Loud Shirt Day: Cochlear implants switch Townsville twins on to new world of sound
The mum of Townsville twins — diagnosed with a rare condition gradually destroying their hearing — has opened up about the emotional moment they got cochlear implants together.
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The mum of Townsville twins — diagnosed with a rare condition gradually destroying their hearing — has opened up about the emotional moment they got cochlear implants together.
Kelso sisters Marley and Sienna Davis, both 10, have both been diagnosed with large vestibular aqueduct syndrome (LVAS), a condition caused by a malformation in the inner ear that leads to hearing loss.
It was a sad discovery for their mum Hayley Cannan, who also grew up with hearing loss due to bacterial meningitis.
She said doctors discovered that Sienna had severe hearing loss in both ears when she was just a baby and eventually had her fitted for hearing aids.
But over the years, her hearing only deteriorated, and she had to get fitted for her first cochlear implant in 2020 before getting a second this July.
It wasn’t until last year that tests revealed her twin Marley also had hearing loss in both ears due to LVAS.
She was able to get fitted with her first cochlear implant on July 14, the same day as Sienna, with support from the not-for-profit Hear and Say.
“It was a very emotional time, especially when Sienna got her cochlear implants because she had some hearing at the start, and then it slowly crept away over time,” Mrs Cannan said.
Marley said the cochlear had made communicating with her sister a lot easier.
“It was a bit hard to talk to each other because sometimes she didn’t understand,” she said. “It’s easy now, and I don’t have to repeat myself.”
Locals are being asked to rock their brightest clothing to raise funds for kids with hearing loss for Loud Shirt Day on Friday, October 21.
Hear and Say CEO Greg Elphinston said each year, over 300 babies are born with hearing loss in Australia – a number which doubles by the time they are school age.
“Children are often very intelligent and develop coping mechanisms that enable their hearing loss to go undetected,” he said.
Originally published as Loud Shirt Day: Cochlear implants switch Townsville twins on to new world of sound
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