I had a job which I hated. I've posted about it before. However I had to resign because my hearing was starting to cause problems. I had a hearing test and it showed I had significant hearing loss. I knew I had problems at the high frequencies but it was bad throughout not just at the high frequencies. My manager was complaining that people had said I wasn't minuting meetings well and I said it was because I wasn't hearing well. My manager said I wasn't allowed to use headphones in a meeting to make sure the sound was going direct to my ears. I am getting a hearing aid privately because I haven't found my NHS one useful, the sound was very disorted. My manager says there is a slight time delay if I listen through the Zoom so that is why I'm not allowed. She also didn't explain to anyone complaining about my minutes that I was struggling to hear them. The sound quality on Zoom and from the in person sound system is poor and when people have their back to me it's really hard.
I understand that I'm not well suited for the job but I asked if they could make any reasonable adjustments due to the Disability Discrimination Act. I'm funding the expensive hearing aid myself. She said no and having asked for feedback on the hearing test, her whole tone changed and she said if I didn't leave they'd start a competency procedure.
I feel really useless. I got my doctor to sign me off for a month so I didn't have to work my notice. They had previously been wanting me to work until they found someone else and not to take my holiday allocation which was owing.
I'm worried I'll never get another job. My last two jobs won't give personal references. I'm worried that's because of the circumstances. Constructive dismissal pretty much this time and I was made redundant from the previous one during Covid lockdown!
I'm a Cambridge graduate but with a 2.2 in an arts subject which is sometimes seen as a "Micky Mouse subject" and I have a very specific masters in an area which also requires a lot of unpaid voluntary work (I've done some, but needed to earn a living) and I had a big career break when my children were small and then did low paid, low skilled, term time only stuff to fit around them as wrap around childcare was prohibitively expensive.
It's not a stealth boast but I've come into some money as a relative wanted to buy me out of house in an expensive part of the country. My confidence is rock bottom and I don't know what to say about reason for leaving. I think I'll get a rubbish reference too. I'm thinking of doing some Project Management training. I need a job where my hearing is not a problem. I'm worried no one will want to take me on.
What would you do in my circumstances? It seems a waste to run through the house money, but I'm not sure my self esteem is up to a lot of rejection. Please be nice. I've basically lost my job because I'm disabled. Oh, and it was public sector.
What would you do?