LIVING in a muted world is not something many of us have to cope with but with the help of Stroud Hearing Centre work experience student Susie Jackson chose to experience deafness for the afternoon.

Tim Heathfield, proprietor of Stroud Hearing Centre, fitted a silicon hybrid putty into my ears, which once inserted turned into a rubbery substance.

Small pieces of foam were pushed into my ears, followed by putty, which was inserted using a large syringe.

As it went in I felt a lot of pressure in my head, as if I was in an aeroplane taking off - but after swallowing I felt quite comfortable but oddly distant from the world.

Mr Heathfield told me one in seven of us has a hearing problem that is treatable, and that it is rare for somebody to be completely deaf.

"When people lose their sight they lose contact with things, but when they lose their hearing they lose contact with people," he said.

Deafness is an odd experience for anyone who has never had to live with it.

Most deaf people lose their hearing gradually, and either don't realise it's happening or find ways of coping with it.

Mr Heathfield said families often notice a problem before the patients themselves - conversations become a struggle with words having to be repeated many times.

I only lost one third of my hearing because a lot of sound is conducted through vibrations in the skull.

Most humans have a hearing range of between zero and 120 decibels, and the mould prevented me from hearing anything quieter than 40 decibels so I could still hear most things very quietly.

The sound of my own voice echoed inside my head, and I was told I was whispering most of the time, even though I could hear myself very clearly.

Everyday socialising is made nearly impossible by the lack of sound - even going to the shops becomes an arduous task.

We went into Costa Coffee and ordered a drink each, and although I could hear what was said to me the sound was very muffled and I had to watch the speaker carefully to fully understand.

I noticed that Costa Coffee helps deaf customers by having a hearing loop installed.

When one of my old school friends came into the café I was desperately hoping she wouldn't come over and speak to me because I didn't feel confident about speaking.

You are constantly at risk on roads - a simple walk across a road seems more daunting than usual because it is not always possible to tell which direction a sound is coming from.

This study has helped me understand the vulnerability of those with hearing problems.

Many people take their hearing for granted until they lose it, and I hope that I have managed to increase awareness of this disability.

Last month, a report by the Royal National Institute for the Deaf revealed that 90 per cent of young people experience signs of hearing damage after a night out yet do nothing to prevent it.

The RNID is calling on the Government to establish a recommended noise exposure level for audiences attending music venues and events, and educate young people about noise as a public health risk.

It is something I will now bear in mind.