Ilkley family support new charity childhood deafness campaign

AN Ilkley mum has spoken about why single-sided deafness should not be underestimated, as new polling reveals gaps in public understanding of its impact on children. Lindsay Boardman-Bradley’s two-year-old son Noah has profound deafness in his right ear, which was identified following his new born hearing screening. After the family returned to Yorkshire from Australia, Lindsay said she sometimes felt Noah’s hearing loss was dismissed because he could hear well in his other ear. She said: “People would say, ‘He’s got great hearing in his other ear, he’ll be fine’, but I was thinking, ‘He can’t hear in his right ear. What does that mean and what should we be doing to support him?’” New polling of 2,000 UK adults found nearly three-quarters (72 per cent) said it can be difficult to tell when a child has mild deafness or hearing loss in one ear, while fewer than a third (31 per cent) said they knew the signs to look out for. The National Deaf Children’s Society says children can appear to be coping well while working much harder to hear, follow conversations and join in, particularly in busy and noisy environments. Mild deafness means a child may hear well in a quiet environment but…