Alan’s time in the Royal Marines
Mr Henderson was in the Royal Marines from 2008 to 2014
From 2008 – 2010 he fired rifles on ranges with hearing protection, he fired and received rockets and mortars, he was involved in building clearances using grenades.
In Afghanistan in 2010 he stood on an anti personnel landmine which exploded causing multiple injuries including loss of his right foot and knee. He has had many operations on his leg and also reconstructive surgery on his right arm and elbow and T2 bones in his back. He had shrapnel all over his body including a left ear perforation. Both ears were damaged by the blast. He had surgery on his left ear for a new TM in 2012 which lasted until 2017. He was provided with a private CIC hearing aid for his left ear by Defence Audiology, a Starkey aid which had now broken and could not be repaired.
How his hearing was affecting him daily
Mr Henderson struggles in all aspects of hearing, it’s particularly bad in noisy environments. He struggles to hear the television, hearing on his mobile and the landline telephone. He has had bilateral perforations while in service causing these issues to occur.
Hearing Results and Recommendation
PTA including masking rules 1,2 and 3 shows that right ear has a moderate to severe high frequency sensorineural loss, the left ear has a conductive element and this would tie in with the perforations, leaving a severe to profound high frequency loss.
Mr Henderson has an iPhone and likes the idea of streaming phone calls through the phone, and using it as a remote control. As he struggles with the TV so he would benefit from a TV Streamer and Multi microphones. Because of the perforations I would recommend that we keep the ears as open as possible to allow air to circulate in the canal. Recommendation Resound Linx 961 Quattro with iPhone/Bluetooth compatibility.
Our Support
The UK Veterans Hearing Foundation took Mr Henderson through his journey to receiving fully funded top of the range hearing aids by supporting him from start to finish. Mr Henderson had his hearing assessment carried out by Richard Bunce down in Cornwall, who also has now fitted Mr Henderson with his funded technology and will now be there to support Alan going forward with his hearing.
The UK Veterans Hearing Foundation would like to show gratitude to the Veterans Foundation (Veterans Lottery) for exceptional funding that has allowed us to improve Mr Henderson’s life in the dire times of COVID-19.
