Wednesday 6 May 2009
Our guest speaker was Faye Yarroll from the Cochlear Awareness Network. Faye was introduced by Bradley Ayres. The Network is made up of volunteers who have received Cochlear implants or who are the parents of recipients. They give their time to educate the community on the dramatic impact a Cochlear implant can have on the life of someone with a significant hearing loss.
Faye informed us that she is profoundly deaf and that without her Cochlear implants and processors she would have no hearing. With them she can hear at 95% of the normal level.
Faye noted that 1 in 6 people currently are hearing impaired and that this figure is expected to increase to 1 in 4 given the appeal of loud music to young people today.
When a person with a hearing impairment seeks help they need to be assessed to determine the best device for that particular person. This may be a powerful hearing aid or a Cochlear implant.
Hearing impairment also affects the family and friends of the affected person. It may lead to an isolated and lonely life for the affected person.Cochlear implants work by stimulating the nerves in the inner ear. The device was pioneered by an Australian, Professor Graeme Clarke. Where a person has auditory nerve damage a hearing aid is of no assistance. In Australia the youngest recipient of a Cochlear implant was 3 months old and the oldest was 93 years old.
Faye has a processor behind each ear which consists of a “mother board” and three small batteries. The transceiver is the part that is placed inside the head. Each transceiver has 24 electrodes which are half the diameter of a human hair.
Faye was born with a heredity hearing loss. She received two hearing aids and learnt to lip read. Faye noted that a fringe benefit of acquiring this skill was that travel on public transport became a lot more interesting. Faye’s hearing deteriorated further following an accident and as the side effect of prescribed medication to the extent that she was profoundly deaf in both ears. Faye had a senior position with a major corporation and found that performing to the required standard was getting too hard with her profound hearing loss.
In 2005 Faye received a Cochlear implant. This required a one night stay in hospital followed by three weeks of healing. At Faye’s first “switch-on” everything initially sounded robotic. Then Faye’s brain started to respond and within 24 hours things started to sound normal. Faye began to hear many new sounds including the sound of birds singing in the garden. Faye had a further Cochlear implant in 2007 which after a period of adjustment was fully successful.
With her Cochlear implant Faye regained her independence and confidence. She was awarded “People Manager of the Year” by her employer. Faye has learnt that “anything is possible” and that people should “never say never”.
Faye is extremely grateful for her Cochlear implants as they have given her the precious gift of hearing. Faye is happy to volunteer her time to tell everyone how beneficial they can be. Faye was thanked by Joe Saad.
