chance to learn to hear again

she applied for a hearing dog. “As part of that I became a guest speaker – and spoke at a Cochlear Support group in Auckland. Talking to them I realised I met the criteria and could apply for a cochlear.”

What stopped her? “As soon as you take off the processor, you’re deaf. I could still function without a hearing aid back then – and I was worried I’d lose what hearing I did have.”

October 2021

What changed? “It was October 2021 –two weeks after I’d lost my job of 3.5 years, I’m sitting here with Sarah, my daughter. I’m talking to Sarah – gone! Nothing? No hearing!”

An urgent ear-nose-throat specialist visit resulted in a short course of steroids. It was too late. Her tinnitus went from a faded hum to a jet-plane overhead, and she was diagnosed with hyperacusis – extreme sensitivity to sound. When hearing dog Meg barked, she got a stab of pain.

“I went from some hearing to nothing. So I started researching why I’d gone deaf, what my options were, and I got involved with Your Way - Kia Roha Hearing Therapy Tauranga. Therapist Angeline Slade tested me and said I could apply for a cochlear implant. She showed me one, and how they worked.”

Part of the on-boarding process is meeting someone with a cochlear. Helen met Linda Giltrap, who was about to get a hearing dog. “She told me about cochlears, I told her about hearing dogs.”

Helen says it was a scary time for her. “Everyone was still wearing masks [due to the Covid-19 pandemic] out in public. Everyone you contact – Spark, Work & Income NZ – want to talk over the phone. I had to appoint Sarah as my WINZ agent as it got ridiculous every time I tried to contact them.” Helen kept busy with voluntary groups such as Katikati Lions. But a Covid-plagued world was tough for a lady relying on lip reading as her communication tool. “You can imagine people wearing masks was a real challenge for me. Here in Katikati, with Meg in her bright yellow coat – and a badge saying: ‘I have a hearing impairment can you please drop your mask’ most people would. If I wasn’t sure I’d take Sarah and she’d drop her mask and repeat to me what they were saying – because we don’t know sign language. I was brought up in a hearing world.

“Meanwhile I’m trying to sort my finances because I’ve been laid off. My anxiety and depression became quite bad... I’m very lucky I have Meg, Sarah, my son Jaden and my parents in Katikati. They became my support network.”

In February 2022, Helen had a test and met the criteria for a cochlear. With allocation prioritised, she faced an 18-month wait. She got in during August 2022.

The cochlear

A magnet implant now sits underneath Helen’s skin above her left ear. The speech processor – outside the body – converts speech and environmental sound into a digital signal and sends it across skin to the implant. The implant’s electrodes stimulate the cochlea’s auditory (hearing) nerve fibres, which carries the signal to the brain. The brain then interprets the signal as sound. “When I woke up – no tinnitus, no hyperacusis.” Once switched on – what did she hear? “Static. It’s not an instant fix!. Slowly you begin to hear 'bzzz, bzzz.bbbz.bbbzzzzz'. Luckily they warn you about this and give you homework to learn how to identify sounds, especially words.” Helen’s had several mapping appointments to adjust the speech processor, and rehabilitation sessions. “They work with you and make sure you’re doing okay. They are magic, wonderful people at Hearing House. They constantly monitor you, adjust your settings and give you tasks to keep improving your hearing.”

Helen, now a Cochlear Implant Consumer Group volunteer, emphasises she’s still very much on her journey to retrain her brain to identify and hear sounds – without relying on lip reading But she doesn’t regret her cochlear implant. “I had nothing to lose.”