A young East London girl was granted the gift of specialised hearing thanks to a digital hearing-aid that was plugged into her ear.
Clear, uninterrupted sound passed through 11-year-old Dineo Skenjana’s ears for the first time on Monday when she completed an eight-week procedure to have a digital hearing-aid implanted on her inner and outer ear at Frere Hospital.
Skenjana, who lives in Amalinda, was born with Treacher Collins syndrome, a congenital condition that affects bone growth in the face and ears. As a result, her ability to hear is significantly impaired because of deformities to her ears.
Although her hearing nerves are fully functional, Skenjana has relied on a wired hearing-aid resembling the shape of headphones her whole life.
Her mother, Lumka Sotsopo, said Skenjana used to complain about the old hearing-aid which gave her sores on her ears and head, and would often burn into her dreadlocks.
Sotsopo said since receiving the new implant, Skenjana enjoyed speaking more, and had grown more confident.
“She’s been so happy. I used to think that she was soft-spoken, but now even her voice has shot up significantly. The old hearing-aid needed her to be close to you in order for her to make out what you were saying, but she’s able to talk more freely now.”
Skenjana’s condition had left her face largely deformed, but her mother said Skenjana had begun to understand and embrace her looks more freely.
“She still sometimes gets teased by other kids, but she’s more comfortable in her own skin now. What I like about her is that she is confident and bright”, Sotsopo said.
Frere Hospital audiologist Catherine Richter said Skenjana’s condition caused the ear canal to be extremely narrowed or completely closed up. Because of the deformity on her ears, she relied on specialised aids.
The new digital Medtronic bone-anchored hearing-aid is a small, hardly visible device made of two magnets which bypass the outer faulty ear to direct sound straight into the inner ear. The device alone is valued at more than R60,000, but medical device company Medtronic gifted to Skenjana.
Richter said the digital device allowed for sound to make its way into the ear significantly better than Skenjana’s old device.
“Hearing loss is an invisible disability, and one of the most expensive of disabilities. Even a mild hearing loss can affect a child’s ability to learn and perform in class.”..