‘I wasn’t aware that I was hard of hearing’: Northern Ont. woman shares her story

A northern Ont. woman is sharing her story about learning she is hard of hearing and how her life has improved with free support services to inspire others.

A northern Ontario woman says a chance meeting with a support worker led to the discovery of her hearing loss and that the services she received have changed her life for the better.

Kendra Vitone is a woman who uses Canadian Hearing Services (CHS).

She attended the information picket held by CUPE Local 2073 in front of the Sudbury office on Regent Street on Thursday morning in support of the counsellors and audiologists who work there.

Vitone told CTVNewsNorthernOntario.ca in a one-on-one interview that she wasn’t aware that she was hard of hearing until she met a woman who worked for the agency.

She said the woman encouraged her to go in and get tested.

“I was accused of yelling at my husband a lot,” Vitone said.

“And I found out that it was because not only was he hard of hearing, but so was I.”

She said she wanted to share her story to help spread the word because she wasn’t even aware of the services that were offered.

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It turns out you don’t have to get referred by your family doctor first and the services are covered by the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP).

“I got right in,” she said.

“Had the test done and was able to use counselling services.”

‘I couldn’t understand’

Vitone said she had a hard time understanding what people said because she couldn’t hear.

Before she knew she was hard of hearing, she said she would hang up on people because she was embarrassed about not being able to hear or understand them.

“It makes you angry when you can’t hear correctly, and even now, today on the phone, you get all these phone calls from scammers and you can’t hear what they’re saying,” she said.

“And I now speak up and say, ‘I’m sorry, I’m hard of hearing. I can’t hear what you’re saying. Please repeat yourself.’”

The auditory counselling she received has helped her accept her hearing needs and understand that she has rights and is not being rude.

“Without the counselling, I would not have been able to stand up for myself and for other people that aren’t as strong as me,” Vitone said.

“It’s a big deal and it’s really hard admitting that you need help.”

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With the help of Canadian Hearing Services, she said she is hearing better and might be getting a hearing aid.

Services could be disrupted

The agency is in a labour dispute with its 200 workers from across the province after the current one-year collective agreement expired March 31.

On the first day of bargaining, the company called for a ‘No Board’ report.

It was delivered on April 8 by the Ministry of Labour, which means legal job action can begin on April 25.

It also means that no third party will be involved in conciliation talks.

If no agreement is made by the deadline, services for the deaf and hard of hearing could be impacted if the company decides to lock out its employees.

The union is poised to go on strike if the company decides not to extend the terms of the current contract and make changes to it, which has happened before.

Union representatives say 10s of thousands of families across the province rely on services provided by hearing service professionals to participate fully in daily life.