S1: Hello everyone. Welcome to Talking Tech. This edition available from
S1: January the 7th, 2025. Yes, happy New year! Hope it's
S1: going to be a terrific one for you. I'm Stephen Jolly.
S1: Great to have you with us listening maybe through Vision
S1: Australia Radio, associated stations of the Radio Reading Network or
S1: the Community Radio Network. There is also the podcast. To
S1: catch that, all you need to do is search for
S1: the two words talking tech. And it can all come
S1: usually on a Tuesday afternoon just after it's been produced.
S1: Another option is to ask your Siri device or smart
S1: speaker to play Vision Australia Radio talking tech podcast Vision
S1: Australia Radio Talking tech podcast. Normally with me is Damo McMorrow,
S1: Vision Australia's national access technology manager. Damo is taking his
S1: Christmas holiday break at the moment and will return at
S1: the end of January. However, shortly before Christmas Day, Moe
S1: sat down with colleague and friend Kimberly Mean. Kimberly is
S1: a participant in the Vision Australia graduate program on placement
S1: at the Cooper Centre in Brisbane. Kimberly, welcome to Talking Tech.
S2: Thank you. It's lovely to be here, Damo.
S3: I think I first met you when I did your
S3: workplace assessment, and I was quite intrigued by sort of
S3: some of the different models and some of the different
S3: tech that you use by way of background, though. So
S3: you are part of our graduate program here at Vision Australia.
S3: Tell me a little bit about your vision hearing condition.
S2: Um, so I have usher syndrome. I was born with
S2: usher syndrome. I have had a hearing loss since birth,
S2: so I've had a severe to profound hearing loss and
S2: have worn bilateral hearing aids since I was a toddler.
S2: And then when I was 11, they realised that I
S2: had a problem with my vision as well. And by
S2: the time I was 18, I was legally blind. Still
S2: wearing hearing aids, of course. I still wear them to
S2: this day. However, I'm now in my 40s and in
S2: my 30s. I did go totally blind.
S3: So it's been quite a journey for you then, with
S3: a lot of changes along the way.
S2: Yes yes, yes.
S3: How has that sort of impacted have you had to
S3: change careers in that kind of thing?
S2: Yeah. So that was some choices that I made starting
S2: off as a teenager coming into, you know, early adulthood
S2: and realising, you know, I've got to make a choice
S2: for a career path. I love to cook. So it
S2: was always a passion of mine to go into the kitchen.
S2: So I worked as a chef, realised that it was
S2: probably not my smartest moment as much as I really
S2: enjoyed doing that. So then I decided that I was
S2: going to go work in an office, so I became
S2: an accountant instead. I did that for a lot of years,
S2: but as my sight was getting worse, I was having
S2: to adapt to different technologies. So I've used a variety
S2: of technology to access computers and things like that. As
S2: I went totally blind, that was a it was a
S2: rather sudden event that happened, wasn't entirely expected for me,
S2: so I wasn't really well prepared for it. So I
S2: took a few years off working altogether to kind of
S2: learn some skills that I needed to be able to
S2: live independently as a blind person. And then I decided
S2: to go for another career change. And I'm now a
S2: counselor and I'm I'm in the graduate program at Vision Australia.
S2: I'm hoping to find my next job after that.
S3: Excellent, excellent. So in terms of the technology, how has
S3: that changed for you over time?
S2: It's been huge, Damo. So I got my first set
S2: of hearing aids at almost two. That was 40 years ago.
S2: So the technology for hearing it's been roughly the same,
S2: but the significant improvement in the technology over the years.
S2: So I still wear a basic hearing aid, which has
S2: a mold that sits inside the ears with a tube
S2: that goes to the amplifying aid which sits over the
S2: back of the ears. That particular aid, which is called
S2: an over the ear aid, it has changed in size significantly.
S2: So when I was two, they were so big that
S2: they actually had to be taped to the side of
S2: my head. Oh wow. My parents needed to use double
S2: sided tape and actually stick them to the side of
S2: my head, just to get them to sort of stay
S2: in place as I grew. The technology kind of grew
S2: with me, so I've used a range of technology to
S2: access my primary and secondary education. I still had vision
S2: in those days, so I was able to read and
S2: my hearing was my biggest problem. So I wore a
S2: set of hearing aids, one in each ear, and I
S2: also used an FM receiver with my teacher wearing the microphone,
S2: and I wore the receiving unit. These are some of
S2: the original technologies. And so they were attached with a
S2: cord and a plug. So I used to literally plug
S2: the cord for the FM receiver into the back of
S2: each of my hearing aids and feed the cord down
S2: through my uniform shirt. And then I had to wear
S2: it on a belt because it was it was quite heavy.
