LOOKING at Katie Cheeseman, you would have no idea that this mother is living in a world where at times she feels isolated.

Partner Johnathan is playing with her two boys, Elliott, 10, and two-year-old Toby in the living room of their home here in Southampton.

"At the moment I sometimes feel quite jealous when Johnathan is having a chat with the boys and I don't know what they are saying - now I will be able to join in the conversation," she says.

Next month, Katie, who suffers with a congenital hearing disorder, is due to have the cochlear implant in her ear switched on. If successful, could mean the world of difference to her life.

The cochlear has been surgically implanted into her ear and on May 10 it will be switched on for the first time. The implant is the result of pioneering work carried out at the University of Southampton.

She explained: "This is not a cure for deafness and I don't know yet whether it will be successful until they try it on May 10.

"I will not hear things as everybody else does - it will be quite robotic but better than wearing hearing aids.

"I am looking forward to being able to hear things again. It would be lovely to hear the boy's chatter and not feel left out when they are speaking together.

"My youngest son Toby is two and just beginning to develop his speech so it will be wonderful to hear him and to be able to help him with his speech in the future."

Back in 1997, Katie was returning from a boat party in Ocean Village, when she realised all was not well. Prior to the evening she had noticed a problem with her hearing but didn't think it was serious.

But the sounds she was picking up were distinctly muffled and she knew she had to get medical help

"It was about nine months later, when I saw the consultant, that I got the first inkling that the deafness was going to be permanent and progressive - it was horrid.

"I couldn't imagine not being able to hear Elliott say he loved me," said Katie, who works for Southampton Social Services as manager of the sensory services team.

But rather than letting her condition beat her, Katie chose to meet her new challenges head on.

At work Katie relies on e-mail rather than the telephone and a trained stenographer who types the proceedings of meetings so she can follow the debate on a computer screen.

She lip-reads, and at home little Elliott often helps with his finger spelling when his mum cannot make out a consonant.

Her partner Johnathan, 37, an information systems manager, has also been a tower of strength - he went on a deaf awareness course so he could understand how best to communicate with her. And the latest addition to the family, toddler Toby, has his own way of attracting his mum's attention.

"Toby grabs my face and turns it towards him when he wants to speak to me.

He mouths words like 'hello' very clearly so I can make out what he is saying.

"Both the children have adapted very well to the situation and they have a far greater understanding of deafness," she said.

When Katie was expecting Toby she made the decision to opt for a home birth. Her experience of being a deaf person in hospital had not been good and she was keen to be in control at the birth.

"It was so much nicer giving birth at home with the midwife - it was really positive.

"I have a pager at home that alerts me when the doorbell goes or the phone rings. It is also attached to the baby alarm and the smoke alarm.

"At night if Toby cries, the pager is linked in with a vibrating pad under my pillow so I know when he needs me."

In the days following May 10, Katie says she is looking forward to hearing birdsong once more, listening to John Humphreys on the radio and watching TV without the subtitles.

But most of all, it is the sound of her sons that she wants to hear.

"When I go to Elliott's school I am looking forward to hearing him speak when he takes part in end-of-term activities.

"And as Toby gets bigger I will be able to hear him."