Emily’s story: My experiences on public transport make me feel it’s my fault that I don’t hear well

Emily is in her 40s and lives in Cardiff. She began to lose her hearing in her 20s and has now lost all hearing in her left ear and has severe-to-profound hearing loss in her right ear. Here, Emily shares her story with us. Navigating public transport Using public transport is very stressful for me when travelling on unfamiliar routes or when announcements are made over tannoys that I cannot hear properly. Accessible information has improved in recent years through smartphones and transport apps that allow you to buy tickets and check routes without having to have a conversation with staff, but ‘on the spot’ situations like the bus driver unexpectedly saying something makes me nervous and I unnecessarily panic. Platform alteration Once I was waiting at the platform and my train disappeared off the screen. There was an announcement over the tannoy, which I couldn’t understand, but I watched in horror as most of the people waiting on the platform suddenly left. I asked someone in the crowd what was happening, but I couldn’t understand her either, and there were no signs or main screens to check on the platform. I followed everyone going downstairs and finally found the platform where my train had arrived, but it was too late... it left before I could reach it. Delayed and frustrated I was very annoyed and upset. It’s frustrating that only a small thing like displaying ‘platform has changed to X’ on the screen could have solved the problem. It made me feel, as I have felt for years when not understanding people, that it was somehow my fault that I couldn’t hear well enough to understand the announcement. Unexpected changes make me remember that I miss out on so much that other people don’t. A ‘mind-blowing’ solution Being involved in a trial of Auracast at Bristol Temple Meads was very simply mind-blowing. The announcements delivered through Auracast were crystal clear, and I haven’t been able to hear platform announcements properly for a few decades. If Auracast were