NINE-YEAR-OLD Hannah Gillingwater is losing her hearing and is in urgent need of cochlear implants.
She was born with normal hearing and her speech and language development was excellent for the first four years of her life.
At age four, her school teacher noticed she was unable to hear certain soft sounds and, with subsequent visits to an audiologist, it was discovered that she was losing her hearing.
“Being deaf has never defined Hannah. When we explained to her that she would be getting hearing aids to help her ears to hear, she was happily accepting and excited about being able to choose beautiful pink ones. Her first set of hearing aids were sponsored by an anonymous donor and so there was a great sense of celebration and gratitude surrounding this moment,” said her mom, Kelly.
Hannah was diagnosed with sensorineural hearing loss (nerve deafness). It is progressive and unfortunately her rate of hearing loss has been rapid. She has been fitted with two sets of hearing aids since, but she is now profoundly deaf and there are no hearing aids strong enough to meet her needs.
It was less than a year ago that Hannah’s speech clarity began to deteriorate as she became increasingly deaf.
Hannah’s parents, Marvin and Kelly chose to send her to speech therapy with the hopes of slowing the process down.
“It was the speech therapist who alerted us to the fact that Hannah may have now reached the end of the hearing aid road and that we may need to consider cochlear implants,” said Marvin.
The therapist noted other concerns which included the once bubbly and very social child withdrawing from those around her.
She found Hannah was also tiring quickly during therapy sessions as she relies heavily on lip reading. The class teacher confirmed this.
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The family travelled to Cape Town to see an audiologist and the head of the cochlear implant division at Tygerburg Hospital. They both confirmed the speech therapist’s suspicions.
“Hannah is in need of bilateral cochlear implants as a matter of urgency. The nerves will atrophy without stimulation,” said her worried dad.
“Our daughter is a truly joyful child. She has accepted going deaf in such an inspirational manner and has worn her pink hearing aids with pride.”
Her parents were thankful that Hannah has the support of a wonderful teacher and group of friends.
She continues to show her love for music and dancing by participating eagerly in all related activities.
“There are obviously times when being deaf leads you to feeling isolated, but Han has spoken about this when it has happened and we have been able to navigate our way through these tricky times together. She is a naturally positive little girl who worries about other people’s feelings far more than her own,” said her mom.
“Receiving the implants will mean that these positives in her life will remain. We have been told that should she not receive the implants, then she may not be able to remain in mainstream schooling and she would need to begin learning sign language.
“We feel that she has lost enough already and we will do everything we can to give Hannah what she needs to continue being our joy-filled child,” said her doting mom and dad.
Help Hannah:
Bank: Capitec Bank
Account name: Ms HJ Gillingwater
Account number: 1548922135
Branch code: 470010
Reference: Hannah Cochlear Implant
Alternatively, you can visit https://candystick.co.za/c/help-hannah-to-hear/ to make a donation.
Party it up for a cause:
Take part in the Help Hannah to Hear fund-raiser on Saturday, 25 November at the Barn at the Durban Shongweni Club from 6pm.
It is set to be a fun-filled evening with Danny Fisher and DJ Dot. There will be items up for auction as well as spot prizes and giveaways.
Entrance is R150 per person and includes a burger or boerewors roll. A cash bar will be available.
Visit https://goo.gl/forms/CwW0CpI5EU3GJGju1, to book your tickets or contact Charlene Hutchison on 083 777 3501.
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