Patricia Rae from Fallowfield in Manchester has suffered from hearing problems for over sixty years. Her confidence suffered and she became more and more isolated until she was fitted with a bone conduction hearing implant called a Baha at Manchester Royal Infirmary.

Now Pat is discovering everyday sounds for the first time. "I'd never heard the birds sing or an aeroplane overhead. I thought the traffic had suddenly got so much busier but it was just that I'd never been able to hear it before. I'd say to my husband `What's that noise?' and it would be the washing machine or the boiler coming on and I had no idea our stairs creaked the way they do," she laughs.

Click here to read about Pat's life-changing operation.