
I remember the ENT surgeon just said to me, “I’ve had a look at the diagnostics of your hearing and the test shows that you’re quite down in one ear and yes, you have quite a lot of tinnitus. I had an eight-month wait for an ENT surgeon on the Isle of Wight. I was about to go to the US to work but realised that I couldn’t. I carried on with gigging, which probably made it worse. So yeah, I remember sitting in my car thinking, “Wow, my hearing life is about to change forever”.

I’d never experienced anything like that before. I realised I was totally deaf in one part of my left ear. I remember coming out of a noisy club, so I didn’t notice it at first, but half of my face felt bizarre.

Rupert Brown: I’ve been a professional musician for years and am a session drummer in live bands and in the studio.
