Neave Barrett - Youngest Cochlear™ Nucleus® Implanted Child in South Africa

 

Mia, Neaves’ mother, shares their Cochlear™ Implant story:

 

 

We were very keen to find out about our options and if Neave was a Cochlear™ implant candidate- We clung onto that as a ray of hope.
 As we were leaving the Hospital after Neave’s birth, we were offered a hearing screening.  The test showed a possible problem, but we believed that it was just fluid in the ear or something that would clear.  We were referred to an audiologist.  A month later, after undergoing tests, we found out that Neave was profoundly deaf.

 

When Neave was two months old, she underwent an evaluation to see if she was a Cochlear™ implant candidate.  We found out that she was a candidate, but due to possible ossification in the ear, they needed to operate quickly.

Due to the urgency, Neave received her first implant at three and a half months of age- the youngest in South Africa.  Her second Implant was done at 6 months. 

 

Neave’s Cochlear™ Implant was switched on when she was 4 and a half months old, which also made her one of the youngest children to have access to sound through a Cochlear™ implant.

We were nervous about the Cochlear™ implant, but it was also very exciting, because it was allowing Neave the possibility to hear at four and a half months.  This allowed Neave to follow quite a typical development for speech and hearing. Neave just loves music and singing and absolutely loves dancing

It was a privilege and a blessing that she could receive her Cochlear™ implants so early.

It’s hard to put into words what it means to us as a family that Neave can hear.  The Cochlear™ Implant has changed our lives, it has changed Neave’s live.  It has given her so many opportunities than if she did not have access to sound.