Victoria was born with profound hearing loss. Her hearing starts at between 100 and 120 decibels – 90 decibels is shouting level, 100 decibels is a jackhammer right next to you and 120 decibels is the same as having a jumbo jet fly overhead.

But thanks to a new hearing aid fitted by the audiology service at Airedale Hospital near Keighley, she can hear sound she never could before. Victoria says: "It's so good. I'm hearing sounds I never got before. The first time I heard birds singing. I was like – what was that?"

She hears best in the middle tone range, so it's harder to pick up higher and lower tones. The new digital hearing aid amplifies the sound within the speech spectrum providing a general balance to sound that her analogue aids did not.

Alan Walshaw, senior audiologist at Airedale NHS Trust, explains: "These new hearing aids make a huge difference to Victoria – she can now tell which side the sound is coming from. She manages so well and has excellent speech considering her hearing difficulties. To cope in the way she does by using lip reading and visual clues is quite amazing – she's a remarkable patient."

Victoria, originally from Silsden but now living in Colne, was a patient in Leeds but her mother wanted her to attend her local hospital at Airedale in West Yorkshire.

The audiology team at Airedale Hospital were able to assess and fit Victoria with her new super powered hearing aid within five weeks. The wait for a hearing appointment has been cut by staff at Airedale NHS Trust in recent months from 60 weeks to less than six.