News

A new support group run by volunteers will be launched this month to support people in the Western Isles with all types of hearing loss.

The group is called DAHLIAS, which stands for Deaf and Hearing Loss Isles Associated Support and will meet in the Failte Centre, Bayhead, Stornoway, initially on the first Monday of each month.

All adults and children with any type of hearing loss, their families and friends are very welcome. The group aims to provide support, advice and activities, and will also provide Deafness Awareness training and BSL level 1 skills.

The group is starting on Monday, May 6, which coincides with the start of the Deafness Awareness week, which runs from May 6 – 12.  

Sharon Smith, a local staff nurse in Western Isles Hospital in Stornoway, who is one of the individuals behind the creation of the group, said: “My inspiration to start this group comes from a personal perspective. I have bilateral deafness, having been diagnosed at the age of five and I have a cochlear implant. There is no outside support in the Western Isles for those with hearing loss. The last support group stopped over 20 years ago. Hearing loss can have such a profound and negative impact on people's lives, their confidence, their independence and mental health and I feel it is extremely important to raise awareness and provide much needed support and training."