TAKE RNID’S TELEPHONE HEARING CHECK

Neil Gerrard, MP for Walthamstow, took RNID’s telephone hearing check, joining more than 180,000 people who have already made the call. Neil Gerrard MP voiced his support for RNID’s ‘Breaking the Sound Barrier’ campaign, which is reaching out to the 4 million people in the UK¹ who are losing their hearing but doing nothing about it.

The specially developed five minute telephone hearing check, available by dialling 0845 600 55 55, is part of the new ‘Breaking the Sound Barrier’ campaign by RNID, the UK’s largest charity for deaf and hard of hearing people.

Expressing his support for the campaign, which aims to change attitudes towards hearing loss and hearing aids, Neil Gerrard MP says: “Most people don’t realise how important their hearing is until they start to lose it. I urge concerned people in Walthamstow to take RNID’s telephone hearing check. Hearing loss can lead to stress and difficulties in communicating, both at home and at work. Yet digital hearing technology can transform lives for the better and reconnect people back into society.”

RNID’s Chief Executive Dr John Low explains: “It’s great that Neil Gerrard MP is urging his constituents to take RNID’s telephone hearing check.

“By the time we reach 50, over 40% of us will experience some level of hearing loss, which happens naturally as we get older. But it can have a profound impact on our lives, leaving many of us feeling isolated. Follow Neil Gerrard’s example and take RNID’s simple hearing check on 0845 600 55 55. It takes just five minutes, putting you back in touch with friends, family and colleagues.”

Recent Ipsos MORI research shows almost half of adults believe that embarrassment about not being able to hear prevents people with hearing difficulties discussing their problem with others, or having a hearing test.

RNID has been pursuing a long-term campaign to improve quality, access and take-up of effective hearing aids, and currently over half a million people have benefited from digital hearing aids available free on the NHS. Breaking the Sound Barrier aims to build on this success, informing and persuading people to take action to address their hearing loss, not only for their own benefit, but for that of their family and friends, colleagues, and society at large.

RNID developed the telephone hearing check, which features TV personality Eamonn Holmes and has been validated by audiology expert Professor Mark Lutman of Southampton University supported by specialists in Manchester, London, Birmingham, Nottingham and Bristol.

February 2006

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