Doctors said I’d never be able to talk – after this surgery, no one can stop me

This is what my parents were told when I was born. They were informed that I would have to learn sign language and attend a school for deaf children.

I failed the standard newborn hearing screening all babies have, and was diagnosed with profound (complete) deafness.

I am so deaf that I wouldn’t be able to hear an explosion right next to me.

Today, 16 years on, I attend a mainstream grammar school and have just finished my GCSEs – and it’s all thanks to my ‘magic ears’. 

Cochlear implants create artificial sound, stimulating the auditory nerve, where hearing aids would not work, as they only make existing sound louder.

When they heard the results of my newborn hearing screening, my parents were worried that the hopes and dreams for their child were no longer achievable. 

Years later, my mum told me about a mobile above my cot that played Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and her sadness that I would never hear it.

My parents had never heard of cochlear implants – and the option wasn’t mentioned when I was born even though they were available on the NHS, so they began scouring the internet for solutions, discovering this technology. 

They found a doctor at the private Portland Hospital in London who was willing to do the surgery on a young child – they firmly believed they didn’t have time to wait.

I received my ‘magic ears’ at nine months’ old for my first side and then at 15 months for my second.

These days the focus is more on getting me to stop talking! 

At the time, I was one of the youngest people in Britain to have cochlear implant surgery. 

This was a huge benefit when it came to developing my speech and listening skills, as I was not as far behind my peers as some children implanted later.

Since I was implanted in 2008, the cochlear implant technology has progressed tremendously. I can now stream music directly from my phone to my implants.

I also have access to features that hearing people don’t, like ForwardFocus, which reduces any sound behind me so I can hear the person in front of me much better. In some noisy situations I can hear better than my hearing friends!

But my cochlear implants haven’t just helped at school. I go to parties, I go out with friends, I contribute in class discussions, all things you would expect from a hearing teenager.

Of course, nothing’s perfect. I struggle to hear in larger groups when socialising, and it takes me a while to ‘get used’ to someone’s voice. I also lip read so not seeing someone’s face makes it more difficult (thanks Covid!)

However, there are solutions to most of these problems. When it comes to socialising, I tend to hang out with one or two friends at a time, so everyone can hear. Or, I go to loud parties with lots of people and music, where nobody can hear! Either way it’s fair.

My ‘magic ears’ have opened up so many doors and opportunities for me. I’ve spoken at the Houses of Parliament, attended conferences to share my experience and even met Malala at Cochlear Foundation’s Achieve Anything: Global Summit earlier this year. It was an incredible experience; it was such a privilege and a real inspiration.

I’ve also seen the potential in young people with cochlear implants. I’ve made so many friends from all over the world, including accomplished musicians, social media influencers, athletes, doctors, and authors. They’re all genuinely lovely people.

If you gave me the choice to go back and be born hearing, I would choose to be deaf.

It’s really shaped me as a person, I think it’s made me more empathetic and given me a unique view on the world.

The past few months have been really busy for me, with the Global Summit, GCSEs and work experience. The people I’ve met and experiences I’ve had – I owe it all to my cochlear implants and AVUK.

But the main reason I love stories is the way they bring people together. I’ve bonded with so many of my best friends over a super obscure TV show we love, or a book that made us cry.

These shared experiences, the bonds we have with other people, I think, are the most important things in life. Hearing others’ stories and being open about our own makes us more interesting, understanding people.

So I’ll keep sharing mine.

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