“You listened...now it feels right.”

Debbie Vernon has been part of our audiology clinic world for over forty years.

Born profoundly deaf - one of the children once known as “rubella babies” - her journey with hearing began in the analogue era. Body-worn devices. Wires. Hard moulds.

And then, a moment of wonder.
Behind-the-ear hearing aids.
Sound, arriving fully, for the first time.

From those early days with Monty Shulberg, through to today with his son Adam, Debbie has grown alongside the technology, navigating every shift from analogue to digital, learning, adapting, and refining what hearing means for her.

But this isn’t a story about hearing aids.

It’s about perspective.

“Being deaf has been a privilege… it’s given me empathy.”

It’s rare to hear something like that, and that it’s so sincerely meant.

Debbie speaks about the effort that it takes to stay in the conversation, getting through it with the discipline of “hearing with your eyes”, and the beautiful moment at the end of the day when the world goes still.

She also speaks, with clarity and courage, about what comes next, including the possibility of a cochlear implant.

We are so grateful to Debbie, for her trust, her humour and humility - and for the way in which her resilience teaches us all something valuable.