"We thought he wasn't listening"
Like many parents, Amanda sometimes asked, “Are you listening to me?” When William missed an instruction, it was easy to assume he simply had not been paying attention. No one realised that he might not have heard it in the first place. He had never said he could not hear. His hearing loss was invisible and, to him, simply normal.
That changed when William took part in the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Foundation’s Year 9 School Hearing Screening Programme.
"How could I not know?"
When the screening identified a potential hearing concern, Amanda and her husband were taken completely by surprise.
“At first, I was a little bit panicked,” Amanda says. “This is my child. How could I not know? I blamed myself a lot. My husband and I both did.”
But William’s hearing difficulty was subtle. He could follow conversation in a quiet room, yet found it difficult to separate words from competing sounds in a busy classroom. What could look like not listening was sometimes not hearing.
“How were we supposed to know if he didn’t know and we didn’t know?” Amanda says.
She recalls William telling her, “But I didn’t realise I couldn’t hear.”
"You're going to get through this"
Hearing the result without yet understanding what it meant or what would happen next felt overwhelming.
The DHHF Community Partnership Administrator recognised how upset Amanda was and reassured her that the family would not have to work through it alone.
“She said to me, ‘Look, I can promise you, you’re going to get through this. We’ve got loads of community support. We’ve got loads of people who can help.’”
She did more than deliver a result. She listened to Amanda’s concerns, explained the next steps and shared contact numbers for further support.
“It was so nice and it was so caring,” Amanda says. “It makes a really big impact as a parent because you’ve got somebody you can go to for advice or help, or even just to vent a little bit.”
The support continued after the call. A second screening was arranged quickly, followed by a specialist referral and annual hearing checks.
A different way forward
Now that William’s family and teachers understand his hearing difficulty, they have changed how instructions are given to him.
Sometimes information is written down. Other times, an adult checks that William has heard and asks him to repeat the instruction back. At school, he has been moved to the front of the classroom, where he can hear more clearly.
Amanda says William now feels much more confident completing tasks at school and at home. His grades have also improved significantly because he has the information he needs to complete his work to the expected standard.
William understands his own needs better, prefers quieter environments and uses an earplug when a space becomes too loud. His experience has also encouraged the whole family to take hearing health and safe listening more seriously.
“There’s nothing that can be done about what happened,” Amanda says, “but we can make changes moving forward.”
"It's worse when you don't know"
When Amanda asked what he would say to another student completing the hearing screening, William’s answer was simple:
“It’s a bit scary when something comes back wrong, but it’s worse when you don’t know because you can’t ask for help.”
Knowing has allowed William to understand what he needs, ask for support and approach school and everyday tasks with greater confidence.
For Amanda and William, the programme provided far more than a screening result. It replaced uncertainty and self-blame with understanding, practical support and a clear path ahead.
Your gift can help make that complete journey possible for more families, providing early hearing detection alongside the human care, reassurance and guidance they need to move forward with confidence.
No Comments
Comment below
Related Posts
Kiara's story: Hearing loss, stigma and confidence
Growing up with hearing aids: Gryffen's story