Ulladulla and Districts Probus Club's ten minute speaker at their May meeting was member Joyce Corfield. Joyce, a nonagenarian, read a number of poems from a book given to her by her daughter many years ago. Titled "Especially for You MOTHER", the poems were all in praise of mothers. It was a fitting tribute to mothers as Mother's Day approached.
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The guest speaker was Carly Ennis from Australian Hearing. Carly, with the aid of a PowerPoint presentation and assisted by her colleague Greg, informed members of the role of Hearing Australia and the importance of maintaining good hearing.
Hearing Australia is a government company which was set up more than 70 years ago. It has 450 locations throughout Australia. Customers include children, young adults under the age of 26, veterans, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and pensioners.
Pensioners and veterans are the largest client group and access services through the voucher program. Age-related hearing occurs gradually and some older Australians wait six to ten years before having their failing hearing checked.
Carly recommended people over 65 have a yearly hearing check. Poor hearing can create social problems with family and friends, and also leads to a reluctance to engage with the community resulting in isolation. Signs of loss include: soft sounds can't be heard; key parts of speech missed; sounds difficult to separate; and loud sounds are intolerable.
Carly said about 10 per cent of Australians are affected by tinnitus (ringing in the ears) and nowadays there are many ways an audiologist can help people with the problem.
The positives for seeking treatment with hearing problems outweigh the negatives. Hearing aids have improved dramatically over the last decade. They are now small and smart, monitoring sounds and providing better sound quality. However, it is important to trial a hearing aid. Australian Hearing tends out to companies to supply devices. There are also a wide range of assistive hearing devices such as head phones which directly connect to TV.
Hearing Australia provides audiologist visits to Centrelink in Ulladulla and home visits can be provided if necessary. A hearing test for people without eligibility can be arranged for the cost of $110.
Carly also invited members to visit the Mobile Hearing Bus, which was parked out the front, for an on-board free basic hearing check, available to all adults.
Probus Club meetings start at 9.45am at the Milton Ulladulla ExServos Club on the second Friday of each month.
