For the first time since childhood, 20-year-old Ryan Williams is rediscovering the world of sound thanks to a cochlear implant that has restored his hearing.
Williams, from Leonsdale, Cape Town, was diagnosed with enlarged vestibular aqueduct syndrome, which affects the inner ear and the auditory sensory information (sound) received by the brain. For four years, he used hearing aids, which only helped to a limited extent, but allowed him to be educated orally, rather than in sign language. He also relied heavily on lip-reading.
Professor James Loock, an ear, nose and throat (ENT) surgeon, and the audiology team of the Tygerberg Hospital and University of Stellenbosch Cochlear Implant Unit (THUSCIU), identified Ryan as an ideal candidate to benefit from a cochlear implant.
Supported by HearUs, a non-profit organisation that provides support to those in need of cochlear implants, the THUSCIU team was determined to find a way to help Williams, and approached the Netcare Foundation with motivation to assist the young man, who aspires to study and enter a career in law enforcement.
“We believe Ryan was born with normal hearing, but from the age of three he developed some progressive hearing loss. In 2012, by age 8, his hearing was severely affected. As a consequence of this hearing loss his speech and language development was delayed,” Loock explained.
“We could see that Ryan is a bright, ambitious young man who has a promising future, and a left cochlear implant would be of tremendous benefit to him. However, it would require a resource-intensive specialised procedure and a cochlear implant device,” said audiologist Marge van Dyk.
A grateful Williams said since the implant was turned on, he could hear sounds that he had never heard before.
“We are very grateful to the doctors and nurses, and everyone at Netcare N1 City Hospital. They were very nice to me when I was there for the operation,” he said.
“Since my device was turned on, it’s been going very, very well. I love listening to music, even though I struggled to hear before. Now with the cochlear implants I can hear so much more clearly – for the first time I can actually hear the lyrics and the different layers of sound in the music.
“I would like to personally encourage other people with hearing loss not to give up. There are a lot of different ways to solve problems and if you persevere and never lose hope, you can achieve things that you never thought possible at first.”
His mother, Nicolette, said she noticed a marked difference in her son once the cochlear device was switched on.
“Since his hearing improved, he has been so much calmer and it is wonderful to see that he has more confidence in himself. My heart is full of gratitude towards each and every person involved who made it possible for Ryan to hear, and for him to follow his dream of studying to become a traffic officer,” she said.
Cape Times