Nagging someone about their inability to hear generally does not help and often has the opposite effect. It does not get the person to take a hearing test if they have a loss.

Deafness costs money. There are devices needed to help hear but a recent report found the real costs are in loss of productivity. But some things can't be costed - like the loss of quality of life. Early intervention has shown to improve this.

How do you cope with your world when you can no longer hear the way you used to? Deafness provides many challenges you need to face just to keep safe in your world.

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?

The internet is a great leveller. I am not deaf on the internet and therefore, there are many opportunities for socialising, entertainment and keeping up with news and current affairs which were once denied me.

Is there any reason why a deaf person can’t participate in sports? The answer to this is of course, if they have the inclination and the talent then of course they can participate. But there may be some limitations.

Everyone mispronounces words occasionally, but those with a hearing loss find many more occasions to mispronounce simply because we may never have heard a word spoken. Not knowing pronunciation makes lip reading harder and is one of many reasons late deafened people withdraw from social contact.

Mishearing occurs for both deaf and hearing people and often both feel embarassment. But there are so many times this happens for deaf and hard of hearing people that it builds to a feeling of inadequacy.

'You don't sound deaf!' A surprised comment from many people I come across. This article looks at what 'sounding deaf' means.

Make the most of the Christmas and New Year holiday season and enjoy it.