Within the first day of Celia’s life, it was suspected that she had a hearing loss.

Although it was suspected it still took 18 months to officially diagnose her with unilateral hearing loss. Having had to wait almost two years to finally get an answer about her daughter’s hearing loss, Tracy Pursifull, Celia’s mother, was glad to know the diagnosis.

There has been some research lately that has revealed the possibility that children with cochlear implants are learning words faster than children with no hearing problems. 

It has got me thinking about my son Harry. Being profoundly deaf at birth, Harry was implanted at 14 months old with no previous experience of hearing the world around him. 

Maybe you have seen tee shirts on Instagram with hearing aids and cochlear implants on them? They are made by Ashlee Holland who began making those teeshirts and other apparel to help spread deaf awareness and give back to the deaf community.

Ashlee has been profoundly deaf since birth but was not diagnosed with her hearing loss until she was 10 months old. She wore hearing aids until she was 15-years-old but now wears cochlear implants. The experiences in her life all led up to the start of her business Love Ashlee Rose.

Phonak hEARo Lucie interviews her son Harry to show how his speech and understanding is with his Advanced Bionics cochlear implants on.

Harry recently turned four and it is clear that his speech and understanding is very good for a four-year-old with cochlear implants. How did Lucie and Harry get to this point? We go back on their journey to see the steps they took after they found out Harry is deaf.

Is lipreading good for cochlear implant users? 

Despite some theories that visual cues may hamper auditory processing, researchers say a new study shows lipreading may have a beneficial effect on a person’s brain and their ability to hear with a cochlear implant.

Researchers at the National Institute for Health Research Nottingham Biomedical Research Centre conducted a first-of-its-kind study to measure cochlear implant users’ brain activities while lipreading. The study examined the changes in brain responses before and after implementation.

When you enter the world of hearing loss, it feel as though you are expected to learn a new language. There is so much jargon to get used to: ‘unilateral’, ‘sensorineural’, ‘conductive’, ‘profound’, ‘CROS’… the list goes on. 

When I first started experiencing hearing loss, I became aware of a new language. It was one I did not understand. Who knew that hearing loss came with a language of its own? I had to look up so many terms to understand what the doctors were talking about: I needed a glossary. Here is a list of the terms defined and three solutions to single-sided hearing.

What a time to be hard of hearing. I often contemplate the fact that I was born at the right time to have a hearing loss. If I was alive 100 years ago, or even just born 30 years earlier I would have a much harder time going about life.

In this day and age of technology, there are many assistive devices out there that enable me to hear more and communicate with people. Right now, the best technology for hearing loss exists.

If you have a child with hearing loss, you probably remember the feeling you had when you first found out. 

Raising a deaf child has had its ups-and-downs, but for the better it has changed my life.  

Here’s what I’ve learned, and what I’d like to share with you:

My son will start school in September 2018, which for some may seem quite far away, but the time to pick a school is fast approaching and I just don’t feel quite ready.

For many parents of children with hearing loss, choosing a school for your deaf child can be overwhelming.

Should we send him to a mainstream school or deaf school? What is the best hearing technology for his classroom? How do I inform his teachers about his hearing loss?