The nine people whose stories are told in this section were all members of a small sample interviewed for a qualitative research project carried out for an MSc at City University between 1998 and 2000.

Four of the nine lost their hearing suddenly through meningitis or a skull fracture; five became profoundly deaf much more slowly, over a period of 10 years or more. Six became profoundly deaf at the end of the 1980s or in the 1990s; three lost their hearing many years earlier. Five have been helped by a cochlear implant (one after retirement); four have coped without one.

Profound deafness came at various stages in their careers, between the ages of 21 and 53. All nine remained in employment; but five have kept their old jobs compared with four who have started new careers. Two of the job-keepers have secured significant further advancement in their careers; two of the job changers have become self-employed and two have taken on new jobs which have required substantial training. They are all (or have been) white-collar or professional workers, but in a range of different occupations including senior management. Most have worked full time; but two are part-time workers.

So between them they provide quite a wide range of experience of coping with communication problems in different types of employment.

A glance at the headlines in individual stories will give you a first impression of what each story is about. Then if you want to find out more you can read the slightly longer summary or plunge into the full story.