Action on Hearing Loss launches Stoke-on-Trent befriending club

People with hearing difficulties in Stoke-on-Trent will have the chance to meet new friends at an Action on Hearting Loss befriending club.

The ‘Hear to Meet’ initiative is designed to reduce isolation for people with hearing loss.

Meeting on the third Thursday of every month, the club hopes to provide socialising opportunities for people who are deaf or hard of hearing.

Members of the club will meet up to relax, socialise and share their experience of hearing loss over a cup of tea or coffee.

It will be meeting in the community room at Sainsbury’s on Wharf Road, Biddulph.

Action on Hearing Loss’s Sandra Welburn acknowledged that hearing loss can be isolating, particularly if people are finding it difficult to hear the everyday conversations with their friends and family.

"We’re delighted to launch our new ‘Hear to Meet’club to give people in Biddulph the chance to meet and make friends with others who understand how hearing loss affects their everyday lives,” she said.

Ms Welburn also called for volunteers to come help run the club, asking that people with good organisational skills get in touch if they can be of assistance.

New volunteers will be provided with all the training they need to carry out the roles. Expenses will also be covered.

In other news, the charity also needs volunteers in Northumberland for its ‘Hear to Help’ sessions.

This scheme train volunteers to show people how to get the best out of their NHS hearing aids.

After training, volunteers will also be able to carry out basic hearing aid maintenance sich as replacing tubing and batteries.

Community support officer for Action on Hearing Loss, Anne Shilton, called for volunteers in the areas of Alnwick, Amble, Seahouses and Rothbury.