Mr Forts military history:
In 1958 Mr Reginald Fort an ex-coal miner joined the Royal Navy in Manchester.
Mr Fort was sent to Lea on Sea for his Induction training, he was then sent to Nuneaton to join HMS Game Cock and was trained there to join the Fleet Air Arms.
Once training was completed in December 1958 he was flown to Hong Kong and then sailed to Singapore. The following week then set sail to New Zealand, Australia, Indonesia, after months of glorious weather he was then sent to Lossiemouth where it was freezing, he joined (newly commissioned HMS Albion. For the next Two years was spent sailing around the Mediterranean Ports having stays at Malta.
When Reginald was discharged in May 1964, he spent several years coaching Barnsley FC. He trained and became an engineer, and worked for a very noisy company in Sheffield that made industrial cutting wheels.
How his hearing affects his daily life:
Mr Fort suffers from constant tinnitus, he finds it difficult to hear in background noise and this makes it hard for him to distinguish speech properly. Watching the television is also difficult and he needs to have the volume up considerably high, or subtitles are needed if the TV is to quiet for him when watching with others otherwise it is loud for other household members or visitors. Mr Fort has some NHS hearing aids however they are falling apart and not giving him the quality of performance he requires to hear well.
In 1997 Reginald suffered from a Stroke and he retired soon after. Reginald’s hearing has gotten progressively worse over the years mainly due to his noisy occupations.
Hearing Assessment and Fitting:
Mr Fort’s hearing assessment shows a moderate-severe sensorineural hearing loss. This type of hearing loss is typically associated with difficulty in all environments due to the substantial loss of sound across all frequencies. Complex listening environments in which there are competing background noises or when hearing is required over a distance will be most difficult for an unaided sufferer of this kind of loss. It is often the case that people with this kind of hearing loss start to avoid complex listening environments which int turn can lead to social isolation and a decreased quality of life. The preferred volume of the television or radio for a person with this type of loss is too loud for normal hearing individuals.
Today Mr Fort has been fitted with top of the range wireless Starkey Livio 2400 hearing aids which will connect directly to his mobile phone and he can hear phone calls in both ears, they will stream music from his phone also directly into his new hearing aids. Reginald will now continue to receive our support going forward as well as a 3 year aftercare service with his audiologist Mr Paul Smith.
Mr Reginald Fort is delighted with his hearing aids, and we wish him all the best with hearing well again.
