that was not only discreet but pretty to look at, and I was proud to show off to my friends.

It's been a lot easier to socialise. For the first time I can go out to, say, monthly cheese and wine night or a busy pub situation and I'm able to hear everything that's happening. Another feature that I really love is the ability to use directionality. So, the app lets you choose which
direction you want to focus the sound from. If I'm in a busy cafe or a bar, I can switch off the noise behind me and just focus on the person in front of me.

Although I've been lucky enough to know Helena as a friend for many years, it's been a breath of fresh air coming to The Hearing Suite and finding an audiologist that makes me feel relaxed and comfortable. I know that I could call them about any of the needs I have, and I truly wouldn't go anywhere else.

You can watch Sophies story on our Youtube channel here.