Yasmeen and her husband Abrar Shah were thrilled to be expecting their second child and sibling for their happy, healthy son Hasan.

But when Shazar was born and diagnosed with deafness at birth, they could not have anticipated that it would have such a profound effect on all their lives.

Hopes that Shazar was born with excess fluid in the ear were dashed as neonatal hearing tests confirmed that Shazar had profound deafness in his left ear and significant hearing impairment in his right ear; completely devastating for the unsuspecting family.

“At the time we were just confused and unsure of what to make of it,” explained mum Yasmeen. “We were probably in denial about the seriousness of the problem, and were just happy to be introducing Hasan to his new brother and adjusting to home life.”

Two months later the initial results were confirmed and the family started to become concerned about how Shazar’s deafness would effect the youngster’s development and their family life.

Fuelled by a passion to help her son and wanting to understand the facts, Yasmeen began conducting her own research on the internet and started contacting organisations for support and guidance.

Meanwhile, Shazar was progressing well, showing a strong interest in music and playing with musical instruments: “From nine months old, Shazar was reacting to music and appeared to understand what was going on when watching TV.” Yasmeen explained. “Our older son was about four at the time and wanted to support his brother. He would come to the appointments and explain things to Shazar and calm him down.”

It was after going on an organised weekend for families with deaf children that Yasmeen and Abrar decided to see an audiologist again, to express their concerns and ask if more could be done for Shazar.

“On the family weekend I saw young babies with hearing aids but Shazar was 15 months old and had just a few assessments, it hadn’t helped that when we moved areas Shazar’s referral was lost and he wasn’t seen for six months which had delayed progress – we felt nothing constructive or tangible had been done to help him.”

Yasmeen said, After this the audiologist and his team noted my concerns and after half a dozen more visits, Shazar had been given blood tests, an MRI scan, grommets and was finally fitted with hearing aids in February.

"My husband and I are now much more satisfied and we feel we have come a long way. Shazar even has a speech and language therapist who plans to see him once a month.”

A few months on and Shazar, now two, is now very attached to his hearing aids and feels they are part of him, even reminding his parents they need to put them in before he goes to nursery.

“We don’t feel that Shazar has any disability, despite his hearing loss.” Yasmeen proudly explains.

“He is at nursery five days a week where he is sociable, confident, and gets involved with everything, even more than his older brother did at the same age. He will laugh his way into any situation and walk into a crowd. It’s quite amazing and a very rewarding feeling for us to see him play normally with other children.”

Passionate to help and encourage others who have children with hearing loss, Yasmeen and her family are now supporting Deafness Research UK in spreading a message of hope for parents in a similar situation.

“We must encourage parents to think positively and make them realise that there is a lot of help out there.

"You must be persistent but doing your own research and educating yourself does help. Every person I have come across in relation to deafness has been helpful and informative.

"I treat my research as a challenge and a project. I found it all interesting. I was motivated by my son and impressed by my own achievements. Now I want to share the information and knowledge I have acquired. I am proud of my child, he is special with many talents.”

Vivienne Michael, Chief Executive of Deafness Research UK, said: “Finding out your child is deaf can be a huge shock and very upsetting for parents at what should be the happiest time of their lives. Yasmeen, Shazar and their family really are inspirational.

"Deafness Research UK is not only about research and finding new cures and treatments, we are also here to offer help, support and provide practical information to any family dealing with deafness.”

Deafness Research UK is the country's only charity dedicated to finding new cures, treatments and technologies for the deaf, hard of hearing and other hearing impaired people including tinnitus sufferers. For information on research into deafness and other hearing conditions, log on to the website, www.deafnessresearch.org.uk Deafness Research UK’s Information Service can be contacted, free, on 0808 808 2222