Hearing Dogs for Deaf People helps people with hearing loss, by providing them with
Assistance Dogs that can accompany them wherever they want to go. Their dogs are distinctive in that they wear burgundy coats with the Hearing Dogs logo, which also signals to other people that the person they're with is deaf. For the first year of their lives, their dogs live with volunteers, who look after the dogs, introduce them to new experiences, and give them basic training, a process called 'socialising'. After around a year, the dogs go on to advanced training, in which they are taught to alert people to sounds, called 'soundwork'. They do this by nudging the deaf person with their nose, then leading them to the source of the sound. An exception to this is when they alert to fire sirens or smoke alarms: the dogs lie down instead, telling the deaf person that there is an alarm, but not leading them into danger. Since the merger with
Hearing Link, the Charity has also been able to help people with a wider range of hearing loss, who might not want or need a dog in their lives, but who would benefit from assistive technologies, support and practical advice. ==History==