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A woman who experienced the indignity of being "spat on" for communicating in sign language has found renewed confidence and independence thanks to her hearing dog, Damson.
Alison Wallace, 28, from Flintshire, lost her hearing overnight when she was just 13.
For the next six years, she navigated a world of intermittent silence, her hearing disappearing and reappearing unpredictably.
This period culminated in the complete loss of her hearing in 2020.
Doctors later diagnosed her with a rare autoimmune inner ear condition.
The impact on Ms Wallace's life was profound. She describes a significant decline in her self-esteem, coupled with recurring nightmares and the gradual erosion of friendships.
This difficult period was further compounded by a distressing incident in 2018.
She and her communication support worker were using British sign language to talk to each other in the street when a group of youths walked by.
“As they passed, I turned to look back and saw one of the boys do mocking hand signals, he caught my eye and I challenged him,” she said.
“He spat on me before walking away with his friends.
“I’d dealt with bad attitudes to deafness before, but nothing so blatantly degrading.
“I felt dehumanised and disrespected.”
A turning point came when Ms Wallace connected with Hearing Dogs for Deaf People, a UK charity. In April 2019, she was paired with Damson, a hearing dog trained to alert her to crucial sounds like the doorbell and smoke alarm.
Damson's presence has not only increased Ms Wallace's independence and safety but has also brought a sense of peace, helping her sleep soundly at night.
The emotional support Damson provides to Ms Wallace has also been “indescribable”.
She has since passed her driving test and moved in with her partner Maciej Filipiak, 31, after the pair met on a dog walk. They are now expecting their first child together.
“Just as I was hitting puberty, my life became about deafness and mental health,” Ms Wallace, who works as youth development lead for the King’s Trust Achieve programme, said.
“I had no confidence and no self-esteem, I felt a shadow of myself.
“The mental health side of having Damson has been indescribable and it’s the hardest thing to try and explain how much she means to me.
“She’s my ears but she’s also my best friend.”
Damson is trained to alert Ms Wallace to a variety of sounds, such as the smoke alarm, the doorbell and the alarm clock.
“I feel much safer going out at night now. I know I’m not alone when I have Damson with me and I feel protected and trust she would alert me to something going on,” she said.
“If someone breaks in, she would tell me before someone was in the bedroom – I don’t have that constant ‘what if’ anymore.”
Ms Wallace still has days where her mental health is poor, but on those days, “Damson just stays by my side”, she said.
“She makes me feel I can give anything a try and I can’t imagine my life without her.”
English (US) ·