At three weeks old, Reggie was diagnosed with bilateral profound sensorineural hearing loss after not passing her newborn hearing screen. She was given hearing aids in an effort to provide auditory stimulation and to prepare her for cochlear implants.<\/p>\n
At ten months, she underwent cochlear implant surgery at The Royal Children\u2019s Hospital (RCH) in the hope this would provide her with the ability to hear.<\/p>\n
A cochlear implant is a medical device used to enhance hearing in individuals with moderate to profound hearing loss.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a huge decision,\u201d Reggie\u2019s mum Jess recalls. \u201cWe were anxious for the six hours she was in surgery, but it\u2019s been life changing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Two weeks after surgery, Reggie\u2019s implants were switched on. Her parents were prepared for a range of reactions, but Reggie responded with a big smile and turned toward their voices – an unforgettable moment.<\/p>\n
Since then, Reggie has worked incredibly hard to learn to listen and speak.<\/p>\n
“I enjoy hearing birds tweeting\u2026I don’t really like it being quiet, only when I sleep!” says Reggie.<\/p>\n
Since her successful surgery there have been many milestones. \u201cHearing her say her first words was pretty special,\u201d Jess shares, \u201cand watching her enjoy music is always a joy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Reggie\u2019s also learning Auslan, the sign language used in Australia which gives her access to communication when she\u2019s not wearing her processors during sleep, bath time, or when she needs a break. Auslan is becoming an important part of her identity and connection to the Deaf community.<\/p>\n
Inspired by Reggie\u2019s journey, Mum Jess now works as a Newborn Hearing Screener with the Victorian Infant Hearing Screening Program (VIHSP). VIHSP is a statewide program run by the Centre for Community Child Health, a department of the RCH and a research group of the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI).<\/p>\n
\u201cI saw the impact early intervention had on Reggie\u2019s outcomes. The program is so important for babies and their families.\u201d Jess says.<\/p>\n
When asked what she wants to be when she’s older, Reggie says she now wants to follow in Jess’ footsteps, \u201cI want to be like my Mum and screen babies.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jess\u2019s message to other parents: \u201cIt\u2019s okay to have a lot of feelings. Be kind to yourself, seek support, and enjoy your baby. It may not look how you imagined, but it can still be just as special.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
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At three weeks old, Reggie was diagnosed with bilateral profound sensorineural hearing loss after not passing her newborn hearing screen. She was given hearing aids in an effort to provide auditory stimulation and to prepare her for cochlear implants.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7061,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8971,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10643","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-featured","category-in-the-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.rch.org.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10643","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.rch.org.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.rch.org.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.rch.org.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7061"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.rch.org.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10643"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.rch.org.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10643\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10718,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.rch.org.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10643\/revisions\/10718"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.rch.org.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10643"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.rch.org.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10643"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.rch.org.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10643"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}