This post made possible through the support of Cochlear. All opinions are my own. When I had my first baby, I was so anxious about being a great parent. To be honest, when we found we were expecting, I didn’t think a lot past changing all those diapers and the lack of sleep. As my daughter got older, we found we had more important issues to face. At the age of about 9 months, my daughter began to have severe middle ear infections. They were so frequent and caused such pain. Our pediatrician urged us to get tubes in her ears before she got to the point of possible hearing loss. After the procedure, Chelsea did not suffer from those terrifying infections any longer.

Hearing Loss Can Lead To Delays In Children

Hearing loss in children is an issue many parents face. If a child has hearing loss, they can also have language and speech development delays. For some children, they have complete hearing loss, which can be such a devastating diagnosis. But, with a Cochlear implant, hundreds of thousands of people all over the world can have access to sound.

Cochlear has been a global leader in implantable hearing solutions for more than 3 decades. They offer cochlear implants and bone conduction, which can treat hearing loss from moderate to profound. Can you imagine what a difference a Cochlear implant could have on a child? The sky is the limit!.

Cochlear Is A Viable Solution For Kid’s With Hearing Loss

Hearing loss is the 2nd most prevalent global health issue, affecting more than those with Parkinson’s, epilepsy, Alzheimer’s and diabetes combined. [1] Hearing Health Foundation. Hearing Loss & Tinnitus Statistics [Internet]. 2016 [cited 23 February 2016]. Available from: http://hearinghealthfoundation.org/statistics. For families who have a child with hearing loss, Cochlear offers support as well as hope. Had our Chelsea suffered hearing loss, it would have been such a comfort to know Cochlear would be a viable solution for our family. For these families, they can still experience the important verbal milestones like cooing, babbling and eventually, their first words.

Cochlear: Giving The Gift of Hearing To Children

Chelsea is a musician. Can you imagine how different her path in life would have been without the gift of hearing? It would have been drastically different, right? And how different her dad and my life as well. We would have missed Chelsea singing and playing her guitar and ukulele. I cannot even comprehend the frustration she would have experienced in trying to communicate with us had she been dealing with hearing loss. For families who have been blessed with a Cochlear implant, it opened up a whole new world for their children.

From diagnosis to implantation, giving a child the gift of hearing is beyond measure in my opinion. Through Cochlear I also learned about the Thirty Million Words campaign, an initiative working to close the language gap, focusing on Tuning In (pay attention to what your child is communicating), Talking More (talk with your kids to increase their vocab), and Taking Turns (encourage your kids to respond to your words/actions).

How To Determine Your Child Is A Cochlear Candidate

A Cochlear implant is a Class III medical device that is federally regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In order to be eligible for a Cochlear implant, a child must be at least 12 months of age. A child must be 5 years old for Baha surgery. In order to qualify, you should take your child to the proper medical professional for a diagnosis. You may want to consider taking your child to a hearing implant specialist, an audiologist or doctor who can determine your child’s candidacy and answer any medical questions you have.

If you need help finding a medical professional in your area, you can click on the “Find a Hearing Specialist” at the top left of the IWantYouToHear page. Remember each person’s experience with any hearing implant devices is different. With that said, some people may hear better than others after having a hearing device implanted. Be sure to stay current with Cochlear and like them on Facebook as well as following them on Twitter.