As we rock on into Christmas, it tends to be quite a social event right? There’s dinner dates, throwing festive parties for friends and family – basically we become social butterflies. We rely so much on our bodies being in tip top shape because it can honestly be exhausting. I got to attend the Heard It Through The Grapevine event the other week, which was an intimate wine-tasting event run by Specsavers. Specsavers is a company that I use for my contact lenses and glasses subscription and so I’m familiar with that area of the business. What I didn’t know though was that there’s a whole other side to Specsavers where they have audiologists to help test people’s hearing.
This is a sponsored post.
I got to bring Sam along to the event and with him being a lover of all things wine, I knew he’d enjoy the evening. As a wine-tasting event is quite an audible experience, imagine not being able to hear properly. Imagine, actually, going through life with limited hearing. Sadly, that’s something that many people suffer with, from younger generations to the older. It’s not just your nan or grandad that suffer from hard-of hearing, it could be you too.
There’s this stigma surrounding hearing aids, in that they’re something to be embarrassed about. However, that really couldn’t be further from the truth. Why wouldn’t you want to help improve your ability to hear, especially as there’s now more options in terms of style and the discreet design that’s available.
I arrived first – of course – and then as more people started to arrive, the sommelier kicked off the event with an explanation of the evenings proceedings. We would go through trying the wines and then as we’d have the wine tasting, we’d start having these silicone moulds fitted to our ears that would restrict about 65-70% of our hearing. I was a little nervous and apprehensive of how it would feel and how the experience would change my attitude to hearing loss.
The selection of wines throughout the night were not something that would be simple to get down your local supermarket. All of them tasted wonderful and as part of the exercise, we needed to be able to communicate with one another and the sommelier himself. After we’d gone through both white wines and the rose, myself and Sam were fitted with the moulds. We got a general ear check from the audiologist and she mentioned that there was scarring on both of my eardrums. When I was little, I remember having two lots of ear infections, so that’s where it’s likely to have come from. It’s nothing that hinders my hearing so that was good to know.
The audiologist inserted a little foam insert that would protect the eardrum from the silicone that was being injected into the ear canal. After both ears were done, it felt like you were under water. I had no idea whether I was speaking too loud or too quiet. I thought I was shouting but apparently I was whispering. I took a few moments to myself to survey my surroundings and honestly I felt a bit uncomfortable.
I was uncomfortable because the experience of having temporary hearing loss made me feel vulnerable. It made myself and the other bloggers feel conscious about staring too long at the sommelier who found it quite funny that we were staring so intensely. There was certainly a wash of recognition that all the bloggers felt and spoke about throughout the evening and for me it highlighted just how important your hearing is. When we got the moulds removed, the background noise of the room and other rooms around ours came back so intensly.
I had a really wonderful time at this event, not just because of the wine but more to do with learning about what Specsavers offers it’s customers. Free hearing tests should not be something that is ignored, if it’s free then why not? You’ve got nothing to lose and a lot to gain if it turns out that you don’t have perfect hearing. So go check out what Specsavers Audiologists can offer you for your hearing. You can find a list of local stores near you on their site too.
Have you got any concerns about your hearing? Let me know in the comments below.
*Disclaimer – This is a collaborative post with Specsavers. All words are my own.
