After four decades of living in a silent world a mum-of-two can now hear her mother's and children's voices for the first time.

Susan Matthews had been profoundly deaf since birth, communicating with family and friends by lip-reading.

What little muffled hearing she did have disappeared when she suffered a bad bout of flu two years ago.

But now she can hear her children, Ben, 13, and Sophie, ten, call her "mum" and is learning a growing range of sounds for the first time - including everyday noises such as car indicators and a boiling kettle.

Susan's world has been transformed over the last three months by a cochlear implant fitted inside her ear by doctors at the specialist centre at Bradford Royal Infirmary.

Now she wants to thank the medical team by raising at least £5,000 to help other local people who are deaf or hard-of-hearing. She is to take part in the BUPA Great Manchester Run on Sunday, May 21, and is encouraging others to join her.

Susan, 41, of Farsley, had keyhole surgery in November to fit the tiny implant inside her ear.

The device was switched on after a month, which was she says "the best Christmas present I could ever have had".

She said: "Before the implant I had never heard my name 'Susan', nor recognised when my children called 'mum'.

"People used to tap me on the shoulder when they wanted my attention as I lip-read. All that has changed now.

"When the implant was turned on, one of the sounds that was used to test it and its frequency was a baby crying, again something that I had never been able to detect before, not even when my own children cried as babies.

"The difference has been immense and doctors say my hearing will continue to improve as I learn more sounds."

Susan is raising money for The Ear Trust, a charity dedicated to helping profoundly deaf people across the North.

Its new 'Listening for Life' appeal is aiming to raise £750,000 to help build a state-of-the-art centre in Bradford.

People who want more information about taking the race and raising money for The Ear Trust can call the charity, which has a number of reserved places for the event, on (01274) 364853.