As late as the mid-20th century children with a hearing loss were often misdiagnosed and parents were told they had a mental deficiency. Research has found that children must receive stimulation to the auditory nerves during the early formative years.

Communication is the very basis of our existence. Without communication we cannot interact with our peers, we cannot learn language and at a very basic level we cannot even think.

Recently I was asked a lot of questions about what it’s like to wear a Cochlear Implant. Here’s some of the questions and my answers.

Hearing loss is a worldwide issue. In this article I point to some excellent UK hearing loss statistics and summarise some for the USA.

Without hearing it is more difficult for a child to learn a language and without language we cannot even think. You want the best for your child. Get their hearing checked so if they need it they can get the appropriate treatment.

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.