Man, 55, who can hear again 'saved from silent world'

A man who can hear again thanks to an implant has praised the NHS for "saving him from living in a silent world".

Ian Milner, 55, from Rotherham in South Yorkshire, first realised he had a hearing problem when he applied for the RAF at the age of 17.

After having further tests in his 40s, Mr Milner was diagnosed with significant bilateral hearing loss.

He said a cochlear implant, installed at the Queen's Medical Centre in Nottingham, had been transformative.

Mr Milner wore hearing aids until his mid-30s, which he said amplified sound but did not make it clearer.

When he was 45, he was referred for a cochlear implant - a device that uses electrical impulses to stimulate the hearing nerves.

Initially reluctant, he finally decided to have the implant when his daughter left home to travel and he realised how lonely he had become.

"I realised that I needed to make a change and an implant seemed the logical choice," he said.

Living with hearing loss had been a struggle for Mr Milner, who said he suffered bullying and abuse throughout his life.

"Deafness is one disability that people still think it is OK to take the mickey out of," he said.

He also recalled being locked in a department store because he did not hear the closing announcement, and being unaware when his car alarm went off.

In 2019 the NHS watchdog NICE made the implants available to more people when it revised its definition of severe deafness.

Mr Milner said he was still adapting to life with his cochlear implant by listening to audiobooks, music and specialist rehabilitation apps.

He said: "I've got my social life back - I've got really good friends who treat me like family and now I can have proper conversations with them.

"I was chatting to them and realised I'd not said 'what' for ages - it really hit home."