Martin was a young clerical assistant of 21 when he was struck down by meningitis. Although left totally deaf, he recovered quickly and over the next 20 years has carved out a successful career as a computer programmer and analyst and then as a manager, without the help of hearing aids or a cochlear implant. His story offers some useful ideas on how to manage a team when you are profoundly deaf and how to make best use of a lip speaker.	summary
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At 29 Terry was a successful salesman for a large company when he suddenly lost most of his hearing. For nearly two years he struggled to hang on to his job but eventually had to resign. He then took several initiatives to find well-paid work but ended up unemployed. Finally he started working for himself, selling customised PVC products. Despite initial difficulties in communicating with his customers and suppliers after four years' trading he had achieved an acceptable standard of living for himself and his family. His story shows how expertise acquired as an employee can be applied to develop a small business and how communication with customers and suppliers can be managed if you have minimal residual hearing and no support from a cochlear implant.	summary
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Despite leaving school at 14 without any qualifications and becoming severely deaf by the age of 17 Ronnie made a successful career in the food industry, becoming the marketing director of a prestigious Group of department stores at the age of 31. However, at this stage he became profoundly deaf and, after wrestling with his communication problems as a senior manager for three years, decided to resign. Then for the first time in his life he faced up to his deafness, taking several steps to improve his communication skills, and abandoned his workaholic lifestyle in favour of working for himself with more time for his family and leisure interests. At first he worked as a consultant in the food industry but later also launched and ran a company of 15 staff providing multi-lingual London coach tours. His story illustrates clearly the benefits of coming to terms with your deafness and improving communication skills and how to run a small business with hearing staff without the support of a cochlear implant.	summary
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Severely deaf by the age of 21, Tim started training to be a solicitor in a private firm but resigned after six months because he could not work effectively in the noisy open plan office. He completed his training and made his career in the legal department of a regional water authority. In his mid 30s when he was deputy to the Company Solicitor, who was soon due to retire, he became profoundly deaf; but when the Board of Directors began to question Tim's competence to succeed the outgoing Company Solicitor in the firm's top legal job he challenged their doubts and secured promotion by demonstrating that he was already doing most of the Company Solicitor's job despite his deafness. Tim's story includes an explanation of the techniques that he has used to reduce his workload and communication problems as a profoundly deaf manager in a demanding top job.	summary
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Gloria was a 42 year old single mother with a young son when she had a severe attack of meningitis that left her unable to hear or to walk and with restricted tunnel vision. Four years later she was back at work as the administrative assistant to a Disability Employment Adviser. Key staging posts on her long journey of recovery were: a detailed plan for her rehabilitation before she left hospital, co-ordinating support from family and friends with regular contact with her local Hearing Therapist and several other community services; after a year at home medical retirement and a pension from her employer; after two years at home a cochlear implant which restored a good level of hearing; a further year of work preparation and training courses organised by her local Disability Employment Adviser; five months active jobhunting on her own. This story illustrates the range of services that can help at different stages of a long process of rehabilitation and shows how a successful cochlear implant and a Disability Employment Adviser can improve your employment prospects.	summary
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At 46 Colin was a well-established GP when he became profoundly deaf as a result of a skull fracture. Early attendance at a LINK Centre course and lipreading classes boosted his self-confidence, and he developed a detailed strategy to cope with his communication problems that enabled him to continue working full-time as a GP without the aid of a cochlear implant until the age of 60. This strategy included a cunning method of ensuring that he understood his patients and valuable support from his supervision of hearing trainees.	summary
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Tony adjusted well to his gradually increasing tinnitus and deafness during a career of more than 30 years as an electronics engineer at EMI, earning an international reputation as the firm's chief trainer in its military radar systems despite becoming severely deaf. However at the age of 52 he was made redundant and then became profoundly deaf. During two years of unemployment he retrained to qualify in basic accounting and had a cochlear implant before getting his first part-time accounts job with British Airways and gradually securing promotion to much more demanding full-time jobs. His story proves that it is possible to start a new career after losing your hearing even towards the end of your working life.	summary
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Maureen is a mother of two children and a physiotherapist who works part-time with disabled children at a special school. At 35 she noticed the first signs of deafness and by 48 had become profoundly deaf. Despite a total lack of local services for deafened people she managed to continue working as a physiotherapist with the support of school colleagues, as well as training to become a lipreading teacher and working for a time as a social worker for the deaf. Four years after she became profoundly deaf she had a successful cochlear implant, overcoming her Regional Health Authority's reluctance to approve the operation. The consequent improvement in her hearing has restored her enjoyment of her job, making it much easier for her to communicate with the disabled children, their parents and her colleagues.	summary
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Matilda became profoundly deaf over a period of 13 years between the age of 40 and 53. She first noticed a slight loss of hearing shortly after returning to work part-time, following a break to look after her children. Her job was to monitor the IT expenditure of a large food-producing company. As her deafness increased she found difficulty in using the telephone and taking part in meetings; but from the point when she was prescribed her first hearing aid she received regular support from a Hearing Therapist who helped her adjust to increasing deafness and cope with her communication problems at work. At 55, two years after she had become profoundly deaf, she had a successful cochlear implant. This gave her the confidence to leave her job, which she now found undemanding, and start a new career working with disabled children as a part-time assistant in the local authority social work department. Her story shows the sort of practical help that a Hearing Therapist can provide for employment and the impact that a successful cochlear implant can have even at a late stage in your working life.	summary
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