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Teen raises money to help people overcome deafness | Keller Citizen
A once-deaf teen who had her hearing restored is raising money to help other people overcome deafness.
Brooke Batterson, 17, of Keller, and a group of her friends known as the "Deaf Club" helped raise money Saturday in the Run to Hear 5K Benefit Run/Walk in at the Texas School for the Deaf in Austin.
Batterson, a soon-to-be senior at Keller High School, was born deaf and could not hear until she received cochlear implants, an electronic hearing device for people with severe to profound nerve deafness.
All the "Deaf Club" members met at the Regional Day School Program for the Deaf in Austin when they were toddlers, and all have implants.
Sara Morton, an audiologist with the Austin Ear, Nose and Throat Clinic, said some insurance plans will pay for the procedure, which can cost around $60,000 to $70,000, but some will not.
"The device itself costs a little over $30,000," Morton said. "Add to that hospital cost, surgery and rehab, it all adds up."
Money raised at Run to Hear will be donated to the Colorado Neurological Institute's Cochlear Implant Assistance Program to help deaf people who have no insurance coverage and who don't have money for the implants.
"Our mission is to help raise money for parents so they can provide their kids with cochlear implants because it'll change their lives forever," Batterson said. "Knowing that puts a smile on my face."
Batterson, who got her first implant at age 2 and the other when she was 12, said not being able to hear well when she was younger was hard, and it made it difficult for her to make friends.
"People usually get tired of repeating themselves, so I didn't have a lot of hearing friends," Batterson said.
Batterson said her best friend, Madison Carhart, never gave up on her when she couldn't hear well.
"She's my best friend to this day," Batterson said. "I can always talk to her about problems."
Carhart will also be a senior at Keller High School. The two friends me in eighth grade.
"At first it was hard for her to hear my voice," said Carhart. "She would ask me to repeat stuff but I didn't know she was deaf until she told me."
Batterson said having the implants has made a huge difference not by just helping her communicate with friends, but by allowing her to be more independent.
"When Brooke was 13, she heard a noise and asked, 'What was that?'" said Diana Tow, Brooke's mother. "It was a bird singing."
Batterson said she also used to have trouble hearing lyrics.
"Now, with two implants, I can hear all the lyrics to songs," she said.
Using implants with babies and toddlers is controversial, Morton said. Some people who are deaf believe that implants should not be used until people are old enough to decide to receive them. Infants cannot do that.
But Morton said the implants are extremely beneficial.
"There is a very short time span when a when a child can learn the spoken language," she said.
"But by the time they are adults or old enough to make the decision, it's too late," Morton said. "They can't learn spoken English enough to survive in day-to-day life."
Claire Bugen, superintendant at the Texas School for Deaf, said the school supports both implants and learning sign language, but she said if implants are chosen, it's important to follow up with a full range of communicational support including sign language.
Bugen said some parents don't involve their deaf child with additional support after the procedure because they feel they no longer need it.
"The controversy comes with the idea that the implant fixes someone," Bugen said. "From an educational perspective, we believe the child is still deaf and will still need that support."
Bugen said it basically boils down to a personal choice.
"The reality is, there are just as many successful deaf adults without implants as there are successful adults using implants," she said.
A once-deaf teen who had her hearing restored is raising money to help other people overcome deafness.
Brooke Batterson, 17, of Keller, and a group of her friends known as the "Deaf Club" helped raise money Saturday in the Run to Hear 5K Benefit Run/Walk in at the Texas School for the Deaf in Austin.
Batterson, a soon-to-be senior at Keller High School, was born deaf and could not hear until she received cochlear implants, an electronic hearing device for people with severe to profound nerve deafness.
All the "Deaf Club" members met at the Regional Day School Program for the Deaf in Austin when they were toddlers, and all have implants.
Sara Morton, an audiologist with the Austin Ear, Nose and Throat Clinic, said some insurance plans will pay for the procedure, which can cost around $60,000 to $70,000, but some will not.
"The device itself costs a little over $30,000," Morton said. "Add to that hospital cost, surgery and rehab, it all adds up."
Money raised at Run to Hear will be donated to the Colorado Neurological Institute's Cochlear Implant Assistance Program to help deaf people who have no insurance coverage and who don't have money for the implants.
"Our mission is to help raise money for parents so they can provide their kids with cochlear implants because it'll change their lives forever," Batterson said. "Knowing that puts a smile on my face."
Batterson, who got her first implant at age 2 and the other when she was 12, said not being able to hear well when she was younger was hard, and it made it difficult for her to make friends.
"People usually get tired of repeating themselves, so I didn't have a lot of hearing friends," Batterson said.
Batterson said her best friend, Madison Carhart, never gave up on her when she couldn't hear well.
"She's my best friend to this day," Batterson said. "I can always talk to her about problems."
Carhart will also be a senior at Keller High School. The two friends me in eighth grade.
"At first it was hard for her to hear my voice," said Carhart. "She would ask me to repeat stuff but I didn't know she was deaf until she told me."
Batterson said having the implants has made a huge difference not by just helping her communicate with friends, but by allowing her to be more independent.
"When Brooke was 13, she heard a noise and asked, 'What was that?'" said Diana Tow, Brooke's mother. "It was a bird singing."
Batterson said she also used to have trouble hearing lyrics.
"Now, with two implants, I can hear all the lyrics to songs," she said.
Using implants with babies and toddlers is controversial, Morton said. Some people who are deaf believe that implants should not be used until people are old enough to decide to receive them. Infants cannot do that.
But Morton said the implants are extremely beneficial.
"There is a very short time span when a when a child can learn the spoken language," she said.
"But by the time they are adults or old enough to make the decision, it's too late," Morton said. "They can't learn spoken English enough to survive in day-to-day life."
Claire Bugen, superintendant at the Texas School for Deaf, said the school supports both implants and learning sign language, but she said if implants are chosen, it's important to follow up with a full range of communicational support including sign language.
Bugen said some parents don't involve their deaf child with additional support after the procedure because they feel they no longer need it.
"The controversy comes with the idea that the implant fixes someone," Bugen said. "From an educational perspective, we believe the child is still deaf and will still need that support."
Bugen said it basically boils down to a personal choice.
"The reality is, there are just as many successful deaf adults without implants as there are successful adults using implants," she said.