Overcoming bullying and abuse: how a cochlear implant gave this man a new lease of life

Ian Milner (55) realised he had an issue with his hearing when he had failed a hearing test during his RAF application at the age of 17.

He said life with deafness had been a struggle but receiving a cochlear implant had changed his life.

“It’s baby steps,” said Ian, of Rawmarsh.

“I’m still in rehabilitation. I listen to audiobooks, music, and some special rehabilitation apps on my phone, but I feel great.

“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? what?’ for ages — it really hit home.”

Reflecting on how deafness had affected him before the implant, he said: “I suffered bullying and abuse throughout my life.

“Deafness is one disability that people still think it is OK to take the mickey out of.”

Ian wore hearing aids but said his hearing had deteriorated rapidly in his 40s.

And when his daughter Kimberly had gone travelling, he realised how lonely he had been.

“I realised that I needed to make a change and an implant seemed the logical choice,” Ian added.

Ian was referred for a cochlear implant and it changed his life — forever.

He said he had not got his hearing back instantly as it takes time, adding: “It’s a long journey.

“I’ve got to retrain my ears. It was horrendous when I first had it done, everyone sounded like a robot!”

Medical experts said a cochlear implant would work differently for different people, depending on their hearing history.

It can take from weeks to months to adapt to the new signal from the implant, with support from audiologists and therapists.

Ellen Jeffs of the Nottingham Auditory Implant Programme said: “Having a cochlear implant is not like having a new hearing aid.

“The implant bypasses the damaged parts of the hearing system and uses electrical impulses to stimulate the hearing nerves directly.

“The brain has to learn to listen with this new signal, so at switch-on, the sound can be very odd.”

Ian said he was keen to shout about how his hearing had improved, adding: “It has given me a new lease of life — the improvements have been mind-blowing and I want to let everyone know how fantastic it is.”