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August 25, 2008
Family Prepares for Cochlear Implant
She is only a year old, but Abby Jennette already understands some sign language, knowing signs for the words “yes,” “more” and “bird.”
Abby, or “Abby Joy,” as her parents, Chris and Christa Jennette, call her, was born hearing-impaired. She failed a newborn-auditory screening test and several subsequent hearing tests.
When she was 6 weeks old, Abby was referred to a doctor in Springfield where it was discovