Miss-Delectable
New Member
- Joined
- Apr 18, 2004
- Messages
- 17,160
- Reaction score
- 7
Deaf Baby Undergoes Pioneering Operation (from This Is Hertfordshire)
A deaf baby from Borehamwood has become the first child from the town to undergo a special implant operation to allow him to hear.
Eytan Freeman, who is 15 months old, was born deaf and is only the second child in Hertfordshire to receive a bilateral cochlear implant at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London.
His parents, Jeremy and Ravit, of The Campions, are also both deaf, as is their four-year-old daughter, Chantelle.
On Wednesday, an electronic device was implanted under Eytan's skin. It sends impulses to nerves, allowing the youngster to hear some sounds and enhancing his ability to lip-read.
Mr Freeman said: "We each carry a recessional gene called Connexion 26 and this particular gene governs the ability to hear.
"Ravit, Chantelle and I all wear hearing aids, which are very helpful but unfortunately they have not been of any use to Eytan.
"He is very bright but struggling to communicate with us.
"Normally, people only have one implant or, if they need two, the operations are spaced out over two financial years.
"They are incredibly expensive and since we have been funded by our local authority we have had to fight hard to have both done at the same time."
The family were told that unless Eytan had both implants at the same time, his balance would be seriously affected and he would find it difficult to adjust to a second operation next year.
Although the family does not use sign language, Mrs Freeman has been learning the skill at the Jewish Deaf Association, in North Finchley, in case Eytan needs to use it in the future.
An association spokeswoman said: "The family will have to wait about three weeks before the external portion of the implant can be secured magnetically to the receiver that has been placed under his skin.
"It is only at this point that the device will be usable. Once it is switched on, the first things that Eytan may hear will be footsteps, running water, dogs barking and the ringing of the phone or doorbell."
The family will have to attend regular appointments at least once a week for checkups, speech therapy and listening therapy at the hospital.
Results for the cochlear implants vary and are influenced by many factors including the condition of the hearing nerve prior to surgery.
I think it's weird for an entire family to be deaf and yet does not communicate in sign language.
A deaf baby from Borehamwood has become the first child from the town to undergo a special implant operation to allow him to hear.
Eytan Freeman, who is 15 months old, was born deaf and is only the second child in Hertfordshire to receive a bilateral cochlear implant at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London.
His parents, Jeremy and Ravit, of The Campions, are also both deaf, as is their four-year-old daughter, Chantelle.
On Wednesday, an electronic device was implanted under Eytan's skin. It sends impulses to nerves, allowing the youngster to hear some sounds and enhancing his ability to lip-read.
Mr Freeman said: "We each carry a recessional gene called Connexion 26 and this particular gene governs the ability to hear.
"Ravit, Chantelle and I all wear hearing aids, which are very helpful but unfortunately they have not been of any use to Eytan.
"He is very bright but struggling to communicate with us.
"Normally, people only have one implant or, if they need two, the operations are spaced out over two financial years.
"They are incredibly expensive and since we have been funded by our local authority we have had to fight hard to have both done at the same time."
The family were told that unless Eytan had both implants at the same time, his balance would be seriously affected and he would find it difficult to adjust to a second operation next year.
Although the family does not use sign language, Mrs Freeman has been learning the skill at the Jewish Deaf Association, in North Finchley, in case Eytan needs to use it in the future.
An association spokeswoman said: "The family will have to wait about three weeks before the external portion of the implant can be secured magnetically to the receiver that has been placed under his skin.
"It is only at this point that the device will be usable. Once it is switched on, the first things that Eytan may hear will be footsteps, running water, dogs barking and the ringing of the phone or doorbell."
The family will have to attend regular appointments at least once a week for checkups, speech therapy and listening therapy at the hospital.
Results for the cochlear implants vary and are influenced by many factors including the condition of the hearing nerve prior to surgery.
I think it's weird for an entire family to be deaf and yet does not communicate in sign language.
