Settlement Agreed for US Deaf patients

A federal judge in ST. LOUIS, USA has approved settlement of a lawsuit filed on behalf of more than 1,000 deaf Missourians over mental health services for the deaf reports BND.com (11/05/12).

U.S. District Judge Matt Whitworth approved the settlement Thursday in Jefferson City in a suit filed by the Missouri Association of the Deaf and 13 named plaintiffs. Attorneys for the plaintiffs say about 20 percent of deaf persons in need of mental health services are children.

The suit accused the state of violating the Americans with Disabilities Act by failing to provide adequate mental health care for the deaf. Among many provisions, the settlement requires greater availability of sign language interpreters and development of outpatient and inpatient centers staffed with clinicians and case managers trained in aiding the deaf.

Deaf users campaign for video relay service

After a decade of having their needs neglected by telecoms providers, leaders of the UK's deaf community have written an open letter published in today's Times newspaper writes Jack Schofield for ZEDNET (11/05/12). 


They are campaigning for a universally-accessible video relay service of the sort that the Americans have operated successfully for the past 10 years. This would enable British Sign Language users to make and receive calls at any time, with no pre-booking, and at no additional cost over a normal phone contract.


The revised EU Electronic Communications Framework, rubber stamped by UK Government, sets out a legal requirement to ensure that disabled end-users enjoy access to telecommunications that are functionally equivalent to those enjoyed by other end-users. 


Unfortunately, the UK government appears to have done nothing substantial to meet this requirement for deaf users, simply handing off the problem to telecoms suppliers such as BT, O2, Vodafone, Three, Talk Talk, Virgin Media, Everything Everywhere and BSkyB.


The deaf organisations say they talked to communications minister Ed Vaizey, and that in November, he "repeatedly called on the telecommunications industry to work with the deaf community to find solutions which meet their communications needs". 


In their letter to The Times, they tell the telecoms providers: "You have failed to meet with us in open forum in response to the Minister’s request and your silence has been deeply disappointing," and that "Positive action by the industry is long overdue. You are delaying the introduction of modern relay services, and exacerbating the isolation and disadvantage which is faced by deaf people who are denied equal access to telecommunications."


The UK does have an experimental video relay service (VRS) called MyFriend, but it requires pre-booking of calls. However, this is a pilot project run from the University of Bristol with the financial backing of the EU. It may well close this summer when the EU funding runs out, and it seems extremely unlikely that the UK government would, if asked, stump up the trivial amount of money required to establish as a permanent service. 


In parliament, Vaizey said, as an aside: "I have been struck by the lack of engagement from business and telecoms companies, which is unbelievably frustrating. In that respect, we would, for example, like to have video technology that enables deaf people to use sign language, and I have told all the telecoms operators, 'Please come to me with a cost-effective solution,' but they have not done that. Eventually, of course, I will have to regulate through Ofcom to make them do that, but it would be so much simpler if they came to me and did it." (17 Jan 2012 : Column 245WH)


The organisations backing the campaign include the UK Council on Deafness, TAG (Telecommunications Action Group), the British Deaf Association, the National Deaf Children’s Society, Sense, the National Association of Deafened People, and the Royal Association for Deaf People, as well as companies and individuals.


This week is Deaf Awareness Week in the UK, and it continues until Sunday, 13 May.

Deaf Awareness Week 7-12 May

During Deaf Awareness Week (May 7-13) Action on Hearing Loss are highlighting the barriers facing patients who are deaf and calling on local health services to commission interpreting services that use only appropriately qualified sign language interpreters reports The Belfast Telegraph (07/05/12).
New research shows that 41% of surveyed people who use British Sign Language (BSL) as their first language have left a health appointment feeling confused about their medical condition, because the interpretation was not of an adequate standard.
A total of 68% said they have asked for an interpreter to be booked for a GP appointment, but did not get one.
People who are deaf have the legal right to experience the same level of service as other patients in the UK.
So, to avoid unnecessary confusion, anxiety or embarrassment, it is vital that they can access communication support best-suited to their needs.
To sign our petition calling for local health services to use only interpreters registered with the National Registers of Communications Professionals (NRCP), which shows that they meet the required standard for communicating essential medical information, please click here.

Deaf Action will be taking an information stall around Edinburgh and the Lothians to mark Deaf Awareness Week, which starts on Monday reports The Scotsman (04/05/12).

It will be at Gala Bingo, Meadowbank, on Thursday, and at the Livingston, Musselburgh and Danderhall libraries on Friday.

Staff will be handing out information and answering questions about services and hearing aids or equipment.

There will also be a British Sign Language taster session at the charity’s offices in Albany Street on Wednesday afternoon.

For more information visit www.deafaction.org

The East Sussex Hearing Resource Centre has a programme of events planned for this week to raise awareness of the hidden disability that is deafness reports The Sussex Express (05/05/12)

On Friday afternoon, there will be a chance to relax and listen to some poetry, a short story or perhaps an extract from a novel. A member of the Read Aloud scheme, run by the library service, will be visiting the Resource Centre to entertain everyone. A loop system will be used for the benefit of hearing aid wearers with this facility. All are welcome. The session starts at 2.30pm and should last for an hour.

For any further information contact Teresa Davis, 8 St Leonard’s Road, Eastbourne, BN21 3UH. Tel: 01323 722505 or email: teresa@eshrc.org.uk

Deaf Embassy dream

This is the vision for an ‘embassy’ to the world’s deaf community being planned by a Preston charity reports the Lancashire Evening Post (24/04/12).

Deafway is proposing to build the centre at its base on Brockholes Brow in Fishwick which it believes will attract members of the deaf community from across the world.

It will house art galleries and a theatre to show the work of deaf people and provide facilities for people attending courses at the centre. Chief executive David Hynes said the striking design of the proposed building was “a statement of intent” by the charity.

He said: “If you look at any other group in the world which has its own language and its own culture, it has a country it is based in and within other countries there are embassies to promote that culture and language.

“The deaf community globally has as rich a culture and language as any other community and yet it has nowhere to positively promote that, it needs an embassy as a place to do that. What we are planning here is a building which deaf people from across the world will come to and be proud of to celebrate their culture.”

Plans, drawn up by Fulwood-based architects MCK Associates, will be submitted as a formal planning application to Preston Council in the coming weeks.

The charity has appointed Philippa Merricks as an ‘animateur’ for the project to develop projects to promote deaf culture from the centre. It is hosting a number of events at the centre.

Deafway will hold a public exhibition at Brockholes Brow between 1pm and 6pm next Thursday.

Deaf-blind speed skater to represent Canada

Ottawa athlete Kevin Frost almost seems more concerned with raising awareness of impaired speed skating than winning gold medals reports Metro Canada (02/05/12).

The deaf-blind speed skater who suffers from Usher Syndrome will represent Canada at the Impaired Skating Championship in Scotland on May 12 and hopes to help raise awareness about getting the sport recognized as an official Paralympic sport.

More countries need to practise impaired skating before the International Paralympic Committee will consider adopting it. “If I can get another 10 people who come from different countries, that’s a gold medal to me.”

He has been training for seven years, but it hasn’t been easy. He describes his vision as looking through two plastic straws and sound has to hit 90 decibels in order for him to hear it. Yet that doesn’t stop him from training and enjoying other sports.

“At the beginning it was very difficult, but with anything in life, when you do 1,000 laps you get a hang of things,” said Frost in the middle of a training session at the Bob MacQuarrie Recreation Complex in Orleans.

The race in Scotland is a key step in his mission to get countries, including Canada, on board to raise awareness about impaired skating, attract new skaters, and get it sanctioned as a sport in the Paralympics.

To help fund his accommodations in Scotland, Toppers Pizza at 5497 Jeanne D’Arc Boulevard in Orleans is throwing a fundraiser Wednesday and will donate $4 for every large pizza sold.

Gestures speak volumes

Silence was beckoning up and down the halls of a Marlborough primary school yesterday as pupils were learning to communicate without saying a word writes Ian Allen for the Marlborough Express via Stuff.co.nz (02/05/12).

Year 5 and 6 children at Rapaura School had a special class with Deaf Aotearoa tutor Hilary Foister and learned to sign their names and express their feelings.

The visit was part of New Zealand Sign Language Week, which ends on Sunday.

Teacher Hayden Van Lent said the lesson was to teach pupils awareness and an appreciation of what deaf and partially deaf people go through daily.

No verbal communication was allowed during the class from the outset, he said.

"From the very beginning, the tutor started to use sign language and the children had to respond. They really enjoyed it."

Non-verbal communication was an important part of teaching, he said.

"It goes on in the classroom anyway, particularly with behaviour management. Maybe it's a click of the fingers or a look, they are just as effective."

Patrick Neal, 9, said having a totally quiet classroom was different.

He planned to show his new language skills to his older brother after school.

Classmate Brayden Carter, 9, said his favourite sign was for "toy". He might use it on his parents.

New Zealand Sign Language Week is run by Deaf Aotearoa New Zealand and is designed to celebrate it as an official language as well as raise awareness about the deaf community.

Deaf Aotearoa acting chief executive Tony Blackett said the week was a great time for hearing New Zealanders to think about how hard it was for deaf people to do things often done instinctively, such as describing an ailment, talking to a teacher about their child's progress or asking for something at a shop.

"If more hearing New Zealanders learnt a couple of simple signs, this would greatly help to break down communication barriers. It's a fun language to learn," he said.

Through greater use of sign language and easier access to qualified interpreters and other resources, life for deaf people would be less restrictive and they could be equal members of society, Mr Blackett said.

"Every day, deaf New Zealanders are prevented from doing something that hearing New Zealanders take for granted, because of restrictions in funding or the availability of resources, like interpreters.

"It's hard work to be continually fighting for your rights."

Mayfesto: Moving loud and clear

THE deaf community has an eloquent spokesman at this year’s political theatre festival, Mayfesto, writes Mark Fisher for the Scotsman (01/05/12).

Ramesh Meyyappan is telling me about his early childhood in a village near Chennai in southern India. He can’t tell me the name because it is a very long word. He gestures with his hand to indicate how long. For most people, length would not be an obstacle, but Meyyappan has never heard the word spoken out loud and cannot spell it. He is deaf and so the place he lived until the age of five looks to him like little more than a long series of letters.

Today, he’s talking to me through an interpreter, but it’s not the only way he communicates. The actor, now based in Glasgow, is a vibrant presence on stage and equally animated off. He talks not only with sign language but with a vivid sequence of facial expressions, as if he’s not just telling his stories but acting them out.

It’s consistent with the imagistic storytelling he brings to Snails and Ketchup, a one-man show based on Italo Calvino’s The Baron in the Trees, revived for Mayfesto at Glasgow’s Tron Theatre. He describes it as neither mime nor dance, but as visual storytelling for everyone. “In my work, it’s not deaf or hearing, it’s just an audience that enjoys theatre. It’s about a visual vocabulary not a sign-language vocabulary.”

I ask if it’s a cliché to say people who are deprived of one sense often compensate by developing one of their remaining senses. In his own case, he has no way of knowing the reason, but he certainly has a heightened awareness of sight.

“I have always thought visually,” he says. “I think visually and I want to communicate visually. Some folk say I’ve got a good eye for detail. I can feel little bits of vibrations and sense a bit of what’s behind, but I’ve got to work harder with my eyes to see everything, and I work on what I can see.”

Given the choice, Meyyappan would rather be talking about art than disability. He doesn’t want to be defined by his deafness or pigeonholed into a special performance category. All the same, Snails and Ketchup has been programmed as part of Mayfesto, a festival of political theatre and he admits there’s a political dimension to what he does. It’s not in the story in itself – it’s about a boy who escapes his dysfunctional family by taking to the trees – but in the very fact of having a deaf performer on stage.

“I don’t necessarily see Snails and Ketchup as being political, but I know all artists have a sense of having a voice and so have something political to say.

“I’m interested in telling a personal story, something that’s accessible and something where there’s an audience of both deaf and hearing, because that doesn’t always happen. Deaf and hearing are two insular worlds and there are not often times for them to merge. From my point of view, I’m not saying anything political, but the work is involved in bringing communities together.”

Perhaps the greatest political message is embodied by Meyyappan himself, living proof of the power of positive thinking. Any actor needs extra reserves of confidence to survive in such a competitive business, but doing that while tackling the prejudice of the hearing world is doubly impressive.

Taking inspiration from his forward-thinking mother, who moved her three children (two of them deaf) to Singapore for better opportunities, Meyyappan exudes optimism. “I’ve got to be very positive,” he says. “There have been lots of obstacles in the way – personal life, work life – but if you become negative, you don’t get anywhere.”

Having no artistic background, his family assumed he would get a job in something like IT, but as a teenager, he was inspired by Hi! Theatre, a company dedicated to deaf performers, and he resolved to become an actor. After gaining experience on the stage in Singapore, both with Hi! and a hearing theatre company, he made his directorial debut with a visual version of Macbeth. Wanting a qualification, he left Singapore in 2000 to study for a degree in performing arts at the University of Liverpool, eventually moving to Glasgow with his Scottish wife.

He’s too modest to call himself a pioneer, but that’s how Meyyappan is regarded by deaf artists internationally. True to form, once he realised theatre for the deaf was less developed in Scotland than elsewhere in Europe, he set about trying to change things.

Encouraged by organisations such as Tramway, the National Theatre of Scotland and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, he is increasingly confident about the future.

“The Scottish deaf community are fairly insular and don’t quite grasp what’s going on in the arts within the international deaf community. They don’t have that knowledge, so they’re a little bit behind. I’m surprised, because the international deaf theatre community is very wide – they work with a lot of hearing companies and with deaf artists, and they look for ways to make it possible.

“Here in Scotland, there are great opportunities for crossover audiences because of the physical theatre stuff that’s going on and the openness of the theatre community.

“There’s a lot of excitement here in terms of what can be possible on stage. The deaf community haven’t engaged with that yet, but the hearing community in Scotland are definitely interested in being open and working with deaf and disabled artists, doing quality work that’s not patronising.”

• Snails and Ketchup is at the Tron Theatre, Glasgow, 1-2 May. Mayfesto runs until 19 May.

Job club to help deaf and hard of hearing people find employment

Action on Hearing Loss Scotland has set up the initiative to offer those involved the same opportunities as others reports STV (27/04/12).

A new club aimed at helping young deaf and hard of hearing people find employment is to be set up in Edinburgh.

Organised by Action on Hearing Loss Scotland, monthly meetings will help participants aged 16 to 25 with every aspect of applying for a job.

Activities will include help with making up a CV, searching for a job, completing an application form and interview skills.

British Sign Language interpreters and electronic note-takers will also be made available to ensure sessions are fully accessible.

Barbra Wylie, an employment advisor with Action on Hearing Loss Scotland, said: “We want young deaf and hard of hearing people to have the same opportunities as everyone else and the job club will allow them to acquire the skills they need to enter the job market.

“The other benefit of the job club is that it allows for ideas to be exchanged and for people to look at what careers they may be suited to or identify training that they might need to reach their goals.”

Funded by the Big Lottery Fund, the club, which is part of Action on Hearing Loss Scotland’s On the Move project, will be held at Skills Development Scotland in Edinburgh.

Patricia Thomson, Skills Development Scotland’s Area Manager for Edinburgh, said: “We are delighted to be working with Action on Hearing Loss Scotland on this job club. I would say to any young deaf or hard of hearing person who is looking for employment or training to come along and be part of the job club.

“We have people who can give advice on all aspects of finding a job in an environment that is friendly and supportive.”

The first meeting of the job club will take place at Skills Development Scotland, Shandwick Place, on Wednesday, May 2 between 1.30pm and 3.30pm.

Anyone interested in attending should contact Barbra Wylie on 0141 341 5350 or email barbra.wylie@hearingloss.org.uk.

Profoundly deaf Woodford Green runner smashes his 2011 time

A profoundly deaf runner from Woodford Green knocked more than an hour off his time in last year’s London Marathon Writes Alastair Kleerbauer for the Ilford Recorder (24/04/12)

Martin Pampel, 28, of Lambs Meadow, took part in his second race on Sunday to help other deaf people by raising funds for charity Action On Hearing Loss.

Cheers from the crowd pushed Martin, who benefits from a cochlear implant to improve his hearing, to a finish of three hours 38 minutes.

He said: “It is always great to hear the words ‘come on Martin’ from complete strangers in the street.”

Martin was born profoundly deaf and used hearing aids until he was 17 when a sudden illness meant he lost “the little hearing that remained”.

He opted for the implant aged 18 which has made his hearing better than ever but said Action on Hearing Loss provided support in the “difficult and distressing time” after losing his remaining hearing.

He said: “I don’t think being deaf has an effect on my running but I have the choice of hearing or silence, just by switching off my cochlear implant.

“If I wanted to really concentrate, I could simply switch it off and carry on.

“I was still able to lip read many members of the crowds calling my name.”

He joked that he would struggle to better this year’s time without performance-enhancing drugs or the use of wheels, but is keen to run it again.

He has raised £1,600 so far and donations can be made on his Virgin Money Giving page.

Read more about Redbridge’s London Marathon runners who raised thousands for charity in this Thursday’s Recorder.

Judges hail deaf writer from Leicestershire who tells of living in silent world

Lando Hilton was just five years old when he lost his hearing – and now he is gradually losing his sight reports the Leicester Mercury (27/04/12)

Although the 23-year-old, from Rothley, became deaf at such a tender age, after contracting a flu-like illness, he learned to live with it and has since had an implant fitted to help him hear.

But the biggest blow, he says, has been the deterioration of his eyesight following a diagnosis of retinitis pigmentosa three years ago.

The disease, which damages the eyes' retinas, could rob him of his sight altogether.

Despite this, Lando is studying for a psychology degree at the University of Leicester and hopes to become a health psychologist or researcher.

Lando penned what it was like to live a day in his shoes for a national writing competition.

So moved were the judges by his prose, which told them of his daily struggles to walk around campus, how bright sunlight hurts his eyes and how he wakes up to silence every day, that they awarded him second prize out of hundreds of entries.

In his dreams, however, life is different. He does not squint, there is no tunnel vision and he can see everything that lies before him.

He sprints across sands with boundless energy and it is there that he forgets what it is like to have no hearing or sight.

Lando captures this in his tale entitled "To all the lovely people who still have their hearing and vision".

He said: "I have no natural hearing but I've had a cochlear implant since I was eight which pretty well resembles normal hearing.

"I'm totally deaf when I take off the outer part of my implant, but I just took my hearing loss on board when I was five and didn't question it.

"It wasn't until my teens that I started to get upset about it because it affected my social life so much.

"At that age, people don't give much consideration to deaf people and they're always talking over each other, or choosing to sit in noisy places.

"But being diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa was a massive blow. I'm still very hopeful about future treatments and I have some sight, but it's pretty poor."

Lando's aim was not to make people feel sorry for him, but to give others an understanding of what it is like for people living with his conditions.

The competition, by deafblind charity Senses, hopes to empower those who do not normally have a voice.

Once he started writing, Lando said he found it difficult to stop.

"I've got a lot to say when it comes to disabilities the words just flowed. The article took a couple of hours to write and I did it during breaks from making revision notes for my psychology exams."

He said just getting around the university campus was a challenge for him, but he allows extra time to get to lectures as he walks slowly.

"The university's AccessAbility Centre helps a lot by providing note-takers and my computer is set up for a visually-impaired user."

Lando entered the competition on the suggestion of his mum, Annette, who subscribes to the Senses magazine and spotted the opportunity.

He is "chuffed to bits" at coming second and hopes other people with sight and hearing loss will realise they are not alone.

At a ceremony in London, actress Rebecca Front, best known for The Thick Of It and Grandma's House, presented Lando with a certificate. She said: "I was compelled by the stirring power of these words that have so much joy and pain, life and living and the real spirit of deafblind people's experiences at their very heart. They were very powerful words."

Deaf man complains of lack of interpreter at job fair

An unemployed man who is profoundly deaf is campaigning for better facilities to help people like him get work reports Get Reading (26/04/12)

Piyush Bharania, 41, was keen to attend a job fair at pentahotel last September. He emailed the office of Reading East MP Rob Wilson, who co-organised the event, beforehand asking for a deaf interpreter but was told there was no budget available.

He went to the fair and communicated using pen and paper.

Mr Bharania, of Linden Road, Whitley, who has been deaf since birth, said: “I find it hard to believe the event did not have a budget.

“I feel incredibly let down and upset by what has happened. I’m sure you will appreciate that without an interpreter I would not be able to communicate.”

Mr Bharania complained to the Equality and Human Rights Commission but was advised the commission could not comment on allegations of discrimination which would have to be decided through the courts. In his formal response to the commission, Mr Wilson wrote: “Reading Job Fair is co-ordinated by my office in partnership with Jobcentre Plus and Reading UK CIC. It is a completely free event to attend for both exhibitors and job seekers and everything needed is donated by local companies.”

He said his assistant had suggested Mr Bharania could take a friend to interpret and had also offered to be on hand at the fair.

But Councillor Peter Ruhemann, who chairs the access and disabilities working group on Reading Borough Council, said although the duty to make “reasonable adjustments” for profoundly deaf people was subject to financial constraints, “that does beg the question as to why no budget was identified to deal with issues like this or other contingencies”.

Mr Wilson said on Tuesday: “Reading Job Fair makes every effort to accommodate the needs of those who wish to attend. In this particular case, we were unable, with a day’s notice and with no recourse to funds, to organise a translator for Mr Bharania at our September Job Fair. However, we did offer Mr Bharania alternative suggestions, including providing a member of staff to aid him in communicating with employers.

“As we have had more notice, for tomorrow's Job Fair we have been able to arrange a translator for Mr Bharania through a third party organisation, as well as making deaf loops available at the venue.

“We are totally committed, with the minimal resources at our disposal, to giving everybody an equal chance of getting a job. It would be very sad indeed to see Reading Labour Party jumping on another bandwagon to try to destroy a very successful event.”

Disabled rights campaigner Lord Ashley dies

The Labour peer Lord Ashley of Stoke, the first deaf MP, has died at the age of 89, after a short battle with pneumonia writes Laura Donnelly for The Telegraph (21/04/12).

Tributes to the peer, who as Jack Ashley was elected as MP for Stoke on Trent South in 1966, poured in as news of his death was announced.

The tributes were led by his daughter Jackie Ashley, a journalist and broadcaster, who described her father as "wonderful, brave and adored."

Her husband, BBC presenter Andrew Marr, said Lord Ashley died on Friday night after a short illness.

Labour leader Ed Miliband said: "I am very sad to hear of the death of Jack Ashley. He was an outstanding servant of the Labour party and an extraordinary campaigner for equal rights for people with disabilities.

"Jack Ashley turned his own tragic experience of losing his hearing into a mission of courage and determination for deaf and disabled people. He was a pioneer as the first deaf MP to sit in Parliament, but he did much more than that.

"There are many millions of men and women with disabilities who will have better lives thanks to Jack Ashley. He succeeded in changing the law and in changing attitudes.

"Anti-discrimination legislation for people with disabilities would not have happened when it did without his tenacity, his campaigning and his support.

"Jack Ashley will be missed by his family, his friends and his colleagues in the House of Lords. He led an amazing life and will be remembered with deep affection, profound respect and great admiration."

David Cameron described Lord Ashley as a "tireless" campaigner for disabled people who had a huge impact not just through his charity work, and legislation, but also in changing attitudes.

The prime minister said: "It takes characters like Jack, with his extraordinary tenacity, to push for that kind of positive change. He will be sorely missed and my thoughts and prayers are with his family."

Lord Morris of Manchester, a fellow Labour peer of Lord Ashley's, who collaborated with him when campaigning for disability rights, also paid tribute to his colleague and long-standing friend.

"Jack and I lived in close fellowship for over five decades. We campaigned and legislated together on improving the wellbeing of disabled people and others in special need," Lord Morris said.

"His passing will be mourned by everyone who had the privilege of knowing him. He was a very fine parliamentarian."

Prime Minister David Cameron said: "He was a tireless campaigner for disabled people and had a huge impact, not just through his charity work and pushing for legislation in Parliament, but also in changing attitudes.

"It takes characters like Jack, with his extraordinary tenacity, to push for that kind of positive change. He will be sorely missed and my thoughts and prayers are with his family."

Former Home Secretary David Blunkett, who is blind, said: "Jack Ashley was a pioneer who set aside his disability and by doing so forged a path which others, including me, have been able to follow.

"By sheer tenacity and latterly the use of technology, he was able to demonstrate that not only could he work on equal terms but achieve a great deal more than most of us in politics are able to boast about."

Former-prime minister Gordon Brown added: "Jack Ashley was the greatest champion Britain's disabled have had.

"He was compassionate, direct, forceful and radical. The man who, speaking with the authority of personal experience, took the cause of disabled men and women into the chambers of Parliament and to the heart of government.

"He leaves behind a contribution in legislation and policy progress for the cause of tackling disability that will not easily be surpassed."

In his autobiography, Lord Ashley recalled that the last voice he heard was that of the late rugby commentator Eddie Waring.

He became profoundly deaf a year after his election to parliament at the age of 45 following an operation to correct mild hearing loss.

After initially fearing he would be forced to give up politics, the MP learned to lip-read.

Other politicians, including political foes such as Prime Minister Edward Heath, turned towards him during Commons debates so he could get a clear view of their mouths.

Lord Ashley also worked hard to modulate his speaking voice, which he could no longer hear.

However, his deafness never affected his combative attitude.

“Early on when I first lost my hearing, I think people were a little fearful about attacking me. But as I re-established my confidence, that soon fell away,” he said.In the years that followed, he campaigned for the rights of those with disability, in particular for the deaf and blind.

In 1986, the MP and his wife founded the charity Defeating Deafness, now known as Deafness Research UK.

Together the couple had three daughters.

After retiring from the Commons in 1992, Jack Ashley was made a life peer, Baron Ashley of Stoke.

Two years later he received a cochlear implant which restored much of his hearing.

Lord Ashley took a leading role campaigning on behalf of victims of Thalidomide, which was given to mothers to treat morning sickness during the 1950s and 1960, and against violence and rape.

In 2003 he secured changes to improve the provision of subtitles on television. In 2006, he championed a bill to strengthen the rights of the elderly and disabled.

Until his death, Lord Ashley was President of Action on Hearing Loss, formerly the Royal National Institute for the Deaf.

He was also Vice-President of the National Deaf Children’s Society with whom he worked for many years to champion the rights of deaf children.

Susan Daniels, the charity's chief executive, said: “Lord Ashley was a passionate advocate for deaf and disabled people, securing important victories for them in parliament and working tirelessly to ensure that they had a voice at the highest levels."

Lord Ashley worked in a factory after leaving school at 14, becoming a shop steward and a local councillor.

He studied at Oxford and Cambridge on scholarships, and worked as a producer for the BBC before entering parliament.