Patients and staff at the South of England Cochlear Implant Centre are celebrating this week as little Ellie James becomes the 300th person to receive a cochlear implant at the centre. Ellie is eighteen months old and became deaf last June after suffering from meningitis.

The centre held a party for patients and their families, including Rosa Cornhill who, in 1990, was the first person in Southampton to receive a cochlear implant.

"I woke up deaf one day when I was about 49 and I was told there was nothing they could do," explains Rosa. "Then I was referred to the audiology department at the hospital and I was told I was a good candidate for the implant. It was a bit difficult to get used to at first but now I don't even notice it's there."