Join in the #Hearinglosshour discussion on Twitter at 1pm today

#Hearinglosshour is a live question and answer session on Twitter, for people with hearing loss. Each month, there is a different topic relating to hearing loss, and a facilitated discussion, tips, resources, and support.

When is it?

#hearinglosshour takes place on the first Wednesday of every month at 1pm (UK time).  (If you live outside the UK, there is a time zone checker on the website: www.hearinglosshour.co.)

How did #HearingLossHour start?

Founder Angie Aspinall explains:

“When I lost my hearing suddenly, I felt quite isolated. I found it too hard to communicate with people face-to-face, and I didn’t know anyone my age who had hearing loss. Using Twitter helped me to connect with people without the need to hear them, and helped overcome the feeling of isolation.

With a friend, I set up #Yorkshirehour, a weekly business networking event on Twitter. It was a great success, and that got me thinking: could a #HearingLossHour help bring people together in the same way?

In 2015, I launched #HearingLossHour as a time to talk about hearing loss in the hope that it would help others with hearing loss to feel less isolated. A year later, Phonak sponsored the hour to ensure its continuation. Their support is ongoing. I’m grateful to Phonak. Without their support, I wouldn’t be able to keep the hour and the website going.”

Originally, the aim was to help people new to hearing loss, connecting them with others to give support and share experiences. But, since its launch in 2015, it has become a community of people with all different types of hearing loss, some of whom have had hearing issues since birth, and others who are experiencing hearing loss for the first time right now.  

How to take part

#HearingLossHour takes place on Twitter so, to join in, you will need a Twitter account. To get the most out of #HearingLossHour, it’s a good idea to first become familiar with Twitter: how to Tweet, retweet, and how to add links and images to tweets.

#HearingLossHour is a live Twitter event. It takes place in real time. During the hour, people from all over the world come together on Twitter to talk about living with hearing loss. Each month, there is a different theme for the discussion and four questions which come from the @HearingLossHour. Everyone is invited to then tweet their answers and share their experiences, tips and support in one big conversation, using the hashtag #HearingLossHour and adding A1, A2, A3, A4 when answering each of the four main questions.

Twitter versus Facebook

Angie says:

“There are many private Facebook Groups for people with hearing loss and they are great for sharing information between people who have similar experiences. I’m a member of several of these groups and find them very helpful. But, by making the discussion public on Twitter, I’m hoping it will raise awareness about the issues of hearing loss – and the positive support and fast-advancing technology that’s around – with a much wider audience. It’s hoped these public discussions will help towards ending the stigma around talking about hearing loss and hearing devices. Unlike the Facebook groups of which I’m a member, we have audiologists taking part in #HearingLossHour and they answer the more technical questions about hearing loss and technology.”

Today’s topic

4th October 2017 – ‘Has your hearing loss changed you? And if so, how?’

We’re looking for inspirational stories as well as comments about how hearing loss may have affected confidence, relationships and employment. Tweets with links to blog posts are highly encouraged so, if you’d like to share your story, this is a great opportunity for you to connect with others. 

Future topics

1st November 2017     What’s new in the world of hearing loss?

6th December 2017     Christmas and hearing loss

If you have suggestions for topics you would like to see in 2018, you can contact Angie via the website: www.hearinglosshour.co