Mixed up Maxi being me! This book is about me being deaf and daft and how I coped growing up and living with deafness. I put pen to paper and started to write Mixed up Maxi because, for far too long deaf people have not been given a fair hearing, literally and figuratively speaking. It all came to a head after the soap opera; EastEnders created the character Ben Mitchell, who is the ÒdeafÓ son, of Phil Mitchell. Ben doesnÕt display a single aspect of deafness. I donÕt know if the actor is actually deaf or if EastEnders just portrayed Ben as deaf and I use the word ÒportrayedÓ very lightly. Since Ben arrived in EastEnders with his National Health, blue hearing aid, not once have I heard* him say Òpardon?Ó, Òwhat did you say?Ó or Òcome again?Ó it gives the impression that hearing aids cure deafness and this is far from true.