Martine's story

Martine became deaf at the age of 18 months. It didn’t stop her growing into a lively child. She learned lip-reading and sign language and, for many years, her hearing aid was a great help to her. But as she got older, she says, "my hearing took a nose-dive". 

Her hearing aid became much less useful, and it was harder to lip-read because there were fewer sounds to help her. And as she lost hearing, she also lost some of her self-confidence and zest for life.

Finally, at the age of 21, Martine made a life-changing decision. She decided to have a cochlear implant. The specialists told her she was a good candidate for this surgical procedure, which can improve a person’s ability to discern and understand sounds, including speech. 

"The first few weeks and months after the operation were quite difficult. I had to learn to hear all over again", says Martine. "But the effect on my life has been amazing. The implant has made it much easier to follow conversations, hear on the phone and cope with situations in general."

Martine has the rest of her life ahead of her and, thanks to her implant, it’s now a life of promise and opportunity.

Anna's story

33-year-old Anna was diagnosed with nerve deafness at the age of five. At first the loss of hearing was moderate but, between 1997 and 2000, her hearing deteriorated rapidly. By mid-2005 she was profoundly deaf in her right ear and severely deaf in the left. Even wearing two hearing aids was not enough to restore a useful level of hearing.

Anna considered having a cochlear implant but decided to put it off. Then one day in 2005 she was in an all-day conference at work, and found she couldn’t hear a thing. This was the turning point for Anna and she remembers, ‘Straight away I phoned my mum and said “I’m getting an implant”.’

Now, three years after her implant, Anna says it has transformed her life. ‘Pre-implant I was isolated, I struggled socially and I was exhausted all the time,’ she says. ‘Now I’m a different person. My quality of life has improved dramatically. I can talk in groups. I can listen to music and it sounds amazing. I can go to movies. I can conduct meetings at work and use the phone.  Apparently my speech has improved as well.’