SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - As a child growing up with sensorineural hearing loss, Yellowknife resident Beverley Speight says she felt "completely isolated."

Beverley Speight is treasurer for the Canadian Hard of Hearing Association Yellowknife branch. Speight suffers from sensorineural hearing loss and was at CHHA's Drums of Hearing conference, which was held from June 16-18 in Yellowknife. - Sarah Ferguson/NNSL photo

The condition, which is caused by damage to the inner ear, has been with Speight since birth and not being able to hear well is a fact of life for her.

"I hated school. I couldn't hear my teachers and it was very frustrating. Even today, I prefer one-on-one conversation to talking in groups of people because it's easier to hear," she said.

Speight, who works for the territorial government's Department of Justice as a court librarian is also the treasurer of the Canadian Hard of Hearing Association Yellowknife branch. She was in attendance at association's Drums of Hearing North of 60 Conference, which was held in Yellowknife at the Explorer hotel from June 16-18.

The conference featured approximately 75 delegates from across the country, and 33 of those delegates came from communities across the NWT. It is the third time the association has brought its annual conference to the North, Speight said.

Esther Braden is a former president of association. She said hearing loss is an invisible disability, and one of the mandates of the association is to make the general population aware of that.

"There is not a big emphasis on ears when it comes to health matters and we want to make health professionals more aware of that," she said.

Gael Hannan of Etobicoke, Ont. is a hearing loss and hard of hearing consultant, and the association's director. She said it is important for her group to hold its conferences in the North because there are no official numbers to account for hearing loss in the Northern population.

"We have no figures when it comes to how many people in the North suffer from hearing loss. All cases of hearing loss that we know of in the NWT are self-reported," she said.

"We want to bring awareness to the public about hearing loss in Canada, but the North needs better data in that regard."

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