A RADNORSHIRE volunteer who has suffered from hearing loss for 40 years is urging local businesses to put themselves forward for an award.

Roger Malvern, of Llandrindod Wells, has had hearing loss since he was 35-years-old and is an active volunteer for the charity Action on Hearing Loss Cymru.

He is now calling for businesses to to put themselves forward for the charity’s annual Excellence Awards. The awards aim to recognise and honour companies that go above and beyond to make their services accessible to hearing loss sufferers.

The nomination deadline is Sunday, May 1 and Roger, who is 75, has talked about some of his own experiences and what he thinks local companies can do to improve their services for people who’ve suffered hearing loss.

"I have suffered with hearing loss through Meniere’s disease for over 40 years. For anyone that doesn’t know or hasn’t come across Meniere’s before, it’s a disorder of the inner ear which can, among other things, cause vertigo as well as periods of acute hearing loss. While the severity of my hearing loss can fluctuate because of the disorder there have been times where it has been so bad that I have had to communicate with my wife via a pen and paper.

"It was because of my own experiences with hearing loss that I wanted to find a way to help other people that suffer so I got in touch with my local branch of Action on Hearing Loss Cymru to see what volunteering opportunities they offered. This was four years ago and ever since I have been a regular drop in volunteer at my local centre, while I’m also on the Welsh Sensory-Loss Advisory panel.

"My aim, through volunteering, is to find out how sufferers everyday lives can be made easier, from hearing about what technology works best for them to learning about the different communication courses on offer. Possibly the biggest challenge hearing loss sufferers face on a daily basis are the things most people take for granted, whether it’s paying a bill or popping in to your local bank or even talking to your pharmacist about your prescription. These daily interactions can sometimes be impossible if businesses don’t have the training or practices in place to make their services accessible.

"The Action on Hearing Loss Excellence Awards aim to celebrate companies that are leading the way in changing this and putting steps in place to make their services available to hearing loss sufferers. I have had experiences in the past which highlight that there is still a long way to go in remedying the problem, most memorable being an incident on a train a few years ago on a very cold and wet November night.

"It was the last train of the day and I was travelling from Swansea to Llandrindod Wells and, like most journeys I take, I was unable to understand the announcements made over the tannoy system. While this is something I’m completely used to, I started to notice more people than normal alighting the train at each station we stopped at, before everyone disembarked at Llanwrtyd Wells – some 30 minutes away from our final destination.

"There were no railway staff in sight so I asked a fellow passenger what was going on, to which he replied that there was a flood on the line and the train was going back to Swansea but there was a bus service for passengers to Llandrindod.

"Had I stayed on the train, I would have ended up back in Swansea with no means of transport back home all because there were no systems in place to ensure deaf people could hear the announcements.

"Unfortunately this isn’t an isolated incident and I imagine a lot of other people struggle with similar situations on a daily basis. There are however lots of companies looking to improve their accessibility which is very encouraging and should definitely be praised. I am particularly impressed with the excellent hearing loop in the Holy Trinity Church in Llandrindod Wells.

"I would encourage businesses across Powys that have practices in place to make their services accessible to people with hearing loss to put themselves for forward for the Excellence Awards.

"By doing so, you can highlight the amazing work you’re doing to ensure your customers have equal access and don’t miss out or struggle when using your services.

"Whether you have a staff member that can communicate via sign language, a quality hearing loop or you’ve provided training for your staff that mean every one of your team know how to support a hard of hearing customer - by highlighting good practices, we can hopefully encourage other companies to follow suit and make a shift in how deaf consumers are treated.

"From a personal point of view, I would really like to hear about companies in my local area that maybe I haven’t come across that are already doing this. I would love to visit them and share information about their services to my Action on Hearing Loss drop-in centre where everyone would welcome the news of more businesses leading the way in making their services accessible

"The Action on Hearing Loss Cymru Excellence Awards are open to businesses across Wales. The deadline for nominations is Sunday, May 1 and can be submitted via the charity’s website: https://www.actiononhearingloss.org.uk/wales.aspx