British Columbia Legislature 41st Parliament, 5th Session (2020) Statements, 3 Mar 2020

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From YouTube: MARCH 3 2020 Statements Nicholas Simons

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The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia
5th Session
41st Parliament

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Number four Paul rivers, Sunshine Coast, Thank You mr. speaker today is world hearing day and every year the World Health Organization chooses a theme and creates materials for governments and health organizations to use to raise awareness on how to prevent deafness and hearing loss. This year's theme is hearing for life to highlight that timely and effective interventions can ensure that people with hearing loss are able to achieve their full potential.

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The key messages people should get from this awareness campaign is first, a communication helps us connect to each other, to our community and to the world and that for people with hearing loss, appropriate interventions can open doors to education, to employment and to a better quality of life, and that we should be aware that in many jurisdictions there's a lack of access to the appropriate interventions, such as hearing aids, I'm glad to say that in British Columbia, almost every newborn is screened for hearing loss when undiagnosed, the child's learning and language development can be delayed, but with the screening families can access support and care to ensure that appropriate are appropriate.

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Steps are taken to ensure children reach their potential. Just to put this in perspective about 1 in 400, children are born with a hearing loss, one in 54 children with other complex health issues at birth and most are born into families with no history of hearing loss like a lot of people, I didn't realize that my hearing loss was significant until I got tested, I knew one year was a little better than the other I'd hear a sound and turn the wrong way.

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People would say: maybe I was too loud when I hack 'old or when the hotel security banging on my door to ask me to turn down my television. The bottom line here is that you should get your hearing tested, even as an adult intervention can forestall further hearing loss.

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So if you find yourself thinking that people mumble more than they used to or if you ask people to repeat themselves, if you don't hear the dripping of a faucet that you know you didn't fix or if you miss words within a sentence, or maybe people say you talk too loudly, these might be signs. I have a hearing aid now, mr. speaker and I'm happy, even though I can hear you all better.