Kim is a computer programmer and math tutor. In addition to coding, her job as a programmer involves a lot of meetings with co-workers to design and debug software, while as a tutor, she works one-on-one with students in-person and over Zoom. However, her hearing loss was beginning to make many of these tasks difficult.

“I’ve slowly been going deaf in both my ears due to bone calcification. It’s gotten to the point that I cannot raise the volume on my speakers enough to hear people online,” she explains. “When in person, I am constantly having to ask students and co-workers to repeat themselves. I have to work very hard to catch what people are saying, which distracts me from my actual work.”

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Laurie works as a self-employed cleaner in Mission.

She has hearing loss and needs hearing aids for work. She found that she was needing clients to repeat themselves at work, and she needs to pay attention to her environment — for example, if she uses the washing machine at work, and doesn’t hear that it is an uneven load, it could cause damage to the machine.

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Oliver works as a customer service agent for a car rental company in an airport.

“I have hearing loss which makes my interactions and communication with customers difficult especially in a loud environment such as the airport,” he explains.

His doctor recommended he check out WorkBC Assistive Technology Services. Oliver applied and was quickly approved.

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Zhu is currently taking online English courses to improve his command of the language as he looks for bookkeeping work.

He has Spinocerebellar ataxia type 3 (SCA3), a condition that makes it difficult for him to put in the time to study and work towards employment.

“I often lose my balance, and easily fall down. I suffer from back pain, can’t sit down long time,” he explains. “It is better for me to stand a while.”

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Thanks to new hearing aids she received with the help of funding from WorkBC Assistive Technology Services, Stephanie is excelling at her job teaching prenatal and parenting classes.

“They have made it possible for me to continue working in my field,” she says.

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Andrew is a Building Service Worker, doing custodial work, minor plumbing work, as well as miscellaneous tasks at a shelter.

“I have a moderate to moderately severe hearing loss,” he shares. “This loss has greatly affected my employment and type of employment. I’ve gravitated towards jobs in which I can be primarily left to my own devices. This often is isolating, and limiting in scope of jobs.”

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Michelle works at a travel company on Vancouver Island. Her job involves talking a lot with customers over the phone.

However, Michelle has hearing loss which made it difficult to accurately hear her clients.

Her audiologist at Hear Inc recommended she apply to WorkBC Assistive Technology Services for help funding a new pair of hearing aids. She applied and was quickly approved.

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Carolyn coordinates and oversees administrative tasks, covering everything from human resources, finance, keeping the office organized, event planning, project coordination, and health and safety compliance. However, she was facing a barrier at work with her hearing loss.

“Communication is the biggest challenge that impacts me,” she explains.

Her audiologist at Amplifon referred her to WorkBC Assistive Technology Services for funding for new hearing aids.

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Ed works as a civil engineer in Surrey.

“I lost my hearing almost 10 years ago, which created many barriers and stress. It was very difficult to understand and interact during conversations,” he shares.

His audiologist referred him to WorkBC Assistive Technology Services for funding for new hearing aids. He applied to WorkBC Assistive Technology Services and was quickly approved for a new set of hearing aids.

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Alan works at a post office sorting plant in Kelowna. He has hearing loss, which made it difficult for him to understand instructions and affected his safety as he was unable to hear all the different moving equipment around him in the busy plant.

“[I] was not able to hear adequately,” he shares.

His audiologist at HearingLife referred him to WorkBC Assistive Technology Services for help purchasing new hearing aids. Alan applied to WorkBC Assistive Technology Services and was quickly approved for funding for the hearing aids he needs for work.

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