28 August 2019
North Ayrshire Councillor Anthea Dickson is encouraging her constituents to use a charity’s life-enhancing hearing aid support service running in Beith and Kilbirnie.
Councillor Dickson visited Action on Hearing Loss Scotland’s monthly drop-in session in Beith Library to see coordinator, Fiona Goodwin, and volunteers, Shona Welsh and Anna Bruce, support people with hearing loss.
The volunteers have been trained by NHS Ayrshire & Arran audiology to clean and re-tube NHS hearing aids and inducted by the charity to provide information about assistive equipment such as amplified phones, TV listeners and vibrating/flashing alarms which can make everyday life easier for people with hearing loss.
The service, which is funded by the North, East and South Ayrshire health and social care partnerships, supports more than 1,000 people in communities throughout North Ayrshire each year.
Councillor Anthea Dickson said: “I was delighted to speak with Fiona, Shona and Anna and see how their vital support often makes the difference between someone struggling to hear and then being able to follow conversations with family and friends.
“I know how much of a Godsend it is for my constituents in the Garnock Valley to have such a vital service delivered locally.
“I encourage everyone in Beith or Kilbirnie who could do with some one-to-one advice to fully understand how to use hearing aid controls or get the device adjusted to work more effectively to attend the service’s upcoming local sessions.
Action on Hearing Loss Scotland’s Fiona Goodwin said: “We thank Councillor Dickson for visiting our service which we run on a drop-in basis so you don’t need an appointment to be supported by our volunteers.
“If your NHS hearing aids aren’t working as well as you hoped or you’ve got them lying in a drawer, pop in to see us at our monthly sessions and we’ll try our best to get them working again for you!”
Notes to editors
RNID is the national charity helping people living with deafness, tinnitus and hearing loss to live the life they choose. RNID enables them to take control of their lives and remove the barriers in their way, giving people support and care, developing technology and treatments, and campaigning for equality.