Gill Hadfield
Gill Hadfield has been a member of NADP almost since its inception and has previously served on the EC including as its Secretary for a number of years. She has been co-opted back into the EC from November 2008.Gill became deafened in her early teens but has lived in the hearing world by becoming an expert lipreader. There was no ‘expert’ help in those days and she was just left to get on with her life the best she could and actually did.
She is an Inspector of Taxes having worked in HMRC as a deafened person since 1970. She lost the last vestiges of her hearing due to otosclerosis not long after joining but has not yet informed her boss! However she has recently partially early retired and after 43 years of full-time working now has the luxury of two further days at home which has supposedly given her enough time to rejoin the EC!
Gill learnt about cochlear implants at a NADP meeting many years ago and decided she wanted one and persuaded her local hospital accordingly. After a single channel implant in 1997 she had a successful multi channel cochlear implant in 1998, when new technology meant an ossified cochlea was not quite the same problem it had been in the past. Her implant has proved to be a great help in lipreading, and also in music appreciation. She does though continue
Harvey
Gill now has a hearing dog, Harvey, who helps keep her fit and out of mischief!