A friend of ours who is a very young teenager and has been with RAM JA for 3 years has suddenly lost his hearing in the left ear as a result of mumps and viral infection combined. He has always wanted to be a violinist. It's so sad.

Oh no! Best wishes to your friend, Tess

Sad is an understatement Tess. That's dreadful.

I give my best wishes to your friend.

*sends best wishes*

You are right, barry. As soon as he got out of hospital, he took out his violin to practise, and, as he played the tears started to roll down his cheeks. His doctors will let the nerves alone for a while just in case they heal by nature and if not, there is a 2% chance that an operation in the future might help.

Oh, that's absolutely dreadful. Please pass on my heartfelt wishes for a recovery. I feel for him, I really do, but all may not be lost even if he doesn't regain full use of his left ear. I still can't think of what her name is (sarah-flute knows who I'm talking about though), but there is a professional violist who is completely deaf but has learnt to hear the notes through vibrations. She plays with as accurate intonation as any good player who can hear. It's surprising what one can do if you're determined enough to not let anything get in the way of achieving a long-term ambition.

That's truely dreadful. All I can say is, Evelyn Glennie.

Yes! I don't remember her name either. I saw her a long time ago on TV, and wow, she is amazing and you would NOT know to listen to her that she is profoundly deaf. So although I am sure it must be more difficult, there is still hope.

Oh no! *sends best wishes*

At the moment he can't be consoled but given time he can be encouraged if only I know the name of the violist Sarah's talking about.

I wish I could remember I did have a search earlier on but couldn't find anything.

Your young friend must be feeling very distraught - such awful news.

However, it is possible he will be able to adapt to his position, in time. A young friend of ours also went deaf (at the age of 12) in his left ear very suddenly and was also devastasted as he hoped to become a professional cellist. He found that gradually he was able to find ways around the problem and certainly once he had, there was no way that anyone who did not know the situation would have guessed when he was playing. He was fortunate to have supportive parents and teachers who encouraged him to have a positive outlook and try to find different ways round the problem.

I have not heard the violist mentioned by others, but I did see a very small part of a programme on television last Sat (See, Hear - on at about 12.30 ish on BBC2) in which a profoundly deaf flautist was performing the Danzi Flute concerto. It was not possible to tell from her playing that she was deaf - it was musical and skilled. I would guess from her speech that she had been deaf for most, if not all, of her life. Did anyone else see the whole programme and be able give more details - perhaps there would be a glimmer of hope for your friend there.

All the best to your friend.