S2: It was about the weight of 3 or 4 mobile
S2: phones sort of tied together. It wasn't a light unit. No. Wow. Yeah.
S2: And then my teacher wore a similar unit with a
S2: microphone clipped to their shirt as well. It made a
S2: huge difference for my access to being able to hear
S2: what was going on in the classrooms. But it wasn't attractive.
S2: It wasn't. It wasn't pretty. And it definitely wasn't. It
S2: wasn't very transferrable. Once you're kind of hooked yourself up
S2: for the day, you really don't want to have to
S2: take it off again. Over time, you know those the
S2: FM receivers got much, much smaller. I now use a
S2: unit that's about the size of my pointer finger. Wow.
S2: So tiny little unit now and it's completely Bluetooth. I
S2: just plug it into the side of the computer with
S2: a tiny little cord and that's it. That's all I
S2: have to do now so I don't have to actually
S2: physically wear it on me anymore. I still wear my
S2: hearing aids, but the the connections are all done via
S2: Bluetooth now, which is out of this world. There's no
S2: more cords to get tangled up in, and and I
S2: have a lot more control over the device as well,
S2: so I'm able to turn it on and off. I
S2: don't need to be hearing conversations that teachers are having.
S2: So the technology for hearing has advanced incredibly. It's gotten
S2: a lot smaller, a lot more powerful, and it's gone
S2: from being corded analog technology to being wireless and Bluetooth
S2: digital technology. So it has come a long way. The
S2: hearing aids themselves have also decreased in size. So the
S2: ones that I wear now, if you put them next
S2: to the ones that I wore as a child, it's
S2: maybe a third of the size. So they've come down
S2: in size a lot, which makes them a lot easier
S2: to wear.
S3: I would imagine they'd be a lot more programmable as well,
S3: whereas before probably all you had was a volume control.
S2: Exactly. So originally I literally had a battery case on
S2: the back of them that you pull it open and
S2: change a little battery, which I used to change maybe
S2: once a week and and just a like a rolling
S2: volume control. So roll it all the way up or
S2: roll it all the way down. And it was, it
S2: was actually quite touchy as well. So if I bumped
S2: it with a hat or something, you know, my hearing
S2: aid setting would change. It's a lot more programmable. Now
S2: I have rechargeable hearing aid, so I pop them into
S2: a charge unit every night. I do get a good
S2: amount of battery when I consider that I can hook
S2: up a lot of devices to my hearing aids now.
S2: So I have my phone hooked up 24 over seven,
S2: because I actually use an app on my phone to
S2: control the programs on my hearing aids, and I can
S2: control things like, um, sound compression. So when I get to, uh,
S2: volumes that are too loud for me or too out
S2: of my pitch, the hearing aids will automatically control that
S2: by either suppressing the sound or turning themselves off altogether.
S2: I've got different functions for if I'm in crowded areas,
S2: if I'm doing a one on one conversation, if I'm
S2: in a lecture hall with a teacher, I have different
S2: settings that I can use to really maximize what I'm hearing.
S2: Make sure that the clarity is there for me, that.
S3: It really has come a long way, hasn't it?
S2: Yes it has. And I no longer have the issue
S2: of accidentally bumping that volume control and just being stuck
S2: with it until I see my audiologist again. Because when
S2: you reset it, it resets the volume.
S3: In terms of the visual technology. Would I be right
S3: in thinking that as your vision went, you had to
S3: transition from magnification to speech?
S2: Yes, you're 100%. I feel like I have sort of
S2: traversed the range of technology that people use when they
S2: are low vision, transitioning into total blindness. When I was
S2: first sort of starting to work in an office, I
S2: didn't need anything more than just a pair of glasses.
S2: I just wore some reading glasses to start with. I
S2: had tunnel vision at the time, so I started to
S2: need things like magnification. I used Zoom text. So I
S2: had a combination of magnification and audible when I needed it.
S2: So an audio input. I used various different types of
S2: hearing aid hookups as well with my phone and my computer,
S2: but primarily magnification in a lot of my accounting days
S2: was the way that I would access the computer, whether
S2: it was using the CCTV to access paperwork, whether it
S2: ended up scanning them into my computers, and then using
S2: Zoomtext to enlarge them. I've kind of transitioned through a
S2: lot of those technologies right through to now, where I
S2: am completely reliant on an audio or a Braille input,
S2: so I don't have any usable sight anymore.
