By Dongyun Kwon
Healesville’s Returned and Services League (RSL) organised a free hearing check event on 10 October to support veterans in getting the health support they need.
“We organised an activity that would be beneficial for our local veterans and to support their health as part of an overall RSL Veterans’ Health Week,” Healesville RSL President Colette Shaw said.
Healesville RSL invited bloom hearing specialists to offer a free hearing check service along with free coffee.
“The event went really successful with a steady number of people coming through to have their hearing checked and have a cup of tea or coffee afterward,” Ms Shaw said.
Bloom has been offering free hearing health check services nationally to reach out to areas where there is no clinic.
“We use the mobile clinic, so we can go to the people rather than have them come to our clinics,” bloom Marketing Operations and Brand Ambassador Lou Ongarato said.
“We roam far and wide to offer our services to as many people as we can and we recently did a field day in Toowoomba, New South Wales, Tasmania, East Gippsland, South Australia and Mildura.”
Hearing loss is a serious and invisible issue especially for people over 60 years old which causes issues in social relationships, as it can lead to isolation and other cognition issues if it is not treated properly.
However, people are often not aware of the issue because they cannot see it.
“The earlier it’s identified so we can help with the proper solutions, the easier it is for the person to deal with,” bloom Clinician Prakrithi Udupa said.
“Hearing is very important for general health because it relates to dementia and many other conditions,” Mr Ongarato said.
Bloom offers a service to Healesville once a month and is waiting for more communities to contact them.
“If we don’t have a clinic in a place, we’ll try and create a visiting site which is convenient to save local nursing homes for people who have mobility issues,” Mr Ongarato said.
For more information, please visit the website www.bloomhearing.com.au.
