About Us
Profile - Steve Grayson-Riley
Having been diagnosed with a hearing loss at a very young age, I would like to say that my interest in managing hearing loss began in my formative years…but to be honest at the time I spent far more energy avoiding it. I was fitted with my first hearing aids at age 5 and immediately despised them. I felt very self-conscious about wearing them and saw them as ‘huge beige bananas’. They felt conspicuous and I feared my peers would tease me if I wore them. Frankly, it was new and crude technology and to me they felt and sounded weird!
To my parents despair, I came up with every excuse under the sun to avoid wearing my hearing aids. I constantly ‘lost’ them. I tried in vain to fool people into thinking that I could hear normally. I even tried to bluff the school nurse during a routine hearing test. You can imagine my embarrassment when I had to reveal the hearing aids stashed in my pocket when I saw her concern as she examined my test results.
In retrospect my hearing loss had a significant impact on my schooling. At the end of each day I was exhausted from having to guess what my teachers were saying or having to ask my schoolmate sitting next to me what was going on. Socially, I felt isolated from my peers, unable to keep up with their conversations. I found myself smiling and laughing along with others, feigning that I really knew what was going on.
Somehow I survived school. However, I soon realised that my once reliable coping strategies simply wouldn’t cut it in the real world! University wasn’t as accommodating as school and trying to cope in my casual job in a menswear shop was nigh on impossible as I struggled to serve customers.
It was time to go back to an Audiologist and have another attempt at wearing hearing aids. This time round I wore them willingly and while they weren’t perfect…they certainly made life easier at university and work!
A turning point for me was when I invested in my first pair of digital hearing aids. Not only did they sound 100% better than anything I had experienced before, they were discrete, allowing me to wear them freely without feeling self-conscious.
Quite by accident, I secured a job with Australian Hearing, first in an administrative role and then as a hearing aid technician, doing minor hearing aid repairs. It was during this time that I began to appreciate how interesting the field of Audiology was and how it was possible to really improve peoples lives by assisting them with the management of hearing loss. Feeling inspired I decided to return to University to study Audiology.
Since graduating with my Masters of Audiological Studies I have worked as a ‘front-line’ Audiologist - helping people find solutions to their hearing problems; and as a trainer (of other hearing professionals) with a hearing aid company. My time in these positions now sees me very experienced in fitting hearing aids; having a superior working knowledge of available technologies; and abreast of the most recent hearing research. Further, as a wearer of hearing aids I have had the opportunity to trial many of the new technologies as they become available, before choosing whether to recommend them to clients and fellow clinicians.
Most recently I have had the opportunity to trial a pair of ‘Bluetooth’ compatible hearing aids. ‘Bluetooth’ compatible means I can have the sound from my telephone, television, and ipod streamed directly into my hearing aids. This new technology has made life at work and home so much easier as I can hear clearly on my mobile phone (and home phone) and no longer do battle with my family over the volume of the television!
The opening of Grayson-Riley Audiology realises a new challenge for me. I bring to my clients the benefit of experience as a practitioner and as wearer of hearing aids. From Grayson-Riley Audiology you can expect a high level of professionalism and knowledge with the warmth and ongoing support of a family owned business.
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T: 07 3349 4588 5/105 Seville Rd, Holland Park T: 07 5470 2300 5/88 Poinciana Avenue, Tewantin |
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