Mr Michael Angove served within the Royal Marines from 1967 to 1989 and was exposed to noise during this time.
How his hearing affected his daily life?
- distinguishing words whilst watching television. He has to have the volume up
full blast and the whole street can hear it.
- Whilst in a noisy room, Mr Angove has trouble trying to decipher what people are saying.
- He suffers from tinnitus which gets him down.
Hearing Assessment:
Mr Angove was referred to Imperial Hearing where he was seen to by audiologists Chris Bate-Williams, who recommended a pair of Widex Moment RIC rechargeable hearing aids to support him with all of his hearing requirements.
The type of hearing loss it was found Mr Angove had is typically associated with difficulty in all environments due to the substantial loss of sound in the high 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 in 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. The steep slope and substantial loss in the high frequencies mean that there may be many alert or alarm sounds within these frequencies that Mr Angove does not hear. The sloping nature of the hearing loss is also consistent with tinnitus symptoms whereby the brain is trying to compensate for the loss of sound.
Mr Angove will now continue to receive the UK Veterans Hearing Foundation’s support alongside Imperial Hearing going forward.
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 Angove’s life in the dire times of COVID-19
