Regarding the documentary on Rose Ayling-Ellis (TV review, 26 June), I am delighted that the issues facing deaf people are getting such eloquent advocacy. It is important to remember that while it is difficult to be born with little or no hearing, and therefore be dependent on sign language, the one in six people with hearing difficulties includes huge numbers of those who had normal hearing and learned their native language.
These people will have lost their hearing for a variety of medical reasons, industrial noise exposure or, in some cases, through exposure to high-volume music. Hearing aids only augment the retained hearing – they cannot restore lost hearing. The isolation and loss of confidence from hearing loss often causes devastating problems. The sufferers are assumed to be unintelligent and are often shouted at.
