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News, Views... Keeping you in the loop
Nokia has announced the release of a new mobile phone accessory designed for users with hearing aids. The Nokia Wireless Loopset works with cochlear implants and slips around the user's neck. The Loopset is compatible with Bluetooth-ready handsets, essentially...
BBC's Lifeline appeal
Broadcaster Jonathan Dimbleby yesterday presented an appeal on behalf of the Cued Speech Association UK, a charity helping deaf children and adults to overcome the difficulties of learning to lipread by teaching them to recognise visual cues within the...
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The World of Sound
The World of Sound, a website sponsored by Cochlear UK, aims to raise awareness of Baha, with a new campaign. The site contains information about cochlear implants and Baha and how they can literally open up ‘a world of...
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Schools take on Fingerspellathon to raise money for deaf children
The National Deaf Children’s Society (NDCS) is inviting schools to take part in a nationwide Fingerspellathon to raise vital funds for deaf children in the UK. During the sponsored spellathon, school children will take on the challenge of learning...
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The Graeme Clark Scholarship opens for applications
The Graeme Clark Scholarship 2008, a unique award open to Nucleus cochlear implant recipients around the world, is now open for applications. The award, set up to support implant recipients financially when they continue further education at an accredited...
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Science Museum offers Sign Language interpreter
London's Science Museum has lots on offer this summer for families to enjoy, and guests at a number of its events will now benefit from a British Sign Language interpreter. From shows like 'Bubbles, Bubbles, Bubbles', to 'Space In...
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Enter the world of glamour at Beyond Boundaries Live!
Interactive event Beyond Boundaries Live will run tomorrow (Friday) and Saturday at the prestigious Kent Showground, Kent. The show, which brings something completely new to the table, is all about opportunity and living your life to the full. Central to...
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The DeafBlog joins Facebook
As some of you may not yet know, we have a Facebook group that we’d love for you to join. We post up pictures, links and news stories, and enable more discussion. The Facebook accompaniment to the DeafBlog, of...
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Campaign to help deaf and blind launched
A deafblind charity launched an awareness campaign at the recent Welsh Assembly to highlight the growing number of older people in Wales with combined sight and hearing loss. The charity hopes AMs’ support will lead to more services being delivered...
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It's not a Bluetooth headset!
The first time someone snatched the speech processor from behind her son's ear, Hilda Giron got it back. She’d been shopping for groceries and shouted to the cashier to watch three-year-old Jose while she took off after the young...
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'More' sign from Finlay – after operation gives joy of music
A boy who was born deaf signed the word "more" the first time he heard music after an operation to restore his hearing. Finlay McNamara was so excited to hear the 1990s pop song after undergoing a cochlear implant operation...
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Disabled models to compete in reality TV show
Some of Britain's most beautiful disabled women are to be given the chance to become a top model in a ground-breaking BBC television series. Britain's Missing Top Model, which starts tomorrow (Tuesday), hopes to challenge the boundaries that appear to...
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The 14-month-old girl who can hear for the first time
A baby girl who was born deaf can now hear after becoming one of the youngest people in Britain to have a cochlear implant. Ava Pearson, 14 months old, can listen to bedtime stories and jiggle about to music thanks...
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One-day seminar at The Ear Foundation – what do we know about implantation?
A one-day focused seminar will run at the National College for School Leadership, on 27 June in Nottingham. Following the introduction of Newborn Hearing Screening worldwide, implantation in the first year of life is now accepted management of profoundly...
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Baby monitors for deaf people
The sound of a baby crying is definitely one of the most precious things in life that some parents take for granted. The case is different though with a deaf mother or father. Not being able to hear your...
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Sound Advice
Sound Advice is the new service from the Ear Foundation for adults and children with Cochlear Implants. In collaboration with The Link Centre, Cochlear and Advanced Bionics, the Foundation aims to help users get the most from their implant...
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Children's cochlear implant books
There has been a surge in the publishing industry when it comes to children's books that talk about cochlear implants. ‘Abby gets a cochlear implant’, written by Maureen Cassidy Riski, illustrates the process of how Abby gets a cochlear...
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Ménière's and music: the sound of silence
Doctors have told Lindsey Dryden that she may go deaf at any moment, but she's learnt that need not mean giving up her passion for music. In the Independent this week, Lindsey told her story. She explains: People who don't...
