Joann and Dudley

Joann is a loving, dedicated grandmother. However, after a dangerous smoke alarm incident when caring for her young grandsons, she completely withdrew from the world. Then, hearing dog Dudley changed everything .

I was first diagnosed with otosclerosis^* when I was 24. I was always the type of person who tried not to let hearing loss affect my life. But a traumatic incident, a couple of years ago, left me at rock bottom.

As my hearing deteriorated, it started to cause arguments with friends. I ended up apologising for my deafness and eventually, I stopped going out altogether.

I knew at that time something had to change, so I applied to Hearing Dogs.

Then, the incident with the microwave happened. I was looking after my grandsons – Orson who was six and Ovie who was three. I wear the strongest hearing aids possible. Because I had the boys over, I didn’t take them out at all and I slept with them in.

I’d previously taught Orson that if he needed to wake me up, he should do it with a ‘shake and shout’. At six o’clock that morning, I was woken up by him shaking me and shouting ‘Nana, Nana!’ I was very disorientated and couldn’t see anything. As I came round, I realised this was because the house was full of smoke. Both smoke alarms were going off and I didn’t hear them at all, even with my hearing aids in.

I started choking and told Orson to hold onto my nightie while we went to look for Ovie. When we found him downstairs he told me, ‘I was hungry, Nana. I put my breakfast in the microwave.’

When I opened the microwave, black smoke billowed out – Ovie had put it on for 90 minutes! I told Orson he was a hero and had saved our lives.

Afterwards, I was traumatised. My grandkids were in my care and my hearing loss put all of us in life-threatening danger.

I went into proper grief. I stayed in bed for four or five days at a time. I was too scared to sleep and felt permanently anxious. I then knew for a fact that if the smoke alarm went off, I wouldn’t hear it.

Watch mine and Dudley’s video below:

Then, in January 2024, I was told I’d been matched with Dudley. When he arrived, I was consumed with love for him! With Dudley by my side, I’ve become ‘Nana’ again.

There are so many other deaf people living in fear and misery, like I was. I would love for someone else to gain the life-changing companionship of a hearing dog. Can you help?

Dudley has transformed my life – and after all the trauma, he is the silver lining in my cloud.

Recently, I had the grandkids to stay on my own for the first time since the microwave incident. Now, I know we’re totally safe. Dudley will do his job.

To everyone who has helped to make our partnership happen, I want to say the biggest, deepest thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Please help me make this happen for another deaf person this Christmas.

Joann and Dudley

*When a tiny bone inside the ear joins with other parts of the ear, affecting a person’s sense of hearing.