Blog: Guinea pig for technology at audiology drop in

By John Newton, Hearing Link volunteer

Fresh from a stimulating weekend in Edinburgh with Hearing Link earlier this month, I found myself on the train again  to do my stint as volunteer at Manchester Royal Infirmary (MRI).

The audiology clinic there run a drop-in centre for assistive devices for two hours each Monday afternoon. This is the same idea as Hearing Link’s Hearing Hub at the Grange, High Wycombe.

In Manchester it relies on a small cohort of volunteers. This time, my colleagues are George who is a retired consultant clinical pharmacologist and Sadya who is a currently doing a masters degree in audiology prior to qualifying as a clinical audiologist. George has two hearing aids . He also has a Roger Pen which he is moderately pleased with. He says it’s fine for talking one to one but not so good for group conversation. We swapped memories of Edinburgh where he did his initial medical training, quite a long time ago.

We didn’t have many customers so I took on the role of guinea pig wishing to try out the Conversor Pro device to use with my Med-El cochlear implant.

As the MRI system allows, I have now  borrowed one for two weeks and I look forward to trying it out at the various social get-togethers which this festive season brings. I’ll let you know how I get on!

John is a Hearing Link volunteer who enjoys writing, taking photography, as well as supporting people with hearing loss through events, talks and one-to-one support.