You may not imagine professional athletes struggle with challenges, but champion swimmer, Robyn Lamsam, says coming to terms with her son’s hearing loss has been “the biggest challenge of my life”. She says help and hearing support from others has made all the difference and that social media is a great way to connect with people facing similar challenges.
Time to refocus
Professional athletes are typically very comfortable with challenges and Robyn, from Hong Kong, is no different.
At the peak of her career, Robyn held 21 national swimming records, was a silver and bronze medalist in the 1994 Hiroshima Asian Games and in 1997 was awarded the Badge of Honour from Queen Elizabeth II from the UK in recognition of her achievements and contribution to sport. Robyn also qualified for the 1992 Summer Games in Barcelona at the tender age of 14.
But Robyn quickly admits that her resilience was put to the test five years ago when she discovered her son, Kyle, was diagnosed as profoundly deaf. In 2017, at 10 months of age, Kyle underwent surgery for two cochlear implants1.
So, when Robyn was approached two years ago to appear in a TV show to trace her life as a former professional athlete, an irony was not lost on her. The focus of the TV show was for former champions to take on a new challenge: in this case for Robyn to swim competitively 20 years after retiring. But for Robyn, nurturing a baby with cochlear implants and knowing how to navigate life ahead now presented her with “the greatest challenge of my life”.
But like most professional athletes, Robyn confronts challenges head on. After three days of what she describes as inconsolable sadness, she realized she needed to refocus.
Turning back to her days competing in the pool and years of coaching has helped Robyn remain tightly focused on what needed to be done: to support Kyle. She says the word “can’t” isn’t part of her vocabulary.
But she admits it hasn’t been easy and support from others has been, and continues to be, key for this family to thrive.
Talking to others gave me hope
“There was so much love and support from family and friends around the world – those were the messages that I needed – that everything was going to be ok. That was the boost I needed because I needed to be strong for Kyle.”
Robyn says being open to asking for help beyond one’s inner circle also helps enormously. But she recognizes this is not always easy for everyone.
“Talking to other mothers gave me so much hope – hope was one of the things I treasured most before I really knew what was going on and that sustained me. If their children could do it, why couldn’t mine?”
But how do you connect with other families going through similar experiences?
Robyn recommends parents ask their clinician to put them in touch with other local families dealing with hearing loss and living with cochlear implants.
She concedes that living in Asia, some families struggle with being open about their child’s hearing loss because of a perceived stigma associated with hearing loss.
“We just have to get over ourselves because this technology is enabling our children to hear. Kyle is a living example of the wonderful impact of the life-changing device as well as the importance of early intervention.”
Using social media to connect with others
Robyn says social media is a great way to connect with people who typically share their experiences openly. You can also ask recipients or parents specific questions and learn from each other in what can be a more open and candid environment. And there are forums for parents of children with cochlear implants as well as pages for recipients.
Robyn and Kyle are very open about his cochlear implants and sound processors, and take every opportunity they can to talk about the technology when anyone shows interest, especially other children at school.
“By educating the child, we are educating the parents,” says Robyn. “When I see someone staring, we talk about it – we’re very open about that.”
For this family, the Cochlear™ Nucleus® Kanso® Sound Processor has been a great solution as Kyle prefers an off the ear device.
The family has learned some lessons along the way, but they are always happy to share tips and advice for others:
- Make sure your child knows how important and valuable the sound processors are. Robyn learned this the hard way after Kyle flushed one of his sound processors down the toilet at age three. “Now he knows how important they are.”
- Make sure your child knows to protect their sound processors, for example, encourage them to avoid dropping them and to protect them in the event of rain. “The minute it starts to rain, Kyle drops everything and covers his ears.”
- The Cochlear™ headband2 was very practical when Kyle was much younger, to keep the sound processor in place.
- As Kyle becomes older and his hair grew longer, the Cochlear Safety Lines3 have helped to attach the sound processor to Kyle’s hair or clothing. Kyle also uses the lines when using the Cochlear Aqua+ in the water. When Kyle was younger and didn’t have as much hair, they used the longer safety lines to attach the processors to his clothes. As his hair grew longer, they were able to use the shorter clips to attach directly to his hair.
These days, Kyle is thriving; he attends a mainstream school and loves to participate in multiple sports – swimming, basketball, tennis, golf and baseball.
“The way I see it, no one wants their child to have any disadvantage – but we all have our lot in life,” says Robyn. “I can do everything in my power to protect Kyle, but it’s ultimately up to him.”
Connect with others in the Cochlear Community>
- In the United States, 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. In younger children, limited benefit is defined as lack of progress in the development of simple auditory skills in conjunction with appropriate amplification and participation in intensive aural habilitation over a three to six month period. It is recommended that limited benefit be quantified on a measure such as the Meaningful Auditory Integration Scale or the Early Speech Perception test. In older children, limited benefit is defined as ≤ 30% correct on the open set Multisyllabic Lexical Neighborhood Test (MLNT) or Lexical Neighborhood Test (LNT), depending upon the child’s cognitive and linguistic skills. A three to six month hearing aid trial is recommended for children without previous aided experience. In Canada, the Cochlear Nucleus Implant System (CI500 and CI600 Series) 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. In younger children, limited benefit is defined as lack of progress in the development of simple auditory skills in conjunction with appropriate amplification and participation in intensive aural habilitation over a three to six month period. It is recommended that limited benefit be quantified on a measure such as the Meaningful Auditory Integration Scale or the Early Speech Perception test. In older children, limited benefit is defined as ≤ 30% correct on the open set Multisyllabic Lexical Neighborhood Test (MLNT) or Lexical Neighborhood Test (LNT), depending upon the child’s cognitive and linguistic skills. A three to six month hearing aid trial is recommended for children without previous aided experience.
- The Cochlear Headband is a retention option that holds the Aqua+ more securely on your head. It has a built-in anti-slip strip. And is useful for children or when doing physical activities. Simply measure your child’s head to find the right size in our online store. The headband is compatible with Nucleus® Kanso® and Osia® 2 Sound Processors.
- The Cochlear™ Safety Line is available in a variety of lengths and with or without a hair clip. Attach a Safety Line that clips onto your child’s hair to reduce the risk of losing your sound processor.
