In February 2010 I had my second cochlear implant. This time I was more interested than fearful in the operation process. Perhaps my experience will help someone else make this hard decision.

When I examined why it takes someone so long to make the decision to have a cochlear implant I expected fear or surgery, fear of failure and so on was the main reason. I was therefore surprised to realise there are far deeper reasons, often ones we don't recognise which makes this decision so hard.

Do deaf people have a harder time getting and staying in work? If they get their hearing back (through say, a cochlear implant) does this improve their position?

If you lose your hearing in later life, do you think to go to a Deaf Society for help? Do you know that help even exists?

What sounds would you miss the most if you went deaf? Or what sounds do you miss the most now that you are deaf?

Hearing loss prevelance in the UK is about 390 children per year. This research found that many parents were opting for a cochlear implant.

We all want our children to be perfect, to have the best advantages and start in life. If you suspect your child isn’t responding to sound the way you expect what should you do? Is my child deaf? Here are some suggestions of what you can do.

One of the first things we lose as we go deaf is confidence. It is fear of rejection, because we might make a fool of ourselves which is the main cause. But there is no need to passively accept it. You can take steps to improve your confidence.

Deafness doesn’t just affect the person who is deaf. It has a profound effect upon all those people we love. Spouses particularly have to develop a level of understanding.

Recently a member of our Cochlear Implant Forum raised a couple of extremely important points, probably the crux of the issue with cochlear implants for people who identify with the Deaf community. These are a sense of community and a sense of identity.