Edgardo works at a care home in Vancouver, ensuring the care of the seniors living there.

“With my hearing loss, I find it difficult to interact with my co-workers and residents. Especially the residents mostly in soft-spoken voices,” he explains.

His audiologist referred him to the WorkBC Assistive Technology Services program.

Through WorkBC Assistive Technology Services, he received funding for a new hearing aid.

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Marcie works as a custodian at a church in Salmon Arm.

Marcie had a stroke several years ago, which has left her with hemiparesis — weakness — on her right side. This made using a traditional heavy vacuum with a cord — particularly on the stairs — difficult, and even dangerous for her. The church’s vacuums were unwieldy and awkward for her to use.

Her vocational counsellor at the Shuswap Association for Community Living referred her to WorkBC Assistive Technology Services.

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Shandell works in customer service at a physiotherapy clinic in Vancouver, with her duties including working closely with patients to book their appointments, collecting payment, tracking treatment progress while they are in the office, answering phones, and ensuring that they feel welcomed and comfortable attending the clinic.

“I have a moderate to severe hearing impairment,” she explains. “This impacts my employment as there are times where I struggle to hear certain pitches or sounds when communicating with patients. Sometimes I would not hear the timer go off when tracking the patient’s treatment progress.”

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In 2019, Carol started work as a picture framer in Langford and began dealing with customers face-to-face.

“I’ve had hearing loss since my teenage years and have worn hearing aids most of that time. I’m 66 now and my hearing loss has progressed, but it’s still moderate. For the last decade I’ve worn inexpensive hearing aids I got off the internet. Although they amplified sounds, I still had a lot of trouble with speech recognition,” she explains.

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Dinh Trinh works the graveyard shift as a waiter in Vancouver.

Hearing loss was making it difficult for him to hear his customers and the kitchen bell when it was time to bring out food.

His audiologist referred him to WorkBC Assistive Technology Services.

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PK works in marketing and sales for a call centre in Kelowna.

“I have several medical conditions that limit me to work in an environment where standing or walking for long lengths of time is a job requirement,” she explains.

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Kevin is a veterinary technician at a veterinary hospital in Vancouver. His job involves providing nursing care to the animal patients — largely cats and dogs — with duties ranging from administering medication, monitoring vitals, and performing tests.

Kevin has moderate to severe hearing loss in both ears due to a hereditary condition called Alport Syndrome.

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Lynda works at a nursing home in Kelowna in recreation, with her duties including involving residents in activities like exercises, bus tours, and church services.

Lynda has hearing loss.

“I did not hear low speaking residents or co-workers when they spoke to me,” she explains.

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Zach is a journeyman electrician working in Squamish.

“I am mostly deaf in my left ear,” he explains. “It impacted my employment when being delegated tasks since my brains recognition to speech was slow. This increased my anxiety drastically, making it hard to focus.”

He had previously lost his hearing aid, and needed a new one. He had learned about the WorkBC Assistive Technology Services program from his mother, and decided to apply.

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Miranda works as an accounts payable administrator for an electrical company in Prince George.

“I am completely deaf on my left side and only have 30% hearing on my right,” she shares. “Not being able to hear at work was stressful.”

Her audiologist referred her to WorkBC Assistive Technology Services for funding for new hearing aids. She applied and was quickly approved for new hearing aids.

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