You just buy a hearing aid and stick it in your ear and you can hear properly again – that’s right isn’t it? Wouldn’t it be great if it was that simple, but it’s not.

A lot of people with a hearing impairment express their frustration with family and friends who think that just because they now have hearing aid or even an implantable hearing solution such as a cochlear implant or baha, they are expected to hear perfectly again.

When a child hears for the first time, what causes the excitement and joy? Is it the sound of his mother's voice or is it something else. It is exciting and it is wonderful that the child is now hearing but it will take time for them to learn to listen and understand what they are hearing.

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.

If someone who is born deaf and is illiterate has a Cochlear Implant will they understand?

For those of us who have experienced late on-set deafness our lives have been turned upside down. Everything familiar has become strange because we can no longer interpret the world as we know it and we don’t know where we fit.

Travelling can pose special challenges for a deaf or hard of hearing person, but it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t go.

I’m a 24 year-old French girl, deaf since birth. Travelling as a deaf person is a challenge. But you just have to get rid of the perception that misunderstanding or being misunderstood is shameful, and be ready to go off the beaten path of communication!

You’d think that perhaps someone who was (say) over 90 would be too old to have a Cochlear Implant wouldn’t you. Well it seems this is not always the case.

Being fitted for a hearing aid is confusing. How can you avoid some of it?