War veteran given new lease of life

3:09am Tuesday 5th February 2008

A war veteran whose hearing was damaged by shelling in World War Two has been given a new lease of life at the age of 82 by a medical team in Bradford.

Sidney Birch served with Royal Fusiliers in Germany towards the end of the war.

Unfortunately the experience was the beginning of life-long problems with his hearing, culminating in him becoming totally deaf last year.

But after being referred to the Yorkshire Cochlear Implant Centre at Bradford Royal Infirmary, Mr Birch became one of the oldest patients ever to be fitted with a cochlear implant, a small, complex electronic device, which has restored his world of sound.

The pensioner, of Knottingley, near Wakefield, is so thrilled with the results of the operation, that he visited the team at Bradford Royal Infirmary to hand over £1,000 saved from his pension, towards the Telegraph & Argus-backed Listening for Life Appeal.

The appeal is aiming to raise £1.5 million to build a dedicated cochlear implant centre in the grounds of BRI, to replace the current, cramped accommodation in the main building.

"I am just over the moon," he said. "I thought I was confined to this dark world and now I have a new life at 82."

Mr Birch, who has never married and lives alone, had worn various hearing aids over 30-years in an attempt to overcome his hearing problems.

For the past 14 years he has been profoundly deaf in his right ear and this did affect his quality of life.

"I avoided going out and going on holidays and generally mixing with people because I couldn't hear and felt in the way," he said.

Then suddenly, overnight in June last year, he lost all hearing in his left ear as well.

"He just woke up one morning and his hearing had completely gone," said his brother Peter Birch, 71, of Pontefract. "He had always lived in fear of that."

Becoming profoundly deaf had a devastating impact on the pensioner who had always been fiercely independent, even buying his own hearing aids and never relying on the NHS.

However, his family, including his other brother Richard, 70, rallied round, and he was referred to the cochlear implant team in Bradford.

"He was up for the operation straight away, where many people would have thought twice about it," said Peter, who along with Richard, drove their brother to appointments.

A cochlear implant was fitted on his left side at the end of November in a two-hour operation and it has restored about 70 per cent of his hearing. He is back living independently and can even speak on the phone to a friend in Australia.

"It has been great for him," said Peter. "They are tremendous at the hospital in Bradford, I cannot praise them enough and Sid says the same and that is why he made the donation.

"He has always been a saver and what little money he has goes to charity. What touched him more than anything was seeing little children who could not hear and he said he would help them. He will be doing more if he can."

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