'My hearing dog changed my life in a silent world'

A woman with life-long deafness has praised her hearing dog as "always my friend" in a "silent world".

Diane Thrippleton is a retired civil servant from Leeds and was born with Klippel-Feil syndrome, a bone disorder that can cause hearing loss.

In 2024, Diane was paired up with a hearing dog, Merlin, to help her around the house and improve her confidence when she goes outside.

"It was awful when I was on my own as, in a silent world, I can't hear anything," the 67-year-old says.

"I was lost, I was in limbo. I didn't know what to do with myself. I became more depressed, I had to go to mental health counselling."

Diane is one of 68 people in Yorkshire who are currently partnered with a hearing dog from the charity Hearing Dogs for Deaf People.

However, another 35 people are still on the waiting list for an animal.

The charity, which trains dogs at the Beatrice Wright Centre in Bielby near York, is currently short on volunteer puppy and dog trainers meaning it is struggling to keep up with demand.

"We have quite a long waiting list and I think we're growing as a charity at the moment to try and meet that need," says Amy Twamley who is a dog training instructor with the charity.

Trainers care for puppies from about eight weeks old until they are paired up with someone who needs a dog.

In that time, the dogs live with the trainer, attend weekly training sessions and practise skills they will need at home like alerting to smoke detectors, doorbells and alarm clocks.

"The training involves in the beginning making sure the dog is happy and relaxed," says Karen Hardcastle, who has been a volunteer puppy trainer in Selby for 12 years.

"You're building trust with you and with the dog.

"My mum is very deaf and has been since she was a child and I've seen the problems that she's had to face, the ridicule.

"She's been called rude and ignorant.

"She's even been accused of being drunk on occasions when, if it's windy, it knocks her off balance."

In a home setting, hearing dogs are trained to rest their noses on the knee of the person they are alerting and then direct them to the source of the sound.

The dogs can also distinguish between different sounds so if a smoke alarm sounds the animal will alert their owner and then lie on the floor to indicate an emergency.

"He comes to me and then he goes off and takes me to the sound. Then I give him a treat and tell him he's a good boy, and he is happy with that and I play with him," says Diane.

Before Diane was paired with poodle Merlin in August 2024, there was an eight-month period where she was alone without a hearing dog after her previous one, Chester, died of a liver tumour.

"He changed my life, he helped me a lot. He helped me be more outgoing and go to public places where I wouldn't have gone," she says.

Although Diane has a new companion now, she grew up without one and this affected her confidence and independence.

"I was brought up in a hearing world, it was really hard," she says.

"I had always wanted a dog to keep me company, but I was always on my own."

"When I left school, I went to college and then I got the job with the Civil Service.

"There would be fire alarms and things and I wouldn't know."

Deafness is common for people who live with Klippel-Feil syndrome, which Diane has, and involves several bones in the neck becoming fused together at birth.

Diane is completely deaf and cannot hear with hearing aids which has also affected her speech.

"When I was about nine years old, I would go to Sunday school and one day the teacher asked me at the front to speak from the book, but when I started talking the children would start laughing at me," she recalls.

"That upset me very much, so I just stopped going there and I didn't like talking much."

Hearing Dogs for Deaf People says it urgently needs an extra 37 volunteer puppy and dog trainers.

"I train approximately 200 dogs a year," says Amy.

"We're looking for volunteers who have a safe home, have the time and effort to raise a puppy so that we can then meet that need for more people on our waiting list."

The dogs stay with a volunteer for at least 18 months before they are paired with a member of the deaf community.

"You put such a lot into that dog for 18 months to two years, you put your heart and soul into it and I suppose it's a bit like your children graduating university," says Karen, who is preparing to say goodbye to Kayla.

"It's just so rewarding to do it, to help a stranger that you've never met and then to see how that dog has helped them, it's just awesome."

For people like Diane, a hearing dog also helps them outside their home.

"I didn't have the confidence to go out without the dog but Merlin gives me a lot of confidence," she says.

"When we go shopping, he is working and we go to the shops or a cafe, restaurant, public places, he does very well with his coat on.

"He is my friend, always my friend."

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