Hello everyone, hope you are all doing okay during these unusual times. Some of you may know me and some not, so let me introduce myself.
My name is Olivia Morton, and I am 15 years old and I’m living with this rare genetic disease called Usher Syndrome. I was diagnosed with Usher Syndrome at 13 and let’s just say it’s been a rollercoaster of emotions, many highs and many lows but the best way to deal with this type of thing is to just take every day as you can! And most importantly NEVER GIVE UP! So, there’s a little introduction about myself and now let’s get onto why I am writing this post.
I have been on an incredible journey with the Molly Watt Trust, and I feel so privileged to have met Molly and her mum, as a result of which I was chosen to be a part of an exciting project resulting in me being referred to Correct Hearing, audiologists based in Nottingham where I met a lovely audiologist called Sarah Vokes who assessed me and then fitted me with the most amazing hearing aids called Resound Linx Quattro. They are soooo good, they’ve helped me loads over the last few months especially with school and home schooling. As you may have notice from the title of this post, I am going to talk to you about how my hearing aids are helping me with school/home school learning. I am in Year 11 of school and that is the last year of proper school, so I am feeling all the emotions at the minute! Especially since it is my last year and instead of actually being at school, I’m doing school at home due to Covid. Having to do online lessons through teams, brought me additional anxieties, I was very nervous that I wouldn’t be able to hear the teachers as much due to using my iPad and phone. However, thanks to my new Resound Linx Quattro’s, homeschooling has been amazing, I can hear the teachers really well during zoom meetings. I know straight away what the teachers want me to do. I can connect my new hearing aids to my phone or any other device through Bluetooth which is one of my favourite things, direct streaming! I’M SOOOO THANKFUL FOR THIS! All teachers and student’s voices stream straight into my ears and it feels like I’m back into the classrooms which is just incredible. Even if I don’t use Bluetooth, I can turn my hearing aids up and down using my Resound app on my phone, this is a massive help because if I feel like the teachers are talking quietly or loudly, I can turn my hearing aids up and down without any hassle. Thanks to these hearing aids, I have been able to learn at home effectively without any disadvantages.
When I got my hearing aids, I also had the privileged of getting a radio mic which is what I get the teachers to wear when I’m at school, so I can hear them more than the students in the classroom and its terrific! In around December time in 2020, I had to do all my mocks and one of the subjects I choose was Spanish; I had to do a listening exam and at the time I was thinking OMG I’m going to fail because I do struggle with listening tasks especially when they’re in Spanish. However, thanks to my radio mic, the teacher was allowed to wear it and they spoke it out to me through the radio mic and I could hear everything the teacher said straight away. This was just amazing, and I couldn’t believe how much this radio mic helped! I am very grateful that I received both the hearing aids and the radio mic because it has made my life so much easier at school and during home school learning.
I was also grateful to be awarded student of the month for November last year, which proves my determination in lockdown to keep my studies high.
There we go, that’s my post about how my Resound Quattro hearing aids have helped me during my school hours.
I just want to say a massive thank you to the Molly Watt Watt Trust to GN Hearing and Sarah Vokes at Correct Hearing.
