Every issue, we feature a local volunteer who gives back to their community. In Issue 12, we learned more about the work of RNID and the vital support they provide to those in the deaf community.

As told to Jack Howse | Photos by Jamie Hepburn

I first got hearing aids about seven years ago, but I probably started suffering from hearing loss a few years before then. Having a hearing aid takes some getting used to and there is a lot of maintenance that comes along with it which can be hard to do, especially if you’re older or less able bodied. I can remember my mother had a hearing aid, but because she was a wee bit blind and had arthritis she stopped using it as she couldn’t fit it properly by herself.

That is why the Royal National Institute for Deaf people (RNID) was such a massive help for me when I first got hearing aids. I have been an active member of Nan McKay Community Hall in Pollokshields and I would always go along to take part in the cookery classes and things like that. Every month, someone from the RNID would drop-in and we could get our hearing aids checked and cleaned, and access advice on using them. If there were more complex problems we could get referred to specialists within the charity.

The drop-in sessions were so helpful and I decided that I wanted to become a volunteer about four years ago. I completed my training just before the pandemic. When the community hall reopened I restarted going along to the monthly drop-in sessions, but this time as a volunteer. One of the main things I do is change the batteries in people’s hearing aids which we do for free. You can get them for free at the hospital too but it can be difficult to get an appointment and hard to get to, especially when you’re older and isolated like many people at the community hall.

Volunteering has been a really great experience for me. I’m retired but used to work at the old power station in Renfrew before it closed down. My wife of nearly fifty years also passed away recently and, for me, volunteering is very fulfilling and also helps when things are not as good as they could be. It helps to have somewhere to be, something to do, somewhere to go. The hearing clinic is not just about helping people with their practical needs. It's about making them feel valued and less isolated. Volunteering is not just a one-way street either; I've learned so much from the people I've helped. They've taught me the importance of empathy and understanding.

Since before I was ever a volunteer at RNID I have been a part of the Nan McKay community hall. We have everything from movement classes to game nights and there are lots of volunteers who come to offer social health services to us which have been cut in recent years by the NHS. All of us who access the hall volunteer in our own way; we don’t have a caretaker or cleaner so we help out with these kinds of tasks a lot.

I have lived in Pollokshields for the past fifty years and I love it. The diversity of the place and the people who come to the hall is so different from the wee mining town I grew up in in Lanarkshire. I believe that volunteering is an essential part of building a strong and compassionate community.

The hearing clinic has been a big success and lots of people access it. We have seven clinics across the Greater Glasgow Area. We would love to run more but we need more volunteers for that to happen. For older people, the hearing clinic can really be a great thing, whether that means using the service or becoming a volunteer themselves.

If you are interested in volunteering for the RNID or finding out more, get in touch by emailing hugh.donaghy@rnid.org.uk. You can also find out more about the Nan Mckay community hall at nanmckay.scot