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The bands played on ... and slowly I went deaf
Years of playing and listening to loud music left Denis Campbell in need of a hearing aid. Now, the sports reporter and former rock star says his generation must face up to the damage caused by noise. The audiologist didn't...
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F1 engines deafen Murray Walker
In an interview with BBC Radio 4, Formula 1 racing commentator Murray Walker described the impact that 50 years at the side of the race track has had on his hearing and how that’s affecting his life. The commentator,...
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Radiohead bassist went deaf
Radiohead bassist Colin Greenwood went deaf during the recording of the band's latest album In Rainbows. Greenwood revealed all in an interview with Word, saying his deafness was due to using the wrong type of headphones in the studio....
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Text scheme will help deaf people contact police
A text messaging service which allows residents who are deaf or have speech impediments to contact police was launched last week. The system, which has so far proved successful around the country, aims to improve access to police services...
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Mobile clinic will benefit the deaf
Norfolk's deaf and hard of hearing are to benefit from a new mobile clinic designed to improve services and bring them to rural areas across the county. The Norfolk Deaf Association (NDA) launched the Listen Here! facility as part of...
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Jeremy’s 'Beyond Boundaries'
Jeremy Millensted from Repton, Derbyshire, joined nine physically disabled young people and a TV crew for a four week trek across Equador. The 20 year-old who is profoundly deaf, has now returned, and his adventures will be featured in...
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Pauline fights for disability rights
A news story in the Guardian this week reveals that for the first time, a UK recruitment agency has been found guilty of disability discrimination. In the article, Ben Furner asks what lessons can be learned by all parties......
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KT backs Deaf Awareness Week
KT Tunstall is supporting Deaf Awareness Week, according to a report in Metro, and is asking people to spend one minute imagining a world without sound. The Brit winner - who has a brother who is profoundly deaf -...
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Coming to her senses
Cochlear implants have brought a complete transformation to the life of Martine Laverty, 22, who has had to live without her hearing for 20 years. Martine had her operation in August 2005. A month later, the electronic device that had...
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Legal help for The Ear Trust
Bradford based law firm Gordons has chosen to support The Ear Trust, making an initial donation of £1,000 to launch a series of fundraising events throughout the year. The firm will be supporting local paper The Telegraph & Argus-backed Listening...
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New DVD launched to help Asian families
The views of Asian children, young people and their families have been made into a DVD called ‘Communication Matters’. It’s been launched by the Specialist Support Service, Directorate of Children, Young People and Families in Birmingham and the National Deaf...
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The Ear Foundation is in the Top Ten
In the recent Royal Bank of Scotland and the Daily Mail Charities Award, The Ear Foundation has been awarded £10,000, after being voted in the top 10 of children's charities. The two organisations were giving away £1 million to a...
Better phone access for the deaf
Politicians in the UK are being lobbied to provide greater access to technology which can help the deaf make phone calls. A consortium, known as TAG, which is made up of organisations including RNID, the British Deaf Association, Hearing Concern...
Climb every mountain
A 34 year old deafblind man from Scotland has climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, the tallest mountain in Africa. Stephen Joyce, who has been deaf since birth, is also losing his sight, but still managed to trek for four days in some...
Royal opening for research centre
HRH The Earl of Wessex officially opened new state-of-the-art facilities at the University of Southampton Institute of Sound and Vibration Research. The Institute is Europe's leading centre for research in sound and vibration and has played a major part in...
Royal opening for research centre
HRH The Earl of Wessex officially opened new state-of-the-art facilities at the University of Southampton Institute of Sound and Vibration Research. The Institute is Europe's leading centre for research in sound and vibration and has played a major part in...
Helping deaf children’s literacy and numeracy skills
A three-year research project to promote and develop deaf children’s literacy and numeracy skills is being undertaken by Oxford University. The project will focus on deaf children between the ages of seven to 11 with a moderate to profound hearing...
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The Right to be Deaf
Many of you will have read about the recent interviews with the deaf parents who would, if given the choice, have a deaf child, rather than a hearing child. They already have one deaf daughter and may have to have...
Music to your ears
According to recent reports, nine out of ten young people have experienced the first signs of hearing damage after listing to loud music on a night out. The RNID is warning that people should wear ear plugs to protect their...
