My earliest memory is when I was around the age of 2 years old and I was in hospital for glue ear, something that it was hoped was the cause of, and therefore the solution to, my deafness. It wasn’t. Parents were not allowed to stay over in hospital with their children in those days – I vividly remember Mum and Dad leaving me at the hospital and driving off to go home. So I was left alone, unable to communicate and feeling isolated. It was a feeling that would come to describe much of my childhood.

Welcome to Hear me out; a series of blog posts written to introduce you to the world through my eyes and, most importantly my ears, as a profoundly deaf person. They will form a personal storybook that I hope will both entertain and educate on just what a difference an inclusive workplace and society can make for people with disabilities such as deafness.