Case studies

For 24 year old Charlotte Booth of Skipton, Yorkshire, living with a hearing impairment has always been part of her life. But when she also started suffering with tinnitus last year, coping with the constant noise proved difficult to come to terms with.

At just 39 years old, Conrad Jarvis from Bishops Stortford, Hertfordshire was shocked when he felt the hearing in his left ear change dramatically, while listening to music on 17 January 2009. So sudden and unexpected was his hearing loss, Conrad initially thought he could be experiencing a fault on the headphones he was using, rather than actual damage to his ears.

Carol Farmer of Canvey Island, Essex, has had tinnitus since December 2004, and initially couldn't imagine how she was going to live with it for the rest of her life. However things slowly improved, and although she still has her share of bad days she now has good ones too.

After spending most of her life coping well with being deaf in her left ear, it was just two years ago that 27 year old Leeds business woman Lucy Short was diagnosed as being deaf in both ears; a diagnosis she would have never thought could result in her hearing better than ever.

John Steventon of Kirkintilloch, Glasgow developed a passion for music as a youngster and was playing drums by the age of ten. Seeing live bands and listening to his personal stereo became a way of life and after leaving college he found work as a DJ. With typical youthful optimism, he never imagined how such frequent exposure to loud noise would affect him in the future.

For 33 year old rock musician Chris Singleton, good hearing is essential to his work, but for over two years he suffered terribly with hyperacusis, a hearing condition that made music unbearable and almost ended his career.

Social worker Andrew Fazekas, from Luton, loves rock music, and he loved to listen to it loudly. Occasionally it would leave him with a ringing in his ears that always wore off. But in 2004, overnight, the noises stayed and got worse.

Five years ago, when her twin boys were born full term and healthy, Lisa Preston - a mum from Heysham in Lancashire - never expected that 12 weeks later Alexander and Jacob would get the first of many ear infections, leading to a series of operations and ultimately resulting in hearing loss for one of her sons.

It has already been a long hard battle for Bristol Mum, Renae Cassidy, who's son Joshua is now two and still not able to say the word 'mummy'. Unsure where to turn but determined to get to the bottom of her son's hearing problems and distressing ear infections, including glue ear, Renae came across the national charity Deafness Research UK

When Southampton mum, Anne-Marie Paulin first took her daughter Summer, now five, to nursery she realised something was wrong but thought Summer was just having trouble settling in. Not realising the underlying problem was with her young daughter's hearing, Anne-Marie couldn't have predicted that it would take a series of tests, operations and speech therapy to put right the glue ear causing Summer's distress.

Despite suffering with severe bilateral hearing loss from a very young age, Valerie Idowu, from Peckham, London, has refused to let her condition stop her having a normal life. Now aged 20 and embarking on the second year of a photography and media arts degree at UCA, Maidstone, Valerie is more determined than ever not to be held back.

56 year old Pam Brown, from Stockport, Cheshire had lived with limited hearing in her right ear from her mid-twenties and had coped reasonably well; but nothing could have prepared her for the shock of waking up one morning with sudden hearing loss and unbearable tinnitus in her left ear.

Doug Markham, 54, from Shillington, Hertfordshire, has been suffering tinnitus for more than five years. He says his tinnitus is uncomfortable and often makes living a normal life difficult.

Annetta Grams-Byrne's daughter Maja, who is 4 years old, has had glue ear for nearly three years. Related hearing problems, long waiting lists for a grommet operation and varying medical opinions about the best treatment have, at times, left Annetta confused and frustrated.

Peter Woolley's son, Barnaby, had glue ear last winter.

Alan Salsbury, of Westill, Hertfordshire, first experienced tinnitus as a teenage DJ 35 years ago. Mixing records one over the other, and regular exposure to extremely loud club music is blamed by Alan for the start of his nightmare with tinnitus.

A hearing loss - however minor - can be very distressing. Often people feel embarrassed to admit that they cannot hear as well as they used to and delay seeking help. For many it can be a very frustrating experience as well as being isolating.

Mae Kelly, five, was diagnosed with glue ear in September 2003. Her condition was so bad that within a year she had an operation to insert grommets and remove both her adenoids and tonsils. Within two weeks her parents noticed a considerable difference in Mae's hearing, far exceeding expectations.

Lucy Burns from Cheshire was taken by surprise when her baby daughter experienced glue ear and some hearing loss, and thinks parents need to be better informed so they can spot the signs earlier and seek appropriate treatment.