Sydney Mondoux

3 year-old female Severe-profound hearing loss at birth due to genetic cause (Connexin 26) Implanted at age 14 months

The following story is one person's experience with a cochlear implant. Your experience may be very different. Success with a cochlear implant is influenced by many factors including how long a person has had hearing loss, the age a person receives an implant, medical and anatomical factors and more. Please consult your cochlear implant professional and/or the Bionic Ear Association with questions.

Sydney is our first and only child. She was born on September 1, 2001, and by the time she had reached 4 to 5 months of age, we worried that she may not be able to hear. Being new parents we relied on books about infant development to enlighten us about the expected stages of a newborn. It became apparent to us that Sydney was developing appropriately on most levels; however, she didn't seem to react to sound, not even loud noises.

We expressed our concern to her pediatrician at Sydney's 5-month well baby appointment. He scheduled an ABR (Auditory Brainstem Response) test to evaluate Sydney's hearing one month later. We were filled with worries while we waited for the testing, during which time we concocted many different "tests" of our own (sounding the house alarm, banging pots and pans, etc.) in an attempt to prove that Sydney really could hear. Finally, two days before the ABR test, Sydney abruptly turned around to grab a musical toy as soon as the music had begun playing. Given that Sydney had been living in a home under construction since her arrival, we concluded that she had grown accustomed to loud bangs and only bothered reacting to sounds that meant something to her - such as this musical toy. Following this event, we canceled the ABR test.

Although the thought of Sydney not being able to hear remained in our thoughts at times (when she would cry for her feedings at night and would not show signs of hearing Mom's voice saying that she's coming), we kept it far in the back of our minds, rationalizing to ourselves that not all babies reach expected milestones at the same age. As Sydney started spending more time with other family members, an Aunt expressed concern about her hearing and we realized that she was most likely right. Finally, at 10 months of age, we went for the ABR test and Sydney was diagnosed as profoundly deaf.

The days that led up to Sydney's diagnostic testing were filled with worry and anxiety. During the many discussions we had over those days, we decided that whatever the results would be, we would choose to restore / provide as much hearing as possible to Sydney, through whatever means would be available. When we were told that she would be able to hear, and could learn to communicate orally through the use of a cochlear implant, we had no hesitation to move ahead.

The four months that elapsed between our learning of Sydney's deafness and her being implanted remain somewhat of a blur to this day. Not only were we dealing with a type of mourning of the fact that our child will never hear normally, but we were also faced with many decisions requiring hours of research. We were also in the midst of getting Sydney fitted for hearing aids and performing various medical tests (CT Scan, blood work, EKG, etc.) to prepare for the implant surgery. That being said, there were probably two main struggles for us as we were dealing with all of this. First, getting hearing aids on to a young child can be quite a difficult task! Given the profound deafness, the hearing aids were massive amplifiers and would create feedback noise when the earmold would move. As a one year old will never sit still, the noise was a constant in our home. It was very stressful to know that when the noise occurred, it meant that the child was no longer hearing. Our second struggle was picking one language for Sydney to learn first. We are Canadian; Dad had been speaking English and Mom in French. For many reasons, we had hoped that Sydney would be immersed in both languages and cultures from birth and then realized that would be an exceptionally difficult thing for Sydney given her deafness.

Sydney was hooked up to the cochlear implant at 15 months of age and she is now 2.5 years old. She has been progressing tremendously well. We are so proud of her. We no longer ask, what will she be able to do; instead we know that she will be able to do anything she sets her mind to do. The implant has integrated her within the hearing world to a level we could not have imagined. She hears, talks, sings and plays with musical instruments. Without this technology, Sydney never would have heard our voices and been able to speak to us. She probably would not have been able to attend regular schools or partake in conversations. The implant has allowed us to avoid having to make major changes to our lives. Without it, we would probably face having to communicate with Sydney by sign language, enroll her in a school for the Deaf and worry as to whether she will ever become truly independent. We would constantly be reminded and saddened to know that she can't hear laughter or music or that she will never be able to chat on the phone with her friends. The implant has prevented all of these major changes and for that we are so grateful.

In terms of attitude and outlook for the future, we are still early in the whole process to really determine that impact. Even so, we realize how deeply our lives have been affected. We notice that as parents, we appreciate the little things so much more. Hearing Sydney say new words or sounds mean so much to us. We share our experience with others, making people aware of implants and their success, and look for opportunities to help parents facing the difficult choices that come with learning of a child being deaf.

As for Sydney's future, we feel absolutely confident that she will be able to accomplish whatever she takes on and that she will be completely integrated within the hearing world. That's not to say that we are blind to the obstacles she will face at times; however, we expect her to be able to surmount those hurdles and reach the goals that she sets for herself.