This week we continue Molly Watt’s story…

I was born deaf, I know nothing but being deaf.
My parents suspected there was something not quite right when I was very young – Mum’s fighting began.
Having passed my 8 month hearing test, which is really a distraction test; my Mum began hassling the NHS to check me further. It was our doctor who finally said that he believed in “Mum’s Intuition” and arranged a tier 2 hearing test, “bang” I failed, miserably.
Thankfully we had private healthcare, I had a brain scan and there it was “severely deaf, hearing aids forever”. My family were devastated.
However, straight away back to the NHS, hearing aids ordered, moulds ordered and then I distressed my poor Mum mercilessly for 3/4 months, refusing to wear them!
I guess I realised I was missing out without wearing them so decided to wear them.

I have a very supportive family who really fought my corner, they, eventually got me all the support I needed as a young deaf person – looking back life was so much easier, challenging, but easier.Once I was up and running there was no stopping me, but there has been a few hiccups.
The biggest hiccup happened when I was just 12 – I was getting headaches, I was struggling to see the whiteboard, I felt my hearing was down, I felt unbalanced, i was clumsy and disorientated all at once!
“Eye Test” Mum suggested and that’s where the “drama” all began!
Three hours of testing by the various opticians and my parents were asked about my deafness and then told my eye condition may well be connected to my deafness and that being the case I could well have usher syndrome but “not to worry!”.
We left the opticians with a lovely pair of glasses and I bought nothing more of it!
Christmas came along with my referral to Professor Tony Moore at
Moorfield Eye Hospital in London, I was not at this time aware of what was going on, I had always had lots of hospital appointments because of my deafness so didn’t really suspect anything too serious, besides which several of my friends wore glasses! I was registered partially sighted after my very first visit!
I was now registered both deaf and blind and deafblind. Deafblind is exactly that and not deaf with blindness or blind with deafness.
Looking through my blind eyes I now see how much we hear with our eyes. I miss it but being defeated by this condition is not an option but it really is tough…
To continue reading Molly Watt’s story, CLICK HERE