Hampshire woman Iona Palmer to run London marathon for Hearing Dogs after life-changing impact on her deaf mum

Iona, 25, will run the race in support of Hearing Dogs for Deaf People, which partnered her profoundly deaf mother Rebecca with a life-changing hearing dog.

Hearing Dogs is a national charity that trains dogs to help deaf people regain confidence, companionship, and their connection to the world around them. Six years ago, Rebecca was matched with Peach, a Cocker Spaniel trained to alert her to important sounds in the home and beyond.

Rebecca applied for a hearing dog when Iona and her sister were moving away to university and their dad often travelled away for work.

“For the first time in years, Mum found herself alone at night and worried about not being able to hear sounds like the smoke alarm or an intruder if they were to break in,” Iona said.

Peach alerts Rebecca to important sounds such as smoke and fire alarms, the doorbell and cooker timer. She is also trained to ‘find mum’ if a family member needs her attention.

“We didn’t realise until we had Peach just how much of a difference she would make to Mum,” Iona said.

“When we’re out and about, Peach’s jacket lets people know she’s deaf. If someone tries to speak to her and she hasn’t realised, Peach lets her know. That takes away so much anxiety.

“And at work, Peach is a visual reminder that she lipreads, and they need to face her and speak clearly.  Watching Mum’s confidence grow with Peach has been an absolute joy. I can’t thank Hearing Dogs enough, and I’m really looking forward to doing my bit for this fantastic charity.”

Iona, from Liss, herself has hereditary hearing loss, and is now profoundly deaf in one ear, moderately deaf in the other. Without her hearing aid, she can’t hear anything.

“Besides feeling unsafe at night because I can’t hear a fire or smoke alarm, I find the hardest thing is social settings with lots of background noise. That can be really isolating,” Iona explained. And the concentration aspect is huge. It’s extremely tiring having to focus so hard just to hear and process what people are saying.”

Iona began running during the first Covid lockdown and has kept it up ever since, but balancing marathon training with the demands of working life hasn’t been easy.

Iona works for a communications and government affairs agency, and as she explains, agency work can be very busy and fast-paced.

“I usually do a long run on Sundays, go out with our work run club on Wednesdays, and fit other runs in when I can before or after work.”

Iona admits she is nervous about race day. “The training plan only goes up to 35km, so there’ll be those extra seven kilometres I’ve never run before. But I’m hoping that the crowds, the adrenaline - and not wanting to let down friends and family who have donated their hard-earned cash - will carry me through.”

Those same friends and family will be cheering her on from the sidelines, and joining her for a relaxed celebration at the pub after the race.

“I’ll probably eat my body weight in pizza and have a pint,” she laughed. “And I’m definitely taking Monday off work – although I do plan to pop in and show off my medal!”

Through her marathon effort, Iona hopes not only to raise funds but also awareness.

“If you’ve never come across a hearing dog, you might not realise the impact they can have. It’s not just the practical help; it’s their emotional support too. Not enough people know about the charity, so by running the marathon I’m hoping to change that.”