The prevailing medical wisdom in the mid-70s was that if you have already had the measles, you wouldn't get them again. Either my wife was misdiagnosed when she had a measles infection during her teen years, or the prevailing wisdom was incorrect.
Whatever the case, at 9 months of age, Dale was fitted with two hearing aids and despite a profound hearing impairment, managed to learn to read and write and communicate reasonably well with the help of many wonderful people.
During the last decade, one ear, the one with the implant, lost all of its hearing. Even his hearing aid didn't make the situation any better.
We heard about cochlear implants and with his sister's encouragement, convinced Dale to get an implant to see if any improvement could be made.
Recently Dale, me and my wife drove from Alice Springs (Central Australia) to Darwin to get the implant surgery. The photo herein shows Dale with the implant.
Inside his head a surgeon implanted the internal component with 22 electrodes that go into his cochlear. The external fitment has a magnet that attaches to the internal component.
It's several weeks since Dale had his implant and now he can hear noises he hasn't heard for decades: birds singing, the whirr of his DVD in his DVD reader, his feet making a noise on gravel. Soon, once his brain becomes accustomed to language sounds again, he may be able to use a phone for the first time in years.
By all measures, the implant has been a remarkable success and will be life-changing for Dale.
We are so fortunate to live in a country with an excellent medical system and numerous dedicated surgeons, nurses, and audiologists.
