GHITA IS LED BY PEOPLE WHO HAVE A HEARING LOSS,
We raise awareness, give advice and make sure it’s on the agenda.
Someone may be hard of hearing, deafened or deaf; they could have Tinnitus, Meniere’s or Hyperacusis. They may use British Sign Language or lipread.
They could have a hearing aid or cochlear implant. To make this easy to talk about, we call this Hearing Loss
1 in 6 people may find it difficult to hear a conversation, that could mean 5,000 Gibraltarians
By the age of 50 this is 42% of us, rising to 71% after 70. Yet approximately 40% of those have never worn a hearing aid
Around 10% of people in Gibraltar have Tinnitus and for about 300 people this affects their quality of life. Little is known about the number who also have Hyperacusis
Meniere’s probably affects 50 Gibraltarians mostly over the age of 40
Worldwide there are 432 million people who are deaf or have a significant loss, including 34 million children. By 2050 this will rise to 900 million.
RAISING AWARENESS
Throughout the year we give talks to schools, charities and Government departments about Deaf Awareness. We recently spoke at the Round Table meeting and trained GHA frontline staff.
We reach out to the public during Deaf Awareness Week. This year we launched the Hearing Loss Survey and a Group, together with a Membership drive.
SUPPORTING PEOPLE
We give advice about the help and equipment available, signpost people to other services and have recently launched a support group.
Our first event was visited by Julian Danino, the new Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT) Consultant and Suzanne Romero, who is responsible for modernising GHA Primary Care services.The group meets at 5pm on the last Monday of every month.
Our social media is a good way to get in touch, we can be contacted by SMS +350 540 66055 or CONTACT US.
CAMPAIGNING FOR CHANGE
We listen to our members and raise their concerns with Ministers and Directors. Through the Advocacy Council we share these issues with the GHA and other charities.
To better understand the need we created the Hearing Loss Survey, which was launched by the Hon Mr Costa, Minister for Health, Care & Justice.
Our stand at the Primary Care Centre and media interest raised awareness. A month-long effort has provided valuable data to support our campaigns.
In turn, the GHA better understand what improvements can be made and the Minister has agreed to set up a Register.
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