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Lifesaving service launched in Kent for deaf people
People with hearing and speech problems can now text police, fire and ambulance services on their mobiles without having to worry about the problems of having to do this in the conventional way. The new scheme has been launched by...
New Branch Hearing dogs for Deaf People
The charity, Hearing Dogs for Deaf people, has opened a new branch in Tees Valley. The charity trains dogs to recognise and alert their deaf owners to everyday sounds that hearing people take for granted, as well as learning to...
Do you turn up the volume?
RNID has teamed up with the RAC Foundation to try and reach as many drivers as possible to see if they are listening at a safe volume on their car radios. The online survey asks questions about drivers’ listening habits...
Life and Deaf Poetry
Life and Deaf is a collection of poetry by deaf children in the Greenwich area which features students writing about deaf identity. The students who helped to put the book together are from Thomas Tallis School in Greenwich, who worked...
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Deafinitely Theatre - Playing God
The Wellcome Trust is hosting an event to showcase a new DVD called 'Playing God', a Wellcome Trust-funded play exploring issues around cochlear implants. The performance will take place on 29th February at 12.30pm at the Wellcome Collection, 183 Euston...
Earl of Wessex picks up good vibrations!
The Institute of Sound and Vibration Research at the University of Southampton, which includes the South of England Cochlear Implant centre, was officially opened by Prince Edward this week. The £6m research centre aims to revolutionise hearing and test the...
Look out for glue ear
The National Deaf Children's Society (NDCS) reports that one in five children between the ages of one and three years old will experience glue ear this winter. NDCS is warning parents and professionals to look out for glue ear, which...
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Climb every mountain
21 year old Jeremy Millensted, who is profoundly deaf, joined nine physically disabled young people and a TV crew and trekked for four weeks across Ecuador. The adventure will be featured on a TV programme on BBC2 in the spring,...
KT Tunstall writes music for her deaf brother
Rock star KT Tunstall wants to write music for her profoundly deaf brother Daniel, according to a report in Music-News. 28 year old Daniel was born with a hearing condition and had a cochlear implant fitted a few years ago...
New adventure to help develop speech
A computer game for deaf and hearing impaired children has been designed in Denmark by a team of game designers, speech therapists and a Danish scientist. The game, called Magic Drink, features adventure exercises aimed at developing the speech of...
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Royal recognition for deaf lady
Liz Arendt MBE who lives in Bricket Wood, Hertfordshire has been rewarded for all her wonderful fundraising efforts with a letter from the Princess Royal and a silver plaque, presented by chat show host Esther Rantzen. The Princess Royal is...
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Bronze for England women's deaf team
England Women’s Deaf football Team were triumphant at the World Deaf Futsal Championships held in Sofia, Bulgaria, winning a 3rd place Bronze medal in the recent football tournament. The footballers are not just great players, but excellent role models for...
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Change your world
A nationwide survey is being carried out by the National Deaf Children's Socity (NDCS) among young deaf and hard of hearing people, with the aim of having the first national discussion among 17,000 of them who live in the UK...
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Deaf friendly football coaching
In an initiative being run by the National Deaf Children’s Society to open up football to deaf children, Charlton FC championship footballers are helping deaf children by appearing in a DVD showing how they should be coached. This DVD was...
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Deaf friendly football coaching
In an initiative being run by the National Deaf Children’s Society to open up football to deaf children, Charlton FC championship footballers are helping deaf children by appearing in a DVD showing how they should be coached. This DVD was...
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Everyone needs a friend
The charity Hearing Dogs for Deaf People is the only charity in the UK which trains dogs to alert deaf people to important household sounds and danger signs. The charity entirely relies on charitable donations to increase the number of...
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Internet for deaf children in Sierra Leone
A new world has opened up for the children of St. Joseph’s school for the Deaf in Makeni, Sierra Leone. A team from the Lion Heart Foundation, an organisation established to help improve medical care in developing countries, with the...
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Special family support group
Two year old Daniel Kearney attends the Playday Nursery in Newton Aycliffe. Daniel is profoundly deaf and has just had a cochlear implant. Daniel's parents had so much help and advice from the North East Cochlear Implant parent Support...
