CARE worker Jenny Cleave from Okehampton is experiencing a whole new world of noise following a pioneering operation which has given her perfect hearing after years of deafness.

Jenny's hearing had been deteriorating since the age of seven when she fell ill after a German measles booster jab.

But today she is taking great delight in being able to hear the birds singing and the doorbell ringing for the first time in 20 years.

Her parents and friends said her whole personality has changed and for Jenny, who works at Wardhayes Residential Home in Okehampton, the world is her oyster.

'I've become much more confident and speak up for myself now,' she said.

A three-hour operation at Bristol South Mead Hospital in May last year resulted in Jenny having a cochlear implant which involved an electronic device being inserted into her ear.

A month after the operation the external parts of the device were fitted behind her ear and for several weeks she had to return to the hospital so doctors could finely-tune the device.

Jenny's hearing has so improved that she is no longer terrified of using the telephone — in fact she is never off it.

'Before I could hardly hear anything on the telephone but now it's great — I always find an excuse to phone someone and the phone bill is getting bigger by the day,' she said.

'I could never hear the doorbell ringing or the birds singing but these are some of the first things I noticed after the operation.

'When I had my first bag of chrisps, I had to stop eating because it was so noisy.'

Jenny said before the operation, she just coped and got on with life.

'Nothing was a real problem —I led a normal life really,' she added.

'Most people knew my situation and did not treat me any differently.'

But she admitted it was sometimes difficult when meeting new people and if she was with a crowd she could only ever hear half the conversation.

'I was fitted with a succession of hearing aids but they always made me feel self-conscious and although I could hear a certain amount, I relied heavily on lip reading.'

It was Jenny's GP that encouraged her to have the operation.

'She thought I should go for it because I had nothing to lose,' she said.

'It was 18 months before I could have the operation because I had to go through lots of tests so see if I was suitable.'

Jenny is the 25th adult to have a cochlear implant at Bristol South Mead Hospital and only the fifth in the UK to trial a new type of implant which is smaller and does not have a box attached to it which Jenny used to wear around her waist.

After completing her exams to become an NVQ assessor in care, she hopes her new found confidence will help her to achieve a lot more in her career.

Jenny's mum, Yvonne Cleave said what had happened to Jenny was 'just wonderful.'

'It has opened up a whole new world for her,' she said. 'She is a completely different person.'

She said the whole experience had made her and her husband realise what Jenny had gone through and the way she must have felt.

'We are just so thrilled. Jenny has always been outgoing but now she is a much happier person.'