My hearing continued to deteriorate and gradually, it became more difficult to do my job. In the classroom I couldn't make out which child was speaking, I could hear on the phone only in a quiet room via an amplifier and I could no longer invigilate exams, chair or take minutes at meetings or even listen to the radio. The crunch came when there was a minor accident in my laboratory (I taught science) and I did not hear the children calling me. The time had come for me to take early retirement on medical grounds.

One year later I had my first meniere’s disease attack and most of my remaining hearing just went overnight. With two hearing aids and lip-reading (which I could do pretty well) I was getting about 30% of what was being said. State of the art private hearing aids improved things slightly, but telephones, radio, TV, etc. were a thing of the past. I bought a minicom, switched on the TV subtitles and mourned the loss of my radio and in particular, the absence of music in my life. I sold my piano and guitar and shut my flute away in the cupboard. As a classical music lover, it was hard to come to terms with. The only consolation was my lovely hearing dog, Ruffles, who became my lifeline as well as my much loved companion.

Then, on a routine visit to the ENT hospital in Grays Inn Road, I was seen by a new audiologist, who asked me if I had considered a cochlear implant. I had, some ten years earlier, when they were very much at the pioneering stage, but had been told that, with nerve damage, I would not be a viable candidate. I was referred to the clinic at the ENT hospital and, 18 months later, went for my implant operation. When I was first "switched on" in May 2004 everything sounded like Donald Duck under water but, once I got used to the new sound source, I was able to hear far better that with the hearing aids. The combination of the implant in my left (worse) ear and the hearing aid in my right ear gave me 65% hearing. The only disappointment was that the sound was just not clear enough for me to use the telephone, so the minicom remained in place. Perhaps if I had the right (better) ear done, I might have had better results, but I did not want to take that risk, as the surgery destroys any natural hearing and, if anything had gone wrong, I would have been left totally deaf.

Two years later I made the decision to have the right ear implanted as well. And yes, the outcome was far better than the left one. With the two implants in place I now have about 90% hearing: absolutely fantastic! I use the phone (including a mobile!), listen to the radio and TV and can take full part in a conversation. Ruffles of course was now redundant during the day but still on duty at night time when I remove the processors and am then totally deaf. This is too confusing for a dog, so I have to pretend to be deaf all the time in order to let the dog work! Sadly Ruffles has now passed on but, because of my total night time deafness, I still am classified as deaf and I now have Maple, a golden retriever, training to work for me.

What hearing people often fail to understand is the total isolation felt by someone who loses their hearing. Their confidence is sapped and many deafened people just withdraw from the hearing world, as they cannot cope with the demands of everyday life in a largely hearing world. My hearing dog, as well as alerting me to the sounds in my own home, is my ambassador to the outside word, informing others of my disability so that they became more helpful and less dismissive of my inability to communicate. Now that my hearing has been restored I have the best of both worlds: the joys of near normal hearing and the support of my dog at the times when I am deaf. I can also "switch off" in noisy situations - when the music gets too loud, the road drills are at full blast or the restaurant is just too noisy! I am probably better off than most of my hearing friends!

For more information on the Hertfordshire branch of Hearing Dogs for Deaf People, please visit www.herts-hearing-dogs.org.uk