S3: For a lot of people, that transition is really hard
S3: because most people want to try and hang on to
S3: doing things visually for as long as they can. As
S3: someone who's made that transition and done it, I must
S3: say very successfully, from what I've seen of your work
S3: and your work set up here. Do you have any
S3: sort of general advice for people on a transitioning from
S3: low vision to blindness, but b also dealing with the
S3: the hearing loss?
S2: Mm. That's a good question. And to me it was
S2: a couple of things that kind of worked together. I
S2: needed to change my perspective, my mindset. I was one
S2: of those people who didn't want to be a blind person.
S2: I to this day, I'm not really sure why that
S2: was an issue for me, but it was. I didn't
S2: really want to to kind of have to wear that label.
S2: And until I accepted that it wasn't a bad label,
S2: it was just a state of being. It wasn't a
S2: the core of my identity. It was just something that
S2: I was living with. It became much, much easier for
S2: me to go, okay, I'm not actually able to see
S2: that screen anymore. I really do need to be transitioning
S2: to a screen reader. So mindset, I would say it's
S2: at least half the battle for most people. Honestly though,
S2: it is a big barrier as far as transitioning the technology,
S2: my biggest suggestion would be try everything. You don't know
S2: what's going to work for you until you've tried it.
S2: I tried a variety of different things that didn't work
S2: for me, and I'm glad I kept trying different things to.
S2: I found a combination that actually worked for me. There's
S2: a lot of things out there. There's a lot of choices,
S2: and choices are amazing because it means that we can
S2: then find that unique combination that's going to work for us,
S2: and the condition that we are living with.
S3: And in terms of adapting to hearing loss. Any any advice?
S2: It's about exploration. And honestly, your specialists are actually going
S2: to be your best friends in that exploration. For me,
S2: with my hearing loss, I am really good friends with
S2: my audiologist. I'm on a first name basis. We have
S2: phone numbers, we ring each other on a regular basis,
S2: and I found that rapport really important because it meant
S2: that I feel comfortable to tell my audiologist, hey, this
S2: isn't working for me anymore or I'm considering trying to
S2: do this with technology. What suggestions do you have? What
S2: do you know is out there? I often will trial
S2: prototypes for them because I do have complex needs, so
S2: I'm able to give them a really holistic view of
S2: what I think is useful in the technology and where
S2: I think some improvements can be made. So my my
S2: big suggestion is find your specialist, find your supports and
S2: really become friends with them. They are wanting to help
S2: you just as much as you need the support.
S3: Really good advice and and really powerful stuff. And I
S3: imagine it's the same in the IT space with the
S3: sort of the vision technology is, you know, exploring different solutions.
S3: Keep trying things and I guess evolve with the technology
S3: I imagine would be important to as, as as it
S3: changes and develops, you know, keep keep up with what's
S3: out there.
S2: Yes, absolutely. It's not something I'm very good at. I
S2: have to work. I have to push myself. But I
S2: have found so many benefits from just keeping up and
S2: asking questions. And hey, how do you do this when I'm,
S2: you know, grabbing a coffee and talking to a colleague
S2: and really kind of exploring what has emerged in the
S2: field because it is an emerging industry.
S3: It is, isn't it? Yeah, yeah.
S2: It's constantly being developed all of the time.
S3: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, when I look at the things in, in,
S3: at with respect to blindness and low vision that have
S3: changed even over the last 4 or 5 years, it's
S3: been absolutely massive.
S2: Oh, yes. Definitely. I almost can't keep up at this point.
S2: It's a full time job.
S3: Well, there's a really good podcast called Talking Tech that
S3: you might like to check out that helps keep keep
S3: you abreast of the latest technology. Hey, Kimberly, thank you
S3: very much for joining us on Talking Tech. It's been
S3: a fascinating discussion, and I have personally really enjoyed being
S3: part of your journey over the last few months. And
S3: you've taught me lots too. So thank you very much.
S2: No, thank you and thank you for having me on
S2: on to to talk today.
S3: No problem.
S1: Kimberly mean a Vision Australia graduate program participant speaking late
S1: last year with Damo McMorrow. Wow. Before we go, a
S1: reminder for details of this and previous editions of the program.
S1: You can go to VA radio.org/talking tech, VA radio, dot
S1: org slash talking tech and to right to the program.
S1: You can email Damo McMorrow at Vision australia.org. Yes, he
S1: is keeping an eye on his inbox. Damo McMorrow at
S1: Vision australia.org. This has been talking tech. Our guest has
S1: been Kimberly Mean, a participant of the Vision Australia graduate program,
S1: speaking with Talking Tech's Damo McMorrow. I'm Stephen Jolly. Take care.
S1: We'll talk more tech next week. See you.