NEW research shows that assistance dogs trained to support deaf people, and those living with hearing loss, have positive and wide-ranging impacts on people’s lives.

The study was carried out with the help of UK charity, Hearing Dogs for Deaf People, who train young dogs to change the lives of deaf people at the Beatrice Wright Centre in Bielby, near York.

The PEDRO study - led by the University of York - found that assistance dogs for deaf people significantly improve wellbeing, mental health and independence, and reduce social isolation and fearfulness.

The study is the first ever randomised controlled trial (RCT) investigating the impact of hearing dogs on people’s lives.

It evaluated hearing dog partnerships created and supported by the UK’s only hearing dog charity, Hearing Dogs for Deaf People.

More than 160 people with severe or profound hearing loss who had applied to the charity for a hearing dog took part in the research.

The study showed that people who had received a hearing dog had significantly better mental well-being, were less dependent on others, and had fewer symptoms of anxiety and depression.

They were also significantly less likely to feel isolated and fearful. In addition, those with a hearing dog had used fewer NHS and social care services.

Professor Bryony Beresford, the PEDRO study’s chief investigator, said: “We know that hearing loss can negatively affect many aspects of people’s lives and, for people with severe hearing loss, hearing devices have limited impact.

"This means we need to know the best ways to support people as they live with hearing loss. This study provides robust evidence on the positive and wide-ranging impacts hearing dogs can make on people’s lives.

“This was a ground-breaking study. No-one has previously used a randomised control trial to evaluate the impacts of hearing dogs on people’s lives, and within the world of assistance dogs more widely, trials are still incredibly rare."

Hearing dogs are trained to alert deaf people to sounds which are part of managing everyday life such as door bells, a family member calling out, baby monitors and alarm clocks.

They are also trained to alert people to sounds which ensure people feel and stay safe such as smoke and intruder alarms. The dogs also provide companionship.

As assistance dogs, they have a legal right to accompany the individual into almost all spaces accessible by the public, including shops.

 Angie Platten, Director of Services at Hearing Dogs for Deaf People, said: "It has really shone a light on why these dogs are so important – they make life better for so many people who had previously struggled because of their deafness or hearing loss, particularly because many deaf people can feel very lonely and isolated."