Phone Service Brings Cheer To Australians With Hearing Loss

Phone service brings Christmas cheer to Australians with hearing loss

Sydney: Up to half of all older Australians may be unnecessarily isolated this Christmas, says the National Relay Service.

Launching a new campaign to address the growing issue of hearing loss, the country's telephone relay service for the hearing impaired says that research shows that half of all Australians over 65 have enough hearing loss to make communication such as the traditional Christmas phone call difficult.

"The festive season is all about getting in touch with family and loved ones", says the service's Manager of Outreach Deborah Fullwood. "But for anyone with hearing loss, using the phone to make or receive a Christmas phone call can be difficult, or indeed impossible leading to feelings of isolation or even depression. It is heart breaking to realise that many Australians will sit alone at home this Christmas, unable to take part in the Christmas cheer that a simple phone call can bring".

Featuring in the campaign, Relay Service user Murph Emond says the relay service now plays a big part in his Christmas. "My children and grandchildren all live on the other side of the country. So, it is wonderful to be able to speak to them on the phone on Christmas Day, which I was not able to do for many, many years. I'll be ringing them up to ask what they got for Christmas and all that. I'll also be ringing friends and other relatives on the day I'll be making the most of the relay service, I can assure you of that."

Ms Fullwood says the new campaign is designed to let everyday Australians know that losing your hearing doesn't have to mean losing touch.

"The National Relay Service provides a phone solution that allows anyone with any degree of hearing loss to make and receive calls from the comfort of their own home just like anyone else", Ms Fullwood says.

Featuring the true stories of relay service users like Mr Emond, the campaign offers an insight into the highly emotional experience of losing, then regaining the ability to stay in touch by phone.

Three short online documentaries and a community service announcement for television shed light on what Ms Fullwood says is an all too common, yet often private pain.

"We all know someone with hearing loss. It may be our grandmother, father, uncle or a neighbour. But often they are suffering in silence and the issue never gets addressed", she says.

"With this campaign we are urging the family and friends of older Australians with hearing loss, to get in touch with the Relay Service. Together we can give them a wonderful gift the sense of connection, joy and independence that comes from being able to stay in touch by phone at Christmas and beyond".

To view or share the True Stories of the National Relay Service campaign, go to
www.relayservice.com.au/truestories

To find out how the National Relay Service can help a loved one with hearing loss, get in touch with freecall 1800 555 660 or visit www.relayservice.com.au

The National Relay Service is phone solution for people who are deaf, or have a hearing or speech impairment. It is an Australian Government initiative funded by a special levy paid by eligible telecommunication carriers. The National Relay Service uses specially trained relay officers who act as the central link between callers. Where a person can't hear, the relay officer types the other person's responses, which can then be read on the screen of a special home phone called a TTY. All calls via the NRS are confidential and cost about the same as a local call.

Media Contact:
Ellen Stuebe on
0425 299 280;

Alicia Afuang on
0425 293 965

SOURCE: National Relay Service