Miss-Delectable
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Deaf mum can hear after pioneering op
FOLLOWING a lifetime of silence after she was born almost totally deaf, a Shanklin mum has become the first person in the UK to undergo pioneering surgery to help her hear properly for the first time.
Marnie McCarthy, 45, said she was delighted with the results of the operation but admitted she was surprised at how loud everything seemed, particularly as she lives with three teenage sons and an excitable springer spaniel.
Speaking from the home she shares with husband Michael, 46, at Carter Avenue, Marnie said: "I think it will take a while to get used to it because everything is so noisy, even little things like a clock ticking.
"All these new sounds are quite strange, like the wind blowing and birds singing and the sound of my footsteps.
"But it is getting better all the time and I’m so pleased I don’t have to wear hearing-aids any more.
"It has made me more independent, my speech has improved and I find it much easier to talk to people and listen to music."
As a result of research carried out at the South of England Cochlear Implant Centre, based at Southampton University, Marnie was fitted with a revolutionary single implant — a device which uses small electrical currents to stimulate the hearing nerve and send sound signals to the brain — capable of giving sound in both ears.
Although its not unusual for patients to be fitted with two implants, one in each ear, Marnie is the first patient to receive the new device.
It is fitted just behind one ear, connected to both the other inner ear by a wire running under the scalp and to microphones on each ear to collect sound. Surgeon Mike Pringle, who carried out the operation at Southampton General Hospital last year, said: "The advantage is it allows adults to have bilateral hearing.
"Having two ears working makes it easier to hear in noisy backgrounds and hear where sounds are coming from."
Marnie was offered the breakthrough surgery after her hearing became increasingly worse and she started to suffer from tinnitus. "I was a bit worried about the operation because it was so new and I was warned it could leave my face numb," she said.
"But, although I was nervous to be the first person in the country to have this operation, I was a bit proud as well.
"I hope other people will be able to benefit from this as well," Marnie added.
FOLLOWING a lifetime of silence after she was born almost totally deaf, a Shanklin mum has become the first person in the UK to undergo pioneering surgery to help her hear properly for the first time.
Marnie McCarthy, 45, said she was delighted with the results of the operation but admitted she was surprised at how loud everything seemed, particularly as she lives with three teenage sons and an excitable springer spaniel.
Speaking from the home she shares with husband Michael, 46, at Carter Avenue, Marnie said: "I think it will take a while to get used to it because everything is so noisy, even little things like a clock ticking.
"All these new sounds are quite strange, like the wind blowing and birds singing and the sound of my footsteps.
"But it is getting better all the time and I’m so pleased I don’t have to wear hearing-aids any more.
"It has made me more independent, my speech has improved and I find it much easier to talk to people and listen to music."
As a result of research carried out at the South of England Cochlear Implant Centre, based at Southampton University, Marnie was fitted with a revolutionary single implant — a device which uses small electrical currents to stimulate the hearing nerve and send sound signals to the brain — capable of giving sound in both ears.
Although its not unusual for patients to be fitted with two implants, one in each ear, Marnie is the first patient to receive the new device.
It is fitted just behind one ear, connected to both the other inner ear by a wire running under the scalp and to microphones on each ear to collect sound. Surgeon Mike Pringle, who carried out the operation at Southampton General Hospital last year, said: "The advantage is it allows adults to have bilateral hearing.
"Having two ears working makes it easier to hear in noisy backgrounds and hear where sounds are coming from."
Marnie was offered the breakthrough surgery after her hearing became increasingly worse and she started to suffer from tinnitus. "I was a bit worried about the operation because it was so new and I was warned it could leave my face numb," she said.
"But, although I was nervous to be the first person in the country to have this operation, I was a bit proud as well.
"I hope other people will be able to benefit from this as well," Marnie added.
