Baby receives the gift of sound
A Brisbane baby, born with severe deafness in both ears, is about to have his world changed forever.
Surgery to fit double cochlear implants will help boost the number of children treated in Queensland to record levels.
Diagnosed with the condition at just one day old, Jimmy's parents have never known if he can hear them when they tell him how much they love him.
"It was quite devastating news at the time to find out the little guy had a problem," dad James Worrell said.
"Jimmy's hearing kicks in around 85 decibels, so maybe a V8 engine at full tilt, he might hear that."
Now, at ten months' of age, Jimmy's receiving the gift of sound with a double cochlear implant.
"It'll be as if his whole life has changed from black and white into rainbow," Dimity Dornan from Hear and Say said.
The implant converts noise into electrical signals, bypassing the damaged part of Jimmy's ears. The brain then interprets those signals as sound.
Therapists at Brisbane's Hear and Say will teach Jimmy how to use his new implants when they're 'switched on' in two weeks.
"It's quite a long journey and he'll be having speech therapy every week until he starts prep," Jimmy’s mum Dianna Worrell said.
Special funding allocated in the latest state budget means the hospital will provide 40 Queensland children with cochlear implants this year - 22 more than last year.
The increased demand means Hear and Say needs a new centre and they're $2 million short in funding.
"I don't want to have to turn parents away," Ms Dornan said.
For now, Jimmy's mum Dianna is looking forward to her own special gift.
"When he turns to me and says I love you mummy, or when he tells me to stop singing because I'm a very bad singer," she said.
