A YORKSHIREMAN overcame loneliness at Christmas after he was given a hearing assistance dog by a charity.
Jim Green, 64, from Goole, has faced many difficulties due to his hearing loss after his wife Erna passed away.
However, his life changed when he applied for a specially trained hearing assistance dog from national charity Hearing Dogs for Deaf People, the winner of The Press' Cash for Charities giveaway in 2021.
Jim said: "Sometimes, people thought I was ignoring them, when I simply couldn’t hear. I would get angry looks, or people thinking I was stupid. It was very upsetting and isolating. Erna always used to help me.
"When I lost my beloved Erna, I didn’t have anyone to listen out for me, to tell me about the sounds around me that I can’t hear. I felt so alone, especially at Christmas.
"The first Christmas without Erna was like torture.
"Before she died, Erna made me promise to get a hearing dog, who could look after me and listen out for me too; to make sure I would be ok. Although I was suffering so badly, I clung onto that promise, and applied.”
Four years ago, the charity matched Jim with a cocker spaniel called Zadie.
Zadie can alert Jim to important and life saving sounds, such as the doorbell, a smoke alarm and a cooker timer, and helps him to reconnect with life and combat loneliness.
Jim said: "Zadie’s burgundy coat she wears in public really helps. It signals my deafness, and people come over and talk to me because they want to know what Zadie does.
"I tell them how she helps me, and my heart glows. Just having those small conversations makes me feel connected to the world around me. I don’t feel as isolated.
"Zadie also tells me about sounds around me like the alarm clock and doorbell if I get a visitor. I know she’s looking after me at night too and will tell me if there’s a fire alarm.
"Before Zadie, I was lonely, and I felt lost. With her, Christmas went from being hard, to being filled with love and companionship.
"In fact, I feel like it’s Christmas seven days a week now.”
A spokesperson from the charity said: "Christmas is a difficult time of year for many deaf people.
“It can be hard to join in with family and friends, keeping up with conversation is often exhausting and people with hearing loss can feel left out if they haven’t heard things.
“Many deaf people choose to skip social gatherings altogether rather than risk mishearing and feeling excluded.
“This can be very isolating and Christmas can quickly become the loneliest time of the year."
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