Volunteer of the Month - August 2024 - Emmanuelle Ding

Four months before moving to England from France to live with her husband, Hearing Link Services volunteer Emmanuelle Ding was diagnosed with severe hearing loss.

Nonetheless, she bravely took up the challenge of changing countries, learning a new language without hearing, and adapting to a new life in West Yorkshire.

Scroll forward some twenty years and it is testament to Emmanuelle’s character, intellect and determination that she is now one of the most eloquent speakers and advocates for deaf awareness one could ever have the pleasure to meet.

We are exceptionally proud that Emmanuelle recently received the Leeds Way Award for her work at the Leeds Dental Institute supporting deaf and hard of hearing patients and colleagues. They described Emmanuelle as a “driving force for change, improvement and innovation” and her work as impactful to both patients and staff.

“Emmanuelle’s positivity is infectious, and she is amazing at bringing people together” was another comment and oh, how we agree! During her ten years as a volunteer with Hearing Link Services, Emmanuelle has always been willing to get involved in supporting others struggling with hearing loss in any way she can.

Her passion and honesty are compelling. She speaks straight from the soul of her own journey through regret to rehabilitation. Such honesty instils trust; Emmanuelle doesn’t promise miracles but engages with others warmly, and through lived experience.

Naturally Emmanuelle is a key member of our LinkUp support groups. She is skilled in instinctively fitting into any team, bringing the best out in people, and offering peer support to participants.

Fellow volunteer, Philip Le Mare, says: “Emmanuelle's passion for helping people who are hard of hearing, in a clear and informative way, is not only admirable but also inspiring.”

Helen Ives, Support Advisor, concurs: “Emmanuelle is an asset to our LinkUp support groups. She is happy to get involved with both participants and their family members, always making sure they are comfortable to engage and get the most out of the weekend that they can.”

“Emmanuelle is also a very helpful and knowledgeable volunteer responder for our Helpdesk service. She makes sure that any enquirer has as much information as possible and offers to follow up afterwards if they have any further concerns.” 

Questions to the Helpdesk are many and varied. Emmanuelle carefully constructs her replies (including research if necessary) in order to provide the very best support to anyone worried about hearing loss. Her personal experience as a cochlear implant recipient herself means she is one of a few, select peer support volunteer ‘specialists’ in this area. 

Speaking of Hearing Link Services’ new Helpful Hours webinars, Service Delivery Manager, Nicholas Orpin says: “Developing a Helpful Hour is a labour of love. The volunteers involved are invested on a personal level and feel deeply passionate about the topic.” 

The first Helpful Hour ‘Getting the most from your audiology appointment’ was a pioneering piece of work for Hearing Link Services, necessitating volunteers to get to grips with the technology as much as the content, as well as nailing video presenting skills!

Emmanuelle gave up hours of her time to the project and is one of the accomplished presenters of these 60-minute sessions that offer information and guidance on important hearing loss topics.

Nicholas concludes: “Emmanuelle is an exceptional volunteer who epitomises what it means to be an advocate for deafened people; raising awareness with her unique eloquence and belief that – although not without some work – life can be good without all of your hearing.”