Baby Sina was born with bilateral, profound hearing loss identified after newborn screening in Iran. Mum Sahar and dad Keyvan initially made the decision to fit Sina with hearing aids. Even with hearing aids mum and dad noticed that Sina wasn’t communicating and engaging with the family as much as his twin sister, Saghar. After further research they accepted hearing aids were no longer enough and Sina needed cochlear implants.

After a global search Sahar and Keyvan found and chose RIDBC’s cochlear implant program and the life-changing support of Medical Director Dr. Catherine Birman and Teacher of the Deaf, Maree Rennie.

The family travelled to Australia, enrolling in RIDBC’s Matilda Rose Centre in Waverley for critical early intervention services to support the cochlear implantation. Their commitment meant that they would be away from their close-knit family and friends for at least a year.

Thanks to Dr. Birman, Sina received cochlear implants in late 2018 (right ear) and early 2019 (left ear).

“Sina had to learn to listen and make sense of early spoken language. Both parents were extremely dedicated and attended multiple sessions of early intervention therapy. The result was a little boy who was embraced listening and spoken language and is thriving because of cochlear implants,” said Maree.

Now 4-years-old, Sina and his family live in Iran and mum has shared her personal story with New York’s Hearing Health Foundation.

Read Sahar’s story on the Hearing Health Foundation website.

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