Naseem Hussain is a Rehabilitation Support Worker in the Yorkshire Cochlear Implant Service.
I have worked as a Rehabilitation Support Worker at the Listening For Life centre since 2006. My interest in this job firstly came from a place where as a qualified counsellor, I knew I had relevant skills to offer including active listening and providing empathy, but I also knew that working with patients and their families would be a key to my own experiential development.
I independently devise materials for appointments, do one to one sessions with patients, facilitate peer support groups for South Asian speakers; enabling them to access support which is in line with our English speaking clients. I also translate documents such as assessments, rehabilitation lessons for use at home and work with companies to develop their informative brochures which are inclusive of our patients.
On a day to day basis my role will be to support our multi-disciplinary team, assisting the audiologists and explaining scientific jargon e.g. the anatomy of the ear or the functions of the cochlear implant. I also work alongside Speech and Language therapists and Teacher of Deaf including supporting and assessing of communication, listening and speech.
It is a job that is stressful at times but the rewards make it worthwhile such as seeing an elderly man enjoying conversation with close family or seeing a child’s reaction to sound and being involved in his listening journey.
With adults we have used Namaz prayers or recitation of the Koran or other holy books to build their listening skills. I will develop resources that are specifically personal for that particular patient. It is always a nice feeling when the patient and their family express thanks for the support that they have received from our service. I know that they appreciate that there has not been a language barrier which they may have to face in other situations.
