Did you know? According to Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics data, over 55,000 hearing-impaired/deaf people live in Israel. Most of them are adults, but at least 6,700 are of working age. A less exciting figure is that at least half of them are unemployed and less than 20% of them have an academic degree.
On the occasion of World Hearing Day, we wanted you to meet our beloved Ina who breaks every record👑. You can also learn from her about the world of hearing (or not hearing).
Ina Tal, 35, married + 2 from Kiryat Bialik, was born with a hearing impairment. After undergoing surgery for a cochlear implant, her hearing improved somewhat, enabling her to communicate and live a fulfilling, good quality of life.
Ina has been working as a vocational coach in Bayit Cham for about two years. She supports people with disabilities and helps them integrate at mainstream jobs, while helping clients in rehab advance and promote their employment skills. She does a wonderful job, full of empathy and professionalism!
Ina has a BA and a teacher’s license in visual communication. This year she began studying for a Master’s degree in social work (!) at Tel Hai College. Twice a week she does fieldwork at an HMO, helping patients individually – in exercising their government rights and supporting them emotionally. And all this in wartime…
The college is spread out and currently, studies are done on Zoom. To hear and be able to study, Ina uses transcripts (government-provided communication assistance), a Mini Mic device that links to her computer and hearing aid via Bluetooth, and an FM device in the classroom. At work, she uses a phone with a suitable processor, lip reading, transcriptions, and all kinds of accessibility equipment and adaptations she needs to do her job. The most helpful thing is always for her to simply share at the beginning of the conversation that she is hearing-impaired and needs you to speak clearly. It usually works and even arouses sensitivity from the environment.
And speaking of the war, have you thought about how Ina can know when a siren alert is blaring so that she enters the safe room??
There was a big to-do in the deaf community, resulting from real fear for their own lives and those of their families. They can’t hear the siren alerts. The government did not offer a solution at the early stages of the war, so private initiatives arose to provide “smart bracelets” that vibrate when a siren goes off. Some local authorities adopted the idea and distributed these bracelets to their hearing-impaired residents. Ina and other community members took action; they met with the mayor and effectively presented the need. Mission accomplished – their request was approved and bracelets were distributed!
In short, there is a lot to learn from Ina and above all to appreciate her strength and determination! Coping with hearing impairment is complex and Ina successfully uses every tool at her disposal to communicate with the environment – with her children, with her service recipients, with patients, and in general… Losing more hearing is one of her biggest fears (implant complications, hearing loss, surgeries, etc.). For her, it could spell dysfunction and helplessness in all aspects of life. But right now she is in a really good place, and on her way to fulfilling her dream – helping people achieve theirs❤️
We wish her lots of success! In our eyes, she is absolutely amazing!!