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Pledge for Deaf Friendly Schools
The latest person to sign up and support The National Deaf Children’s Society’s (NDCS) Deaf Friendly Schools Pledge is MP Jim Dobbin. He says that deaf children need to be part of the whole school community and on an equal...
Listening for Life Appeal
The Yorkshire Cochlear Implant centre is embarking on a project to raise £2.5million to build a new cochlear implant centre in the grounds of Bradford Royal Infirmary. Currently the cochlear implant service is in the Infirmary, carrying out some fantastic...
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People's Ear of the Year Awards
Ears are beautiful and amazing and have been neglected for far too long, says the RNID. So, as part of its Breaking the Sound Barrier campaign, the organistion is inviting people to take part in a competition to find...
Winchester display for deaf artist
24-year-old Donna Vokes, a deaf artist from Sparsholt, is organising a solo exhibition at the Slug and Lettuce pub in The Square, Winchester. It opens on Thursday, November 1, and proceeds from the night will go to the Hampshire Deaf...
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Northern Irish police claim £60m compensation for hearing loss
Ulster Unionist Basil McCrea, a policing board member, has claimed that police in Northern Ireland are claiming nearly £60m in compensation for hearing loss mainly suffered in the Troubles. He said the figure was so large that it could not...
Genetic screening may reduce deafness
An article in the British Medical Journal reveals that some people have a genetic mutation which means they are more at risk of hearing loss after taking antibiotics called aminoglycosides. The writers, from the Institute of Child Health, explain that...
West Sussex Deaf Association appoints new manager
Jane Shaw, who has fulfilled almost every role in the West Sussex Deaf and Hard of Hearing Association over the past 11 years, has been appointed general manager at the organisation's annual meeting. Jane's comprehensive understanding of all types of...
Cochlear's anniversary celebrations
On Saturday 6th October, Cochlear UK hosted a celebration day for over 600 people (Nucleus and Baha users and their families) in Warwickshire's 'Heart of England' centre to celebrate 25 years of Nucleus cochlear implants and 30 years of Baha...
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DeafBlind dog in rescue operation
Rescuers have delayed restarting their search for a deaf and blind dog trapped down a deep hole in old mineworkings near Pontypool, in Torfaen. Sprogget, an 18-year-old Jack Russell cross, vanished down the hole on Wednesday lunchtime and the search...
Councillor criticises 'lack of will' to help deaf
Durham County Councillor Reg Ord, who has been on the waiting list for a cochlear implant for over a year, has written to NHS chiefs to demand action over the long waits for hearing aids. Two months ago, 70-year-old Councillor...
Deafblind Peterborough man rallys against EU
On Thursday 4th October, deafblind Graham Hicks from Peterborough was at the forefront of a huge rally in Brussels to force the European Union to do more to protect people with disabilities against discrimination. 46-year-old Mr Hicks, a talented sportsman...
Rugby fun day in Wellingborough
The England Deaf rugby team will take on Northamptonshire Police as part of a rugby fun day at Wellingborough's Cut Throat Lane ground on Sunday 7th October. The match will help Wellingborough celebrate the Rugby World Cup on a busy...
The Ear Foundation's royal visitor
On 25th September HRH The Countess of Wessex visited The Ear Foundation in Nottingham to meet groups of deaf children and their families. 12-year-old Tara Vinden, who presented the Countess with a Cochlear koala, as a gift for her daughter...
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Pooling resources for NDCS
At 7pm this evening, international pool professional and former world champion Carl Morris will be playing a charity pool exhibition in the Crazy Horse Saloon at Butlins in Minehead. As part of a tournament set to continue all weekend, cochlear...
Mossley teacher runs for NDCS
Andy Fenton, a science teacher at Mossley Hollins School in Huddersfield, is running the Great North Run on Sunday 30th September in aid of the National Deaf Children's Society. Andy's three-year-old son Keir was born profoundly deaf and the NDCS...
Top model lives her dream despite deafness
As the world's top models gather for London Fashion Week, gorgeous Brenda Costa won't hear the cheers as she struts down the catwalk. The 24-year-old Brazilian, who was born deaf, says: "I've never seen being deaf as a problem. I...
The perils of being a rock star
Foo Fighters star Dave Grohl has revealed that his deafness is causing problems in his marriage because his wife has to repeat herself all the time. The former Nirvana drummer admits all rock star marriages have the same issue -...
