Sam and Syd
“He listens for me, looks out for me, and reminds me I’m never alone”
A frightening incident while in bed one night made Sam realise just how vulnerable her hearing loss left her.
Since then, hearing dogs Barley, Tasha, and now Syd, have changed Sam’s life. Their practical soundwork skills have kept her safe, while their companionship has increased Sam’s confidence to talk openly about her deafness.
Sam shares her story:
When I was six, I had German Measles and Whooping Cough at the same time, which doctors said affected the nerves in my ears. At 13, my hearing dropped dramatically and then continued to deteriorate.
At 19, I asked to be fitted with a cochlear implant. I was training to be a hairdresser and the constant hum of hairdryers made it almost impossible to hear. But because I still had ‘good hearing’ with my hearing aids, and my lipreading was strong, I was turned down. Mentally I was struggling though. I wasn’t coping.
There were times when I felt invisible, even ashamed, because of my hearing loss. I’d nod and smile in conversations I couldn’t follow. I’d laugh when others laughed, and copy their expressions just to fit in. I didn’t want to be treated differently. I wanted to be liked. Pretending was exhausting.
At that time, I was living in London in a flat on my own. I hadn’t realised how much I’d relied on my mum and dad when I lived at home.
Then one night, my worst fear came true. I woke up in bed to find someone standing over me. I’d always worried about not hearing something at night, but when it actually happened, my confidence plummeted.
It turned out to be someone I knew and trusted. He said he wanted to make sure I was okay because I hadn’t answered the door. But later, I found out he’d climbed over the balcony and smashed the window to get in. I hadn’t heard a thing. It showed me just how vulnerable I was.
After that, I never felt safe. I was too scared to take my hearing aids out at nighttime. I was constantly on edge and suffered quite badly from depression.
Thankfully, I was assigned a lovely support worker. She suggested I went back to college to study something I really wanted to do and it was her who encouraged me to apply for a hearing dog.
I went back to college at the age of 22 with the dream of becoming a physiotherapist, but when I started studying for my A Levels - and was pregnant with my son - my hearing suddenly disappeared completely in my right ear and I had to leave my course.
After my son was born, I started the process for a cochlear implant and this time I was accepted, so at 26, I found myself adjusting to life with a new baby and a whole new world of sound.
When Hearing Dogs sent that first photo asking if I wanted to meet Barley, that’s when my life changed for the better. Barley was my best friend - we went everywhere together.
In a strange way she made me feel better about being deaf. She helped me talk about my deafness more openly. She saved me really.
When Barley passed, it broke my heart. She’d been my ears, my confidence and my comfort through the hardest years. She was my reason to get up in the morning - to keep going.
I was lucky that I’d already been matched with my second hearing dog Tasha when Barley retired. She gave Barley a second wind in her final year; the two of them were inseparable.
My hearing dogs have always given me the courage and reassurance to go out in public. They are the eyes that I look to which say, ‘It’s okay’. And the confidence to know that if my hearing aids were out and a sound went off, they would tell me.
