It was shortly after her third birthday that Chloe was diagnosed with progressive hearing loss. She was initially fitted with hearing aids, but for Chloe, hearing aids alone were not enough. Chloe was referred to RIDBC to see if she would be suitable for a cochlear implant. RIDBC has supported her since.

Chloe’s family decided that a cochlear implant would be the best hearing solution for her. The team at RIDBC prepared Chloe and her family for life with a cochlear implant. Switch-on was followed a short time later by Chloe’s first day at school. Much to mum Lauren’s delight, Chloe excelled.

“I am so proud of our beautiful girl. She amazes us every day! Just a couple of years ago, I couldn’t imagine Chloe performing speeches in front of her class like her brothers were already doing. Her speech and language has improved so much since receiving her cochlear implant. It has been life changing in so many ways,” Lauren said.

Chloe’s team at RIDBC includes Speech Pathologist Greta who has seen Chloe for the last two years. “Chloe’s doing incredibly well, and recently has been able to have conversations on the phone — which can be challenging for people with hearing loss,” said Greta.

And the RIDBC support is far from finished, Greta saying that the support for Chloe and her family centres on everyday activities in the home, where she leads a busy life amongst two older brothers.

In the video below, Chloe delivers the same speech she gave her class a short time ago, telling us in her own words how lucky she is to have a cochlear implant.

Well done, Chloe.

This news article was created prior to 22 March 2021 when NextSense was Royal Institute for Deaf and Blind Children (RIDBC).