MP3 players can damage hearing
Deaf charity, the RNID, is warning that more than two thirds of young people who regularly use MP3 players face premature hearing damage because they are playing the volume too high. With a reported eight million MP3 players sold last...
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Baha request for tsunami survivor
Somaratne Wijesinghe, a Sri Lankan man from Enfield, is appealing for donations to fund a Baha (bone conduction hearing implant) for two-year-old Tharindi Supunsara who was born with no ears following the south-east Asian tsunami of 2004. Baby Tharindi comes...
Cochlear implant myths
Parents of children who use cochlear implants are used to the interest that their child's cochlear implant receives. There are the stares at the "thing on the kid's head," there are the questions, and there are the blank stares that...
Hop along to this year's Bunny Ball
The James Bond themed Bunny Ball ’007, which takes place on 22nd September at the Crowne Plaza in Marlow, Buckinghamshire, promises to leave party-goers 'shaken and stirred’ into raising more funds than ever for the Mary Hare Primary School for...
Celebrate 30 years of Bahas!
Cochlear UK, the manufacturer of bone conduction hearing implants - known as Bahas - is inviting all Baha recipients and Nucleus cochlear implant recipients to a celebration day on Saturday 6th October in Warwickshire's wonderful 'Heart of England' centre to...
Deaf children in Kenya get help from Ulster
Ulster teacher, Helen Moorehead, has given up her job as a teacher in Northern Ireland to teach deaf children in the Tharaka region of Kenya. When Helen discovered that deaf children in the remote bush area of Kenya had no...
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Durham councillor denied implant
Durham County Councillor Reg Ord, has been left struggling to understand those around him after a virus damaged his hearing. Despite being eligible for a cochlear implant, 70-year-old Reg was horrified when he was told that, because of an increase...
Deaf charity sets hot challenge
The charity, Hearing Dogs for Deaf People, is looking for a minimum of 25 people to walk 20ft across hot coals to raise much needed money. The challenge, which is being organised to celebrate the charity’s 25th Anniversary year, will...
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Successful Deaf Role Models
Children between the ages of 0 to 18 living in Northern Ireland are being given the chance to meet successful deaf adults who will share their personal experiences of growing up deaf. The scheme is being organised by The National...
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Big MG the Deafblind DJ
Michael Gerwat, 58, told us his story as a guest writer on the DeafBlog in June last year. Despite being born blind, Michael loved music and in 1968 trained as a piano turner, working backstage with legends like Elton John...
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World of Sound
A new website, called World of Sound, has been launched so that people can find out more about cochlear implants and how they can literally open up ‘a world of sound’ to profoundly deaf children and adults. World of Sound...
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Search for first deaf babies identified on NHSP
The National Deaf Children’s Society is searching the UK to find the first children that were identified as deaf through the Newborn Hearing Screening Programme (NHSP). They are specifically looking for the first child from each county that was identified...
100th Baha in Wrexham
Iris Ganderton, a housewife from Anglesey, won herself a place in the history books when she recently became the 100th person to benefit from a bone conduction hearing implant at the Wrexham Maelor Hospital in North Wales. 60-year-old Iris was...
Today programme causes uproar
Last Tuesday, BBC Radio 4's Today Programme featured a West End play called 'Playing God', about a deaf couple's decision to put their daughter forward for a cochlear implant. The playwright, a deaf woman whose comments were translated, and Emma...
RNID calls for subtitling in Peterborough cinema
Brian Lamb, of the RNID, has called for Showcase Cinemas in Peterboroguh to, "stop behaving like muggles and join the 230 UK cinemas who show films with subtitles every week", after nine year old Calum Daly - who is profoundly...
108-year-old woman faces 18 month hearing aid wait
Olive Beal from Kent, who has failing eyesight and uses a wheelchair, finds it difficult to hear with her five-year-old analogue hearing aid and needs a digital version that cuts out background noise and makes conversation easier. However, the 108-year-old...
Deaf tennis teams take fourth place
The Great Britain Women's Deaf Tennis Team has finished fourth in the 2007 Maere Cup and the Great Britain Men's Deaf Tennis Team finished fourth in the 2007 Dresse Cup. The men lost 2-1 to Germany in their final play-off...
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