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BBC Young Reporter: 'My hearing loss made school hell'

A 15-year-old girl who completely lost her hearing while at school has spoken of how getting cochlear implants and a support worker changed her life.

Ella, from Essex, started losing her hearing in 2016 and it rapidly got worse, affecting her studies.

"It was hell walking through the school doors. I literally had nightmares," she said.

"About two minutes of solid, focussed lip reading, I could sleep for about 30 minutes afterwards. It's that exhausting."

After a year of chasing funding, she had implants inserted and obtained an "awesome" communication support worker to help in lessons.

Ella's film is part of the BBC Young Reporter scheme - a project giving young people aged 11 to 18 the chance to do workshops and training to tell their own stories.

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