“When my hearing changed, I was initially told that it was likely just wax or an infection.

No one told me that sudden hearing loss can be a medical emergency. No one told me that urgent treatment can increase the chance of recovering your hearing.

If someone had said this could be urgent, there’s a real chance my hearing might have been saved. Can you imagine what that feels like? To realise there had been a chance – and it was gone.

What happened to me could happen to anyone. And with the right information at the right time, someone else’s story could end very differently. The RNID helpline is there for exactly that moment. I only wish I’d known. I can’t change what happened to me. But together, we can change what happens next for someone else.”