Hearing Loss

Millions of people in Britain are affected by hearing loss - and the number is growing steadily. For many it is an unforeseen challenge, to enter the world of hearing aids and gadgets and to come to terms with other people's insensitivity and jokes rarely is blindness laughed at - and the need to adjust a muffled, or even silent, environment. Michael Simmons, a distinguished British journalist until his retirement in 1997, has age-related hearing loss. The author examines the challenge and the stigma associated with hearing loss, investigates the historical figures who have experienced the condition, the remedies sufferers - and their partners have tried, and goes on to look at the resources and aids that are currently available. He finds there is light at the end of the tunnel.