NF2 Support Day

I was honoured to be asked by the NHS to deliver a talk at this year’s NF2 Support Day about the benefits of learning British Sign Language. The condition NF2 (NF2-SWN) is a relatively rare condition, affecting 1:33,000-35,000, in which benign tumours grow throughout the body. Often a tumour will grow on and affect the auditory nerve (vital for hearing) and, as such, many people with the condition will also have a hearing loss.

I was one of a number of speakers over the day, arranged by clinical staff from the Oxford and Southwest Regional NF2 Service, amongst which were NF2 Biosolutions UK, Hearing Dogs for Deaf People and Tinnitus UK. I had some wonderful conversations and learnt a lot about the condition. While I don’t suffer from a condition like this myself, my own hearing loss journey is not dissimilar to the hearing journey of people with NF2, as I also battled with grieving the deterioration of my hearing and had to learn new strategies to support and advocate for myself in a world which is not always forgiving to people with hearing loss.

To find out more about NF2, please visit the NHS page.

Suzi gives a talk at the Oxford NF2 Support Day.