A NORTH Yorkshire mum-of-three with hearing difficulties has told about how getting a ‘hearing dog’ has transformed her life.

Joanna Thompson spoke out as we announced today that, thanks to the support of readers, charity Hearing Dogs For Deaf People is to receive an early Christmas present of almost £9,000 from The Gannett Foundation, the charitable arm of The Press’ parent company.

Joanna struggled for many years with tinnitus and mild hearing loss. It came as a shock, however, when she was told her hearing had deteriorated so much she needed hearing aids.

Despite the diagnosis, Joanna was in denial and struggled to accept her deafness. This made her day-to-day life increasingly difficult.

“Supermarkets were a challenge,” she said. “I’ve been asked to move out of the way but I didn’t hear. One person even pushed their trolley into the back of my legs to make a point.”

Without her ever asking for help, Joanna’s three children rallied round to support her.

“They worked as a team to tell me about all sorts of sounds - alarms, people knocking on the door - and really helped in shops,” she said. “They’d explain to people that I’m deaf and repeat to me what people said if I didn’t catch it. I was relying on them more than any of us realised at the time.

“It was lovely that they wanted to help, but as their mum, I felt guilty about depending on my children. I never asked them to do anything: they just naturally wanted to support me. Still, I wanted them to play without worrying about me. I felt like I was hindering their carefree childhood years.

“This along with the anxiety of not hearing them in our home - if they were crying in the night for example - made it difficult for me to cope with everyday life.”

Then one day, Joanna was in a shop. She stopped to talk to a man with a hearing dog. As they chatted, an alarm went off.

“I didn’t hear it,” Joanna said. “The man simply said: ‘If you can’t hear that alarm you should apply for a hearing dog'.

“I realised, there and then, that I was not hearing the sounds that hearing dogs alert people to. It was time to accept my deafness, and to do something about it.”

She applied to charity Hearing Dogs for Deaf People, which has a training centre at Bielby near Pocklington. ‘Hearing dog’ Joey bounded into her life – and changed it completely.

“It’s such a relief not having to rely on others anymore,” Joanna said. “My children feel less responsible for me. My son says Joey ‘has my back’ now. We love our dog walks together, especially when people stop us to chat about Joey. Instead of guilt and anxiety, there is a feeling of freedom and joy and laughter.

“I feel proud to take Joey everywhere with me. He’s given me a new-found confidence. I’m even a volunteer for Hearing Dogs now. He helps my children too. They know they can give the ‘call mum’ sign and Joey will run off to find me.

“Now they can do their own thing, play their video games, and listen to music without ever having to worry about me. Joey gave them their childhood back, and that is the greatest gift.”