Two Sides To Every Sound

Just over six months have flown by since Scott received his cochlear implant, and his parents, Cat and Doug are thrilled by the strides their almost two-year-old son is making.

“When Scott’s hearing loss was first diagnosed at birth, we assumed he wouldn’t have any issues because he still had hearing in one ear,” said Cat.

“It was over the next couple of months we learnt that children with a one-sided hearing loss can actually struggle significantly especially when they reach school-age, which led us to look into options and then to Hear and Say,” said Cat.

Today, Scott loves wearing his ‘ear’ and his speech development is flourishing. “Scott absolutely loves his cochlear implant; when it falls off, he is sure to let Cat and Doug know so they can
put it back on,” said Emma Heberlein, Scott’s listening and spoken language specialist at Hear and Say.

“His language is developing well above what we would expect for his age – he is now saying a combination of three words.”

Scott and his family visit Hear and Say for monthly listening and spoken language therapy, and every three months for audiology assessments. Scott also takes part in our fortnightly group social skills program, Little LEAP, where he can play and learn with other children with hearing loss.

“Hear and Say has given us the strategies and tools to communicate with our child in a way that supports his needs and development, and reassured and helped us at each step of the decision-making process,” said Cat.