Fife veterans with hearing issues needed for new support study

The Hearing Forces service run by charity Action on Hearing Loss Scotland is looking for volunteers to give a few hours each month to provide veterans aged 65 and over, their families and carers with vital information and support to help them to cope with hearing loss or tinnitus.

The service offers hearing aid support, information about ways to reduce the impacts of tinnitus and advice about assistive equipment.

These include amplified telephones or personal listeners, which can make everyday life easier.

The volunteers will be trained by NHS audiologists to clean, re-tube and adjust hearing aids so that they work effectively and are comfortable for people to wear.

Another aspect of the role will be refering service users to other partners in the Unforgotten Forces collaboration led by Poppyscotland.

The Unforgotten Forces consortium was awarded £4 million by the Aged Veterans Fund.

The money will be used over the next three years from 2017 to improve the coordination of existing provision and introduce new services aimed at supporting aged veterans.

Donna McSwiggan, from Action on Hearing Loss Scotland, said: “We’d be delighted to speak with people from Fife who are interested in volunteering to help ensure that older veterans as well as their families or carers who have hearing loss or tinnitus are supported in a range of ways to hear family, friends or neighbours and remain active in their community.”

For further information about volunteering for Hearing Forces, email [email protected] or telephone/text 07388 227407.