Sponsored by Hearing Australia
Cameron Bayley
Sally Smith doesn’t hesitate when asked what she loves most about being a grandmother to her four grandkids. “Just loving them. Being near them, caring for them,” she says. “We play, we read stories, we have sleepovers. I love picking them up from day care. I just love them.”
However, it got to a point where something came between the 65-year-old and her grandchildren — the ability to hear them.
“It’s been going on for years. I’ve been retired for six years and even before then my hearing had declined,” the former nurse recalls.
When it came to babysitting, she confesses it became very frustrating when she couldn’t make out what they were saying. “They’d get cranky, and sometimes they’d get louder and yell, one of them threw himself on the floor because he was getting cranky with me! I’d have to look at [my husband] Gary, and he’d have to repeat it.”
Hearing aids to the rescue
According to a recent national study, around 40 per cent of Australians over 50 suffer from some form of hearing loss. What was concerning, however, was the finding that of those who do have hearing loss, a third hadn’t looked into getting hearing aids.
“There’s definitely a stigma around it,” says Donna Jory, 65, from Penrith. “I don’t know why that is. When you wear glasses, it seems to be fashionable, but with hearing aids, that’s not part of the fashion.”
Donna — also a grandmother to four — became aware that she was missing out on what people were saying more than 20 years ago, while working in a factory and attending meetings to discuss scheduling.
“We’re sitting around a table and talking about the workload, and it was not as clear as what it should be,” she remembers. “When I knew there were meetings, I’d end up having a sick day because it impacted me so much. The shame of it, I suppose.”
Both Sally and Donna admit that when their hearing started to wane, they reacted by avoiding social settings and encounters. “I withdrew from conversations, I used to stand back a lot,” Sally says. “[Because] I would answer people thinking I knew what they had said, and it was wrong.”
The joy of hearing restored
While Donna has been wearing hearing devices for a while now, Sally got hers through Hearing Australia about a year ago, and believes it was a game changer. “Once they put the hearing aids in, oh, it brought tears to my eyes that I could hear.”
Her grandchildren have noticed a huge difference. “I’ll say, ‘Granny’s got her hearing aids in’ and it’s good!”
Donna believes that wearing the devices allows her to fully experience spending time with the four she dotes on.
“[I love] just being part of their little conversations. I took them to Symbio Wildlife Park and I got them a koala encounter. I didn’t know that the koala makes this noise, a really deep sort of sound, and the whole lot of us went ‘Whoa!’ You wouldn’t expect it!” she laughs. “And they’re the things [I love] with my grandchildren, enjoying the wildlife, nature and having those conversations.”
She recalls when she was first fitted with hearing devices, the audiologist told her that her regular walk along the Nepean River may be overwhelming at first, which it was — in a good way.
“I could not believe the wildlife, could not believe it,” she says. “The birds, the ducks, the rowers on the water, hearing the water when they were rowing, the rustling of the trees with the birds in them, I had never heard that all my life. It was the best feeling ever.”
Both recommend people surmount any fear or hesitation in getting their hearing checked. “Go for it, because you’re missing out on too much,” Sally urges.
The help of Hearing Australia
Donna, now an Aboriginal health worker, agrees. “[Without them] I can’t work, I can’t drive, I can’t be part of any social group, or even my family. So, I think you’ve got to look into it.”
They are full of praise for Hearing Australia and the solutions they provide. “They’re caring,” says Donna. “It’s not about numbers or ticking a box, it’s about caring about people.”
A recent grandparents’ day at one of her grandchildren’s schools stands out for Donna as something special. Not only was she able to talk about her own school days, she was also able to be an honorary ‘Nanny’ for one of her grandson’s friends whose relatives couldn’t make it. “If I didn’t have the hearing aids, I wouldn’t be able to do any of that,” she states.
Sally, meanwhile, is just thrilled to hear the children running around after the dozen chickens she and Gary have on their property in Bexhill, near Lismore. “The kids love the chooks. They get the eggs, but you’ve got to watch them or they’ll be broken!” she laughs.
From talking to both women, it’s very clear: the sounds of happy grandchildren is one thing Donna and Sally could listen to forever.
Concerned about your hearing? Book a free 15-minute adult hearing check with Hearing Australia—Australia’s most trusted hearing services provider since 2021, as voted by Reader’s Digest readers. Call 134 432 or book online at hearing.com.au/bookings
Only 15 minute hearing checks are free. Other services may attract charges/fees or may be subsidised for those eligible under the Australian Government Hearing Services Program, to which conditions apply. A hearing check is a screening that helps identify people that may have hearing loss.
