Former NRL star Josh McGuire reveals his daughter Scarlett’s devastating hearing issues

Playing NRL half blind was tough enough for Josh McGuire. But the thought that his young daughter Scarlett might never hear the words “I love you” ripped his heart out.

NRL star Josh McGuire's daughter Scarlett has been deaf for three years and only just been discovered after a medical bungle in Townsville that led to staff sackings. Photo: Supplied.

“We think your baby is deaf.”

With those six words, Josh McGuire had to steel himself for a battle he never expected to confront.

The former Brisbane Broncos and Queensland State of Origin star played 12 seasons at the top level blind in one eye after a poke in the eyeball destroyed his left retina in the early stages of his NRL career.

Being half blind was tough enough. But the thought that his young daughter Scarlett might never hear the words “I love you” ripped his heart out.

As he prepares to celebrate Father’s Day on Sunday, McGuire opened up about a lengthy ordeal involving his daughter’s struggle with severe hearing loss.

Speaking for the first time, McGuire also revealed his family’s unwitting involvement in a medical scandal in Townsville that saw 341 babies potentially misdiagnosed over hearing issues - triggering a hospital investigation.

NRL star Josh McGuire's daughter Scarlett has been deaf for three years and only just been discovered after a medical bungle in Townsville that led to staff sackings. Picture: Supplied

Three-year-old Scarlett McGuire is one of those children.

After initial fears at birth she was profoundly deaf, follow-up screening at Townsville hospital during McGuire’s playing stint at the Cowboys ruled out any hearing issues and suggested Scarlett would lead a normal life.

But a fresh battery of tests in recent months have formally confirmed what McGuire and his wife Tanyssa suspected for years _ that their young daughter has major hearing problems.

“It’s going to be a lifelong process,” said McGuire, who has two other children, daughter Maiya, 9, and son Maxon, 7, with wife Tanyssa.

“I still remember a test we did where Scarlett was wired up and a monkey would clap and do a reaction to different sounds.

“Seeing the monkey reacting to the sounds, but then Scarlett wouldn’t react at all, she missed all the sounds, that was pretty confronting.

“Unfortunately, she has been behind the eight ball for the last three years.

“She’s lost a few years of development and that’s not fair on her, but thankfully we’re on top of it now.”

McGuire is not the first NRL star to have a child with severe hearing loss.

Queensland legend Wally Lewis discovered on the day of the final game of the 1991 Origin series that his daughter Jamie-Lee was profoundly deaf, prompting ‘The King’ to immediately retire from the Maroons.

Like Lewis, Scarlett’s setback was the shock to the system that has given McGuire greater perspective on life.

Wally Lewis discovered his daughter, Jamie-Lee, was deaf in 1991. Picture: Jamie Hanson

In the NRL, there was no greater villain. The 33-year-old has one of the worst rap sheets in NRL history, amassing a record 28 charges totalling 30 weeks of suspensions and $16,000 in fines for various acts of foul play.

Seeking a fresh start in England this year, McGuire copped a seven-match ban in February for calling a rival player a “spazzo”.

When tests in England indicated Scarlett had significant hearing issues, it convinced McGuire to come home to get his daughter the help she needed.

“She was a big reason why I came home,” McGuire said.

“I was having my own dramas in England with suspensions.

“I regret what I said. It wasn’t meant in a malicious way and I didn’t mean to offend anyone, that’s for sure.

“It was a throwaway comment in the heat of the moment but I should have thought first before saying something like that.

“With everything going on, I thought I don’t need rugby league in my life anymore.

“I just want to get home and get my daughter sorted out.

“It’s definitely given me a lot of perspective. In football, you are so pampered and entitled and immature about the world.

“Towards the end of my career, it taught me you can’t put a price on family and your health and that football isn’t everything.

“A few times I would get down and you think why us?

“We thought Scarlett had some learning difficulties with ADHD or autism. It’s been a nightmare for my wife dealing with her.

“Now it’s a bit of a relief that we now know what it is and we can get it treated.”

Scarlett finally has some clarity after suffering some setbacks. Picture: Supplied

The confusion over Scarlett’s condition stemmed from conflicting test results.

The McGuire clan believed Scarlett was in the clear after medicos at Townsville hospital claimed she had perfect hearing.

Children’s Health Queensland later alerted the hospital’s audiology department of some “unexpected findings”, prompting two staff to be stood down pending a wide-ranging probe of practices.

The investigation centres on audiology and diagnostic testing outcomes for newborns between January 2020 and December 2022. McGuire’s daughter fell within that time frame.

“Some kids have had cochlear implants put in that didn’t require them, so it’s been a major medical stuff-up and we’ve been victims of it,” McGuire said.

“When she was born, they did a newborn hearing test.

“All the tests said she was negative to hearing, so we had to see the specialists in Townsville.

“When it came to getting the follow-up results, the doctor said she is fine, everything is sweet. Her brain activity is fine, her hearing is 100 per cent, so off you go.

“It turned out to be false information.

“The first feeling for me was a bit of anger.

“I just felt frustrated that we were going down all sorts of other avenues to work out what was going on. We looked into ADHD and that sort of thing. She is quite aggressive and can get easily irritated, she takes her emotion out with aggression.”

McGuire left leaving the Dragons for the UK Super League at the end of 2022, before lengthy suspensions meant his rugby league career came to an abrupt end.

Tanyssa’s gut feel kicked in. She insisted on more testing.

“Talk about mother’s instinct, my wife knew something was not right,” he said.

“It was just the way she was crying and moving and responding. Especially because we’ve got two older kids, so we had some experience. Our previous two were very calm, but Scarlett has always struggled with aggression and a lot of it would be related to her lack of hearing.

“At other times, she would get scared or anxious and she couldn’t communicate that.

“We felt ourselves something was wrong. In England, we said let’s get her re-tested, maybe someone has missed something.

“Then we did more tests and it showed she wasn’t hearing things.

“Now that we are back home, we are getting on top of it with ear, nose and throat specialists and going through all the avenues to make sure she gets the treatment she needs.”

In Australia, one out of every 1000 children is diagnosed at birth with some hearing loss.

There are four levels of deafness. Profound deafness is the inability to hear anything lower than 95 decibels, equivalent to the noise at a loud rock concert.

The average level of conversational human speech is 55 to 65 decibels.

“It turns out she isn’t 100 per cent deaf. She has severe hearing loss,” McGuire said.

“Scarlett can hear different frequencies, but her hearing isn’t great.

“She can’t hear anything under 50 decibels. So you have to be quite loud and if you cover your mouth, she can’t understand you. She has become good at lip reading and we have learned sign language to help her along.

“Being out in loud areas like basketball or football games gets really overwhelming for her.

“Because of her hearing issues, it’s different, you have to treat them differently to a kid without medical issues and the whole family has to adjust.

Scarlett has severe hearing loss and can’t hear anything below 50 decibels.

“When we watch a movie, she wears these headphones to help her hear, because most of the time she has no idea what’s going on.

“Even saying goodnight to your kids. I would whisper to her, ‘Daddy loves you’ and all that time she wasn’t hearing those sorts of things.

“She knows some different words and frequencies, but we use sign language if she says she is tired or hungry.

“The doctor said she probably hasn’t heard a bird chirp and she wouldn’t be hearing certain letters properly and the way you pronounce things.

“We are now waiting to see a specialist to see if she needs surgery or will have hearing aids fitted.

“It’s been a long and frustrating journey, but hopefully the worst part is behind us now.”