Most people don't give deafness a thought because they never experience it nor know anyone who is deaf. I asked Karla, a degree student in Writing, at my alumni Curtin University, to write an article on her impressions of deafness.

As a hearing person who became deaf by the time I was about 35 I can’t imagine anyone choosing deafness over hearing. I wondered were there any people in the world who had hearing and would like to be deaf and if so why?

Fascinated as I was in watching the Deaf children on our school bus, because I had no understanding of deafness, the perception I formed was that these children were mentally deficient, simply because they couldn’t talk like me and my friends.

Are new restaurant designs getting it wrong? Guest Author Rowena Vnuk looks at the design of restaurants and how this affects the noise levels.

Everyone needs to be fluent in the lanugage of their country so the real question is not what language should my deaf child learn but rather should they be taught sign language first?

“Your child is deaf” – words parents of a newborn or toddler definitely never expect to hear. Their reaction, whether they themselves are Deaf or hearing, is usually one of shock, anger, fear, grief and confusion.

When I recently became a live kidney donor for my husband, I found hearing in hospital was critical.

It’s now one month since my second cochlear implant was switched on and it’s time to test what sounds I understand.

I thought I knew how to hear with both ears... I am already experiencing a whole new world of bilateral hearing something I thought was not possible. Having my first cochlear implant was great, and now having my second cochlear implant has opened up my world even further and I am loving it.

It should be simple to hear with two ears shouldn't it? I know how to hear. So why did I need to re-learn?