Brynn’s hearing journey includes choices, challenges and most importantly – chattiness! After an inaccurate newborn hearing screening, it became obvious to Brynn’s parents that she was born with profound hearing loss. After receiving a cochlear implant, it was determined that her best path forward was to receive a second implant. She received an auditory brainstem implant and now is an honor roll student, a basketball player and loves to chat! Read her story below:
“Before our daughter, Brynn, was born in 2008, we were already concerned about her hearing. Though we are a hearing couple with no history of deafness in our respective families, our son, Jevin, who was born a few years prior with single-sided deafness, had repeatedly failed his newborn hearing screening in one ear. Many doctor visits later, it was determined that his loss was a ‘fluke’, with likely no genetic component.
So when the doctor told us that our daughter, Brynn, passed her hearing screening, we felt relieved and continued on our journey of raising a family.
An updated diagnosis – our daughter was born deaf
As the months passed and Brynn’s babbling did not seem to progress into words, and there was something amiss about her responses, we learned that her newborn hearing screening was inaccurate and she was, in fact, born profoundly deaf in both ears. This was a challenging time full of choices! We immediately got connected with early intervention, as well as specialists at a Children’s Hospital in Philadelphia and explored what it would mean for Brynn to get a cochlear implant1.
While we never felt as though we needed to ‘fix’ Brynn’s hearing loss, we did make a firm decision that we wanted to give her all the possibilities that 21st century technology offered – the opportunity to have a sense of hearing and to communicate in ways that best met her needs. With that in mind, we pursued a cochlear implant.
Getting a device from Cochlear felt like an obvious choice for us because the medical professionals and other parents we met spoke highly of the company’s reliability and support, which many years later, we can attest to as well.
A hiccup in Brynn’s hearing journey
Just as we settled into the idea of a cochlear implant, life threw another challenge our way. After getting an MRI, Brynn’s ear, nose and throat (ENT) doctor shared with us that while she was an ideal candidate for a cochlear implant in many ways, the team was unsure how much she would benefit from it due to her internal anatomy . With the support of the cochlear implant team, we went ahead with the procedure.
To maximize her system of support, we chose to move closer to Brynn’s school for hearing and speech for her preschool years, and though this decision turned our family’s world upside down for a bit, we know those years of focusing on listening and spoken language skills with her cochlear implant helped Brynn maximize the benefit she still receives from the device today. During her preschool years, Brynn became a social butterfly, learned to verbalize in sentences and listen with intention!
In sharing Brynn’s story, we feel it is important to not glaze over the challenges; while we all want a simple story with a happy ending, life is sometimes more complex than that! We were incredibly grateful for what Brynn gained from her cochlear implant, but it became evident that was not enough.
A second opinion leads to Brynn’s future!
In an effort to make sure we fully explored mapping possibilities; we sought a second opinion from a renowned hearing health clinic in New York, where it was recommended that Brynn receive an auditory brainstem implant (ABI)2. We have learned that the combination of CI and ABI is how she hears best, and over the years her chattiness emerged!
Brynn has worked hard with continuous therapy to make the most of her implants. She is oral (as well as fluent in sign language) and happens to now be a very chatty teen! She plays basketball, is a distinguished honor roll student, adores animals and enjoys traveling and hearing sounds from around the world.
One of our favorite Cochlear accessories is the Snugfit, which helps keep her sound processors on, as an athletic girl who is always on the go! Brynn never worries about losing her processors. We are thankful for Cochlear and the many professionals that have supported Brynn over the years, including her audiologist who clearly loves it when Brynn’s chattiness takes over an appointment!
Brynn is planning on attending college after high school and is exploring her study options!”
This blog was written by Brynn’s family to express their experience throughout their daughter’s hearing journey and experience with a cochlear implant. Below is an excerpt written by Brynn herself to explain in her own words:
“Hi! My name is Brynn, and I have a cochlear implant (CI) and an Auditory Brainstem Implant (ABI).
After I got my ABI, I heard birds for the first time! They are beautiful to listen to! I remember feeling scared when I woke up from my surgery, but it was incredible to hear new and wonderful sounds that I never heard before.
I am now in 11th grade. My favorite things are playing basketball, traveling, writing poetry, loving my pets and giving my audiologist a hard time at appointments (see the picture from years ago). But I actually think he’s the best because he tries his hardest to give me the best hearing I can have with my implants.
I love that my devices let me talk with my friends who are hearing. I hope every kid who gets a CI or ABI feels the same happiness I feel when I hear birds!”
Are you wondering what’s next after a hearing loss diagnosis for your child? See how Cochlear implants including an ABI, may be an option that can help, visit our website to learn more!
- In the United States and Canada, the Cochlear Nucleus Implant System is approved for use in children 9 to 24 months of age who have profound sensorineural hearing loss in both ears and demonstrate limited benefit from appropriate hearing aids. Children 2 years of age or older may demonstrate severe to profound hearing loss in both ears.
- The auditory brainstem implant is intended to restore a level of auditory sensation via electrical stimulation of the cochlear nucleus. The ABI541 auditory brainstem implant is intended for use in individuals 12 years of age or older who have been diagnosed with Neurofibromatosis Type 2 (NF2). Implantation may occur during first or second side tumor removal or in patients with previously removed acoustic tumors bilaterally. Because the surgical procedure for tumor excision and electrode placement eliminates residual hearing, preoperative audiological criteria are not relevant. Prospective implant recipients and their families should have appropriate expectations regarding the potential benefits of an auditory brainstem implant and should be highly motivated to participate in the post-operative rehabilitation process.
