CELEBRITIES GO DEAF FOR THE DAY

Hearing Dogs for Deaf People, the charity that provides life changing services to the lives of deaf people, is set to launch a nationwide campaign from June, ‘Deaf for the Day’.  

Fronting the campaign are ex-Eastenders actress Pam St Clement and television presenter Tim Vincent. With hearing loss on the rise and one in six people in the UK suffering from some form of deafness, Hearing Dogs for Deaf People hopes the campaign will highlight this relatively misunderstood impairment.

Celebrities will spend a morning wearing a specially simulated hearing device, provided by Specsavers hearing centres, to experience being deaf and understand first-hand the feelings of loneliness, isolation and the inability to interact socially, which deafness can bring.  In the afternoon, they will be partnered with Steven Taylor, a hearing dog recipient, to appreciate the difference a hearing dog can make in a deaf person’s life; not only through the day to day assistance of alerting Steven to sounds, but also bringing visibility to his disability and providing life time companionship.

A Just-Giving page is open to the public, encouraging people to sponsor celebrities. In addition Hearing Dogs for Deaf People is asking the public to host ‘Paws for Coffee’ mornings, to help raise the vital funds the charity needs.

Steven Taylor, Hearing Dogs recipient says, “Having a hearing dog has transformed my life.  Some years ago I became deaf suddenly.  I had a serious accident and lost my hearing overnight.  My original life disappeared from me, I struggled to adapt to my new ‘silent’ life. I felt cut off from the world and lost my confidence.  Echo, my hearing dog, has given me my life back and the confidence to go out in public again.”

Michele Jennings, Chief Executive at Hearing Dogs for Deaf People comments, “By experiencing going deaf for just one day, we hope our celebrity supporters will understand just some of the feelings deaf people are affected by. By celebrities sharing their experience with the public, the campaign aims to help us raise essential funds needed to create the life-changing partnerships Hearing Dogs for Deaf People provide.”

Hearing Dogs for Deaf People is a non-government funded charity and makes a lifetime commitment to each partnership.  Since 1982, Hearing Dogs for Deaf People has created over 1,600 partnerships and relies on the support of the public.