The focus of the world has been on Beijing during August 2008 with the Olympic games showcasing the fastest athletes, the strongest swimmers, the smoothest divers and the best and greatest in any of the sports competing for glory. But not all people can compete in the Olympics.

Finding a job if you’re deaf can be almost impossible. How do you apply when you need to use a phone and can’t?

Hearing loss often is silent. Rarely is it sudden (although that does happen). More often it is a slow and gradual loss and this can be difficult to recognise.

A discussion on whether discrimination at work exists for the deaf and if so in what forms and how can it be overcome.

I have been examining the issue of why there is a stigma attached to wearing hearing aids. If you wear glasses there is no stigma. You put them on and say “Wow now I can see!” but hearing aids can’t be that effective and in many cases you still hear poorly even with the aid.

A discussion on the influence of education, schools families and Communities in the evolution of Auslan

Hearing loss is prevelant. While many of the statistics I quote are Australian, research indicates that these statistics apply to most countries. All you need to do to is multiply the percentage by your country’s population to find the number of people.

Not many people realise that losing your hearing can have a major impact on your general health and in particular your mental health

Many younger people are putting their hearing health at risk. It is not occasional exposure to loud noise which will cause long term damage. It is regular and prolonged exposure. DONT turn it down. Take a break for your hearing health

At the 5th Australian National Deafness Summit in Canberra during May 2008 I was astounded to hear some of the statistics on the increase in prevelance of deafness. While the statistics I quote are for the Australian market they apply to all markets.