Eli educates his classmates on hearing disabilities

Eli Anderson of Crawford International Ruimsig was born on December 12, 2016. He was born with a skin tag on his left ear and a restricted ear canal (microtia of the left ear) and his parents were unaware of the fact until the moment he entered the world.

Little Eli therefore needed to undergo a number of hearing tests in order to determine the full extent of his hearing loss. The outcomes revealed that he had single-sided deafness, or SSD, in his left ear, which has a limited capacity for hearing. Eli has been around doctors since he was a year old. He has visited two audiologists, three paediatricians, and two plastic surgeons.

Eli’s parents trusted their instincts and entrusted Eli’s hearing journey to world-renowned Dr Maurice Hockman (ENT surgeon), Dr Gabriel Doucas (plastic surgeon), Estee Rau (Audiologist), and Nadine (Southern ENT). This dynamic group is headquartered at Johannesburg’s Netcare Linksfield Hospital.

Given the hazards of undergoing surgery at such an early age, his parents were recommended to wait until Eli was at least six years old, or until he had developed sufficiently to take the next step in what would be a thrilling trip for him and a terrifying one for his parents.

Eli became increasingly self-conscious about his skin tags over the course of six years, and he was subjected to judgement from youngsters and adults alike. But now it was time to return to Linksfield Hospital. It was finally time to begin the procedure Eli had been looking forward to his entire life.

“Eli was a true champion, and brave would be an understatement as his expert medical team went about their business planning the operation, which would see his skin tags removed, his ear lobe reconstructed, and a CochlearTM Osia® OSI200 hearing implant implanted,” explained his mom, Claire.

Eli had his CochlearTM Osia® operation on March 1, and he is the fifth individual in South Africa to receive the Osia® implant. He is also the first privately sponsored person in South Africa to have this ground-breaking implant, and as a result, the incredible team at Southern ENT has opted to follow Eli’s journey as they strive to demonstrate his new hearing experiences and enhanced quality of life with his CochlearTM Osia® implant.

“We’ve witnessed Eli’s confidence soar since his surgery, and we’re so proud of him for being such a brave youngster. And as a result of his unwavering bravery and determination, he now has full hearing in both ears, he can walk with his head held high, he gets to be a ‘normal kid’, as he puts it, and he is a very happy boy,” concluded his teacher, Jackie Banks.