Ilkley family backs campaign to raise awareness of childhood deafness

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 14 Oct, 01:02 · Archive

An Ilkley mother is supporting a campaign to highlight single-sided deafness in children after her two-year-old son was diagnosed with profound deafness in one ear.

Lindsay Boardman-Bradley from Ilkley is backing a campaign by the National Deaf Children's Society to raise awareness of single-sided deafness, after her two-year-old son Noah was diagnosed with profound deafness in his right ear. The condition was identified through his new born hearing screening.

After the family returned to Yorkshire from Australia, Boardman-Bradley 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 reveals significant gaps in public understanding. 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 for. Only around a third (36 per cent) agreed that mild deafness or hearing loss in one ear can have a great impact on a child's daily life, and one in five (20 per cent) thought it has little or no impact.

The National Deaf Children's Society says children with such hearing loss can appear to be coping well while working much harder to hear and follow conversations, particularly in busy and noisy environments.

How it is being reported

• Ilkley family support new charity childhood deafness campaignAN 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.Wharfedale Observer · 14 Oct, 00:05
• Ilkley family support new charity childhood deafness campaignAN 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.Telegraph & Argus · 14 Oct, 00:05

In this story: Lindsay Boardman-Bradley · Noah · Ilkley · National Deaf Children's Society

This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem