Karen McDonnell, who can hear for the first time in her life thanks to a cochlea implant, at home in Fugglestone Red, Salisbury, with her children James and Sophie. Picture: HERBIE FATHERLY DA5017THE sound of her children's laughter is something Karen McDonnell never dreamed she would hear.

Now, after life-changing surgery, the mother-of-two is learning to adjust to the everyday sounds most of us take for granted.

Thanks to a cochlea implant operation last November, the 38-year-old, of Cooks Close, Fugglestone Red, Salisbury, is enjoying her new-found freedom.

Karen was born hearing impaired and learned to lip-read but, after her hearing failed completely in October 2002, she decided to have the operation when she discovered she was eligible for treatment.

She said: "The first thing I heard my daughter Sophie say was "Happy Christmas".

"I could only hear high pitches but now I can hear a lot more things than before, such as my children calling from upstairs and people talking in the same room as me.

"I think it has changed me - I'm more confident and independent.

"I used to have to get my husband to do things for me but now I can lead a more normal life."

Karen, who works part-time in the office at Salisbury City FC with her mother, Judy Maffey, was the 100th adult to receive an implant from the south of England cochlea implant centre at Southampton University.

The centre, which opened in 1990, provides implants to adults and children from across the south who are severely or profoundly deaf.

Initial surgery takes place at Southampton General Hospital, with tuning of the device, assessments and rehabilitation taking place at the university.

Head of the centre Julie Brinton said: "The surgery is life-changing and can improve hearing by about 60 or 70 per cent.

"Because it is a major operation, it is not given to people with mild hearing loss."

Karen's implant needs regular tuning and she attends speech therapy sessions every month.

The device comes in two parts. The first is inserted under the skin during surgery, into the bone just behind the ear and into the inner part of the ear.

After that has healed, patients return about four to six weeks later, to have the external part fitted - a speech processor, which looks like a hearing aid.

This converts noise into electrical impulses, which are passed on to the brain and interpreted as sound.

Karen's mother, Judy, said: "Karen felt as though she was missing out on things and this has made her more confident.

"It is the brain reacting to the listening bit that Karen finds difficult and it is a sense that she has never had to use.

"It is wonderful what she can hear now."

Adult implants cost £31,500 and eligible patients can apply for grants to help fund the procedure.