Vanity fair

As rites of passage go, it's about as sexy as false teeth. But, after getting a pair of digital hearing aids at the tender age of 38, I can testify that they're almost as life-changing as my first snog. If deafness catches you young, a trip to the clinic will really put a spring in your step.

I must confess to being something of a fair-weather hearing aid wearer, but my only real regret is that I didn’t do it sooner. It took me more than six years from diagnosis to being fitted with my aids, but this isn’t a shocking story about waiting lists. It's a story about vanity and stigma and, perhaps, growing up. It took me six years to accept that I had hearing loss and, more importantly, that hearing aids were for me. It also took me that long to grow my hair long enough to cover the aids...

My story begins with the discovery of my hearing loss, courtesy of my mobile phone. My friends were infuriated by the way I'd let my phone ring and ring – none of us realised at first that I simply wasn’t hearing it. As much to prove them wrong as anything, I went to the doctor to have my ears syringed. But the things I told him didn’t quite fit waxed ears so, given my age, he referred me to hospital, close to where I worked at the BBC in Birmingham. In the waiting room, I was the youngest patient by four decades and the consultant’s letter to my GP referred to me as a 'young lady' – quite a boost for a thirty-something worried about my first grey hairs. The medical verdict was less cheering: 'bilateral symmetrical high frequency sensorineural hearing loss of indeterminate aetiology'. Roughly translated, that meant we would probably never know how my hearing was damaged: exposure to noise, perhaps, or a virus. The only thing we could rule out was old age. As a writer, I like my stories to have a beginning, as well as the end, so it’s still very frustrating not to know the cause. I had two options: try hearing aids, or keep muddling through.

Kate’s story can be read in full in One in Seven magazine. Join RNID now to get your copy.

Looking for a mobile phone? We put some new models to the test

Almost everyone uses mobile phones these days, for texting or voice calls, and they have become a 'must have' modern product. But there’s a wide array of phones available and it can be difficult to work out which are the best models for you. We know this because "What is the best mobile phone for me?" is one of the questions we’re most frequently asked.

For this review, we decided to catch up with some of the best phones currently on the market. We selected two phones which aren’t widely available but have been designed specifically for older people or those with hearing loss or visual problems. These phones, from Doro and Emporia, immediately stand out from more mainstream products because they are noticeably larger in size and have much bigger control surfaces. We also asked the main mobile phone manufacturers to provide us with the models they thought would be most suitable. These phones cover a wide price range but all are packed with many additional features; all had Bluetooth, a camera and could play music.

See the full product review with 'at a glance' comparison chart in One in Seven magazine. Join RNID now to get your copy.

READ MY LIPS: no more closures!

We receive a steady flow of letters and emails about the insufficient provision of lipreading classes across the UK. They are concerned about fee increases, classes being threatened with closure and a lack of available classes in a particular area. This is a huge problem because lipreading provides a real lifeline to people who are deaf or hard of hearing.

RNID’s Head of Campaigns, Emma Harrison, said: "Lipreading enables people to stay in work and stay connected with friends and loved ones, helping to tackle the isolation that many people face when they can no longer follow conversations. "People who lipread find that they need to keep going to classes to maintain the skill and it often becomes a sociable occasion with people sharing their experiences of hearing loss and coping strategies. If the class closes, it can be a real double blow to people who not only rely on the skill but also on the companionship."

For more details on why the closures are happening, what Ministers are doing, and how you can help, see One in Seven magazine. Join RNID now to get your copy.