 Earlier this year my hearing took quite a turn for the worse and Earlier on in the summer. I was told that I was eligible for a cochlear implant I Started to lose my hearing in my early 20s at the time there wasn't much wrong with my hearing They just picked up that I'd lost a lot of high-pitch, but I could still Understand speech very easily, but they told me that my hearing loss was likely to get worse over time and That is exactly what happens. It's just gradually got worse and worse. I Decided I needed to look into having hearing aids when I started to be aware that I was struggling to hear people if they weren't looking at me and I think those hearing aids help with that and They were great, but then this year they've They've not been enough it was quite clear that it wasn't the hearing aid that was the problem It was the fact that something significant had changed about my hearing and You know there was going to have to be Hopefully a different answer I think the implant is my only hope at this point I've been told that hearing aids aren't going to do anything more to help me So the implant was the only option really going forward. I'm very happy with that This year I come here quite regularly. It's a great walk from the village and When you've been having a bad hearing day, then it's quite Therapeutic to go out with somebody that doesn't want to talk to you. They're just a companion It's a place we return to a lot In January of this year that I had the flu and it ended up that I got Fluid behind both of my eardrums My hearing just went completely. I couldn't hear anything and it was hugely upsetting because I thought right is this it has it just gone now and Gradually my hearing came back, but it never came back to the level it had been before Christmas the ability to just have Casual conversations with people has gone and and and that's hugely upsetting and It's been particularly Obsessing with my husband because that is a very funny person. He likes the quick quip he likes a bit of banter. He likes a joke and I Can't follow that anymore. I just can't do it. So he can't be like that with me It's it's as hard on him as it is with me Yeah, we saw a bar now and to dear this morning It's made just that ordinary Day-to-day interaction so difficult and put so many barriers up to it, you know, I feel I Feel a strong and a huge sense of loss a huge sense of loss a few weeks ago We went out to eat in the evening with some friends We were around their house the four of us were you know sat round as you do chatting or trying to in my case and Suddenly some conversation Actually started that I wasn't able to follow and it was obviously very funny because comments were going back and forward and people were laughing and Nigel was laughing uproariously and taking a big part in it and I was just watching because I couldn't because I didn't know What they were talking about and I watched my husband I watched Nigel and I thought That's who he is that's my husband, but he can't be like that with me and now that's very upsetting Yeah You know, it's incredibly emotional for us You know I I cried Still it makes me tear up, you know if there's something that you think is going to help you that's coming along then You can keep going and but if you feel that it's just getting worse is going to get worse And there's nothing yet within reach that's going to offer help Then it's hard to be remain retain your optimism. It just feels like everything's just too difficult but Now I feel very positive about things Bring it on