As a baby, Alina’s parents began to notice delayed development as she reached her speech and language milestones. A hearing loss diagnosis helped them understand why that was happening. She was identified as a cochlear implant candidate, and now with bilateral sound processors is an honor student and receiving many accolades in science! Read her story here:
“When Alina was first born, she was the perfect baby. She could sleep through anything and wouldn’t wake up even with the barking of the 4-legged family members (our 2 dogs). As time passed, we noticed that she was not meeting some of her development milestones.
A diagnosis helps us understand her delayed development
Shortly after she turned 1 year old, we travelled overseas for the Christmas holidays – while there we continued to notice her delayed development. We decided to have a hearing testing done with a family doctor to find out why she was unresponsive to loud sounds. On Christmas Eve of that same year, the doctor’s confirmed that Alina wasn’t responding to sounds because she had sensorineural hearing loss.
Our entire world fell apart. The doctor quickly picked us back up and discussed cochlear implants with us. The doctor gave us hope that Alina could overcome her hearing loss. We, my husband and I, both being scientists, had never heard of cochlear implants and this technology.
Features and reliability play a huge factor
As quickly as we made appointments to see doctors back in the United States, we educated ourselves by reading as many research papers, blogs and medical reports we could find to decide on the best option for our daughter. We were presented with cochlear implant solutions from various manufacturers.
We quickly decided on the Nucleus® System by Cochlear, due to:
- its kid friendly design
- features like parent’s remote control
- a proven record of reliability and
- accessories like the Aqua+1
Our daughter received her first cochlear implant at 15 months2 and her second at 18 months.
The road was not easy, there were curve balls along with ups and downs; but something that we are ashamed to admit today, is that we could have never imagined the Alina of today, 12 years ago, when she was first implanted. After innumerable days of driving 4 hours a week to take our baby girl to speech therapy (a small-town problem) and hunting for a local speech therapist. Now, we can say that it was all worth it.
Amazing Alina and her accomplishments
This past year Alina continued to perform as an honors student in a mainstream setting, won third in her school history fair essay – which included face to face interviews with the judges and was selected to represent our county in the 67th State Science and Engineering Fair in Lakeland, Florida. Thanks to her cochlear implants, the coaching of her speech therapist and her perseverance, she was able to present to the judges, answer questions during the interview and elimination process in a large and loud convention center, full of finalists from the entire State of Florida.
She put together an amazing research project on seagrasses in the Gulf of Mexico. Her project required her putting her head underwater with snorkel gear and following instructions while in the field, which she did amazingly thanks to her Aqua+ Accessory.
Not only did she do an amazing job at the State Science and Engineering Fair, but she also won a recognition award. Alina was the only one from our county to receive a recognition in such a competitive fair.
Alina also finds time to be in the National Honors Betta Club and play competitive and recreational soccer. As parents, we could not be prouder of her.”
If your child is experiencing delayed development from hearing loss, cochlear implants may be a solution. Learn about these solutions today!
- The Nucleus 7 Sound Processor with Aqua+ is water resistant to level IP68 of the International Standard IEC60529. This water protection means that the sound processor with the Aqua+ can be continuously submerged under water to a depth of 3 meters (9 ft and 9 in) for up to 2 hours. This water protection only applies when you use a Cochlear Standard Rechargeable Battery Module or Cochlear Compact Rechargeable Battery Module. The Nucleus 7 Sound Processor is water-resistant to level IP57 of the International Standard IEC60529 without the Aqua+ accessory for the Nucleus 7 Sound Processor.
- In the US, the cochlear implant system is intended for use in children 9 to 24 months of age who have bilateral profound sensorineural deafness and demonstrate limited benefit from appropriate binaural hearing aids. Children two years of age or older may demonstrate severe to profound hearing loss bilaterally. In Canada, the cochlear implant system is intended for use in children 12 to 24 months of age who have bilateral profound sensorineural deafness and demonstrate limited benefit from appropriate binaural hearing aids. Children two years of age or older may demonstrate severe to profound hearing loss bilaterally.
