'I blamed hearing loss on music before terrifying urgent call from hospital'

'I blamed hearing loss on music before terrifying urgent call from hospital' Sophie Martin, 29, noticed her earphones getting quieter A young woman who put her hearing loss down to blasting loud music through her earphones was left stunned when doctors revealed what it really was. Sophie Martin, 29, first noticed her earphones sounding quieter than usual, but thought nothing of it — until she began suffering from tinnitus. In June 2025, five months after her symptoms first appeared, Sophie, from the Lake District, visited her GP, who sent her for a CT scan that revealed a mass on her brain. She was subsequently diagnosed with neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2) — a rare genetic condition marked by the growth of noncancerous tumours on nerves, particularly those of the brain and spinal cord. Sophie, who previously worked in admin for local businesses, said: "I noticed I had slight hearing loss in my right ear. When I would talk on the phone, it would be slightly muffled, and earphones would be quieter on the right, but nothing in real-life conversation, so I didn't think much of it. "I was a constant music listener, so I assumed the hearing loss was linked to that. I loved music, but now I can barely hear it." As time went on, her hearing difficulties deteriorated further, and Sophie began experiencing severe tinnitus. She told Sell Us Your Story: "In June 2025, the hearing loss got drastically worse, to the point I was saying 'what' 50 times every conversation and phone calls were a complete write off. I then started to get vertigo attacks where I had to sit down until it passed, which then obviously led me to the GP again. "She wasn't happy with my symptoms and sent me to the hospital for a CT scan. An hour later, I was told I had a mass on my brain, and that was it. "I went home absolutely terrified, thinking my hearing loss had caused a brain tumour? It was so unreal, because I thought I had a bad ear infection or something very minor, so to be told that was crazy." On the evening she returned home from her CT scan, the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle rang and asked her to come back immediately. She said: "That night, the hospital called me, telling me to come in urgently as I had an alarming level of fluid on my brain and I would need surgery immediately to insert a VP shunt to drain it. The fluid build-up was caused by the brain tumours, which is a common symptom in NF2 patients." Following the insertion of the shunt and further detailed scans, doctors informed Sophie that she had seven benign tumours on her brain and spinal cord. For any treatment, Sophie must make a three-hour journey from the Lake District to Manchester, as it is the nearest hospital with a specialist NF2 clinic. In January 2026, she underwent the removal of an acoustic neuroma — a tumour that attacks hearing — at Salford Royal Hospital. She said: "I had to have emergency surgery again as one of my brain tumours had rapidly grown to 4.6cm and was pressing and causing damage. I was temporarily wheelchair bound; it was a horrific experience, but 10 hours later, I was done. "I have been left with facial palsy, I am 90 per cent deaf and my vision is weaker, but I am still keeping upbeat. My brain tumour removal was the scariest time of my life, but the surgeons were absolutely amazing." She added: "It's absolutely terrifying going for scans as any tumour may be benign, but, as I learned, they can do serious damage if not treated. The doctors didn't mention a prognosis, however they did tell me I have a 50 per cent chance of passing it to any future children I may have." It has been 12 months since Sophie received her NF2 diagnosis, yet she maintains an optimistic outlook. She said: "A year on, I am still learning new things every day about this condition, I still feel a bit like I am watching somebody else's life and it's not my own, but I have accepted it for what it is. It could be a lot worse."