To mark International Cochlear Implant Day 2017 (Saturday 25 February) comes news of a couple who have received their implants together – the first ever for the University of Southampton Auditory Implant Service (USAIS).
Around 13,000 people in the UK now have cochlear implants to assist their hearing, with a large number of those – just over 1,100 – receiving their implants through the USAIS which serves as the regional centre for the south and is the only service of its kind based at a university rather than at a hospital.
Deaf from birth, Neil and Helen Robinson had implant surgery in November 2016. The couple, now in their 50’s, returned to USAIS in January 2017 to have their implants switched on during the same session. Until that moment, they had lived in a world virtually without sound, communicating with each other through sign language, lip reading and frustrating attempts to use hearing aids.
Exactly how much the pair will eventually be able to hear remains to be seen but their experiences will help researchers shape future understanding about how the implants can benefit a less-developed auditory system. For Neil and Helen, each day since the switch-on has brought new challenges and surprises as they begin to explore their ‘new’ life in the hearing world.
You can watch a short film about Neil and Helen’s experience to date below.
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