A THREE-YEAR-OLD Cork boy is to become the first Irish child to have a “bionic ear” implant.
Calum Geary from Ballyhooley was born with no hearing nerves, meaning he has never heard a sound.
His condition went undiagnosed in deaf screening tests, and he was two years old before his parents, Helen and Andrew Geary, became aware of his condition.
Calum, a twin, will undergo two hours of surgery to have auditory brainstem implants at Manchester University Hospital on February 28th.
“We got a letter confirming the operation by post yesterday,” Ms Geary said. “It’s fantastic to have something down on paper finally. He will be getting better every day after the operation.”
Described by his father – a Garda sergeant in Waterford – as a happy and active child, Calum has been using sign language to communicate with his parents and brothers Barry (8) and Matthew (6).
His twin brother Donnacha had no hearing problems and had been a great motivator to him, Mr Geary added.
“Calum has a great sense of humour, his laughter lifts everyone. Donnacha . . . gave him such life and drove him on,” he said.
Although he used the words “Mam” and “stop”, Calum got frustrated when he could not communicate his message, said his father. However, he said his healthy babbling was a strong indicator of success following surgery.
Calum has been exercising his vocal cords and experts believe he picked up words through lip-reading and instinct.
“He can’t hear the sound of his own voice, but he has amazed experts. ‘Mam’ is an instinctive sound for babies and that gives us great encouragement because he has been exercising his voice, making audible sounds and his projection is good,” Mr Geary said.
Fewer than 1,000 people worldwide are affected by Calum’s condition, called cochlear nerve aplasia.
He is missing all the nerves between each ear and the brain, as well as his balance nerves.
His family says only about 140 children in the world have undergone the procedure he is about to have.
The electronic device will be implanted under general anaesthetic, but it will not be switched on until six to eight weeks following the procedure.
This will give the device time to settle, while the Geary family tries to prepare Calum for his first audio experience.
“After it is switched on, our first six months will be spent teaching him things like the sound of a doorbell or a dog barking and how he should react.
“It will take intensive programming after surgery and Calum will be back and forth to Manchester for the rest of his life,” Mr Geary said.
The surgery to implant the device will be followed by intensive speech therapy at the John Tracy Clinic in California, a diagnostic and education centre for children with hearing loss.
Calum will require daily speech therapy when he returns home.
The family will now set about fundraising for up to €60,000 required to cover the cost of the operation and follow-up therapy.
They say they will remortgage their house if necessary.