Deaf Awareness Week 2017
Deafness Doesn't Have to be Lonely
During Deaf Awareness Week 2017 (May 15 to 21) we highlighted the enormously positive impact that hearing dogs have on the mental wellbeing of their deaf recipients, meaning deafness isn’t such a lonely experience in our Deafness Doesn’t Have to be Lonely campaign.
“Loneliness and isolation, sometimes driven by embarrassment, lack of self-confidence and self-esteem, can reduce the quality of life for deaf people. I’ve met and spoken with many recipients who have told me their hearing dog has given them their life back" - Ben Fogle, Patron.
This is what our hearing dog recipients say
Perhaps no other form of hearing loss assistance has such a combined profound effect on a severely or profoundly deaf person’s life; from alerting to important sounds and danger signals that can’t be heard, such as the smoke alarm, alarm clock and doorbell, to providing invaluable companionship and being an important visual indicator of an otherwise invisible disability.
In our survey of recipients* who have benefitted from a hearing dog:
95%
have more confidence
95%
feel more secure
92%
were better able to make new friends
89%
feel more approachable
Read Vincent and Teddy's story
“Never in my wildest dreams did I think the fear of everything would be taken away. For so many years I’d had fears about all sorts of things; I was afraid of life itself. But when I got Teddy I didn’t feel frightened any more" - Vincent Wakeling, hearing dog recipient
Vincent describes the isolation of growing up as a deaf child, the loneliness of being a deaf adult and how Teddy has helped him to enjoy life for the first time in his moving story which shows just how much our hearing dogs completely transform the lives of deaf people.
How you can help deaf people
Here are three ways you can help deaf people to feel less lonely during Deaf Awareness Week and into the future.
How you can get involved
We don’t want any severely or profoundly deaf people to have to feel lonely when a hearing dog could bring so much life-transforming practical help and invaluable companionship. Here are some ways you can help raise funds so that we can increase the number of hearing dogs that we can train each year to meet the growing demand.
Find your local store
Visit one of over 150 Specsavers Audiologists stores holding a Paws for Coffee event to raise money to sponsor the hearing dogs puppies of the future.
Sponsor a hearing dog puppy
Sponsor a hearing dog puppy as a gift for a friend or family member or a treat for yourself! We’ll send you regular pupdates on your puppies training to become a hearing dog
Download your free pack
Hold your own Paws for Coffee event at home or your place of work to collectively sponsor a hearing dog puppyWould you like to know more about us, our dogs and how we help deaf people? We have a free monthly e-newsletter that you can receive. You can sign up here. We promise that we will never sell or give away your information.
* Hearing Dogs recipient survey 2012