My hearing problem was initially picked up on standard newborn screening and my profound deafness was confirmed by formal testing a couple of weeks later.
Photo credit: Samantha Christenson
For a family with no experience of deafness or hearing loss, it came as shattering news.
My parents were freaking out, scared and unsure what this would mean for the future, or even what to do first.
Despite being one of the most common disabilities at birth, hearing loss really isn’t well understood by those who’ve never had to deal with it in their families.
Through a social connection, my family heard of another young boy with hearing loss, met with his parents, and received some great advice about steps they could take to ensure I would get the support I needed.
So at 6 weeks of age, I joined the early intervention program at The Shepherd Centre, which is a non-for-profit organisation that provides specialised programs for children with hearing loss and their families.
Not much later, aged less than 6 months, I received my first cochlear implant for my right ear, making me then – and still – one of the youngest users of “bionic ear” technology.
I had a further cochlear implant for my left ear at 13 months and soon I was able to hear in both ears… but this didn’t mean my hearing loss was “cured”!
Early cochlear implantation is really important, and it’s directly related to positive speech and language outcomes, but that’s just the beginning of the hearing journey.
Intensive speech therapy at The Shepherd Centre helped me develop my listening and speaking skills, not only in the early intervention program but also through my school years.
Learning to hear with the assistance of cochlear implants allowed me to go to mainstream school, and I’ve remained close to The Shepherd Centre all my life; I even presented videos for them at the age of 10.
Fast forward 20 years to 2025, and I’m now in the final year of a Bachelor of Speech and Hearing Sciences degree at Macquarie University, Australia’s only integrated speech and hearing undergraduate degree.
Next, I aspire to do the two-year Master of Clinical Audiology degree at Macquarie so I can work as a paediatric audiologist, in the very discipline I’ve known since the first few weeks of my life.
Audiology has been an almost constant part of my journey; I’m very happy with my hearing and I suppose I’m living proof of the impact audiology can have.
That’s my main motivation for volunteering, mentoring and public speaking – and for wanting to be an audiologist working with kids who’ve had cochlear implants.