Hello, I’m Colin and I’m a little hard of hearing”. That’s how my ex-musician husband introduces himself these days. This usually prompts either (a) a few jokes like “Ah? What? Ah? Ha Ha” or (b) “Me too”. Yes, well Colin is 69 years old and many of the people we meet nowadays do have a little trouble hearing but what they don’t realise is that Colin is almost profoundly deaf due, we think, to Meniere’s Disease.

Colin has been a musician all his life and nurtured the talent of countless young musicians through his work as a recording engineer and mentor at a community recording facility for the latter twenty years of his career. He never made the ‘big time’ himself but he has helped many on the road to stardom.

As a Singer/Songwriter, Colin continued to perform and record his songs with his band ‘The Beat Combo’ before embarking on a dream sailing adventure in 2013 after battling with a life-threatening illness which nearly brought his dream to an abrupt end. What little money he had accumulated went into buying a boat which turned into a nightmarish catalogue of repairs and maintenance, draining his bank account (B.O.A.T. = Bring on another thousand!). You can read about our adventure on www.adventuresofpicaroon.com.

Meniere’s Disease is a strange affliction that not only robs you of the ability to hear but also causes bouts of extreme vertigo. Throughout our three-year adventure, Colin’s hearing continued to disintegrate and we sought help along the way but never really managed to find any relief. Communication was a real problem and the episodes of vertigo made sailing virtually impossible. It soon became clear that we needed to return to the UK for expert advice but by this time we had no money left for even the airfares. We put the boat on the market and waited….and waited, until finally, eighteen months later, we sold our floating home and returned to our base in the Dominican Republic with money in the bank for a flight home but not much else.

Now came the conundrum; Our only income is Colin’s state pension and with no home in the UK and long waiting lists for NHS consultants, could we afford to live in the UK for six or more months? As we have been out of the country for so long, it now appears that we would have to settle back in the UK for at least six months to qualify for NHS help even though we have paid National Insurance contributions all our lives. Private ENT specialists are expensive but appointments can be obtained quickly which would reduce our accommodation costs.

The other alternative was to find out what we could obtain in the Dominican Republic. We traveled to Santiago with the help of a friend who acted as translator as my Spanglish is poor and, of course, Colin is unable to communicate. That proved fruitless; just another confirmation that Colin has lost 90% of his ability to hear.

Colin needs to see an expert who can properly diagnose what is happening with his hearing and can point him in the right direction to obtain some treatment or assistance. He is likely to need hearing aids in both ears or perhaps cochlear implants. Always trying to look on the bright side, Colin has turned to painting to find an outlet for his artistic talent. He now lives in a silent world and sometimes I see just how devastating this has become as tears of frustration appear. Music is now just a jumble of distant distorted sounds, unbearable and my once-gregarious and entertaining husband has become isolated and withdrawn.

We can afford the airfares but our best hope is a top private ENT Consultant in London. Your donations will go towards the costs of initial consultation, diagnostic tests, hearing aids, follow-up appointments, accommodation, and travel.

There are no words to express how much this means to both of us and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts for reading this. It goes against the grain to ask for your donations but I am at the end of my tether and any contribution towards our plight will be very much appreciated.
here's the link.

https://funds.gofundme.com/dashboard/help-colin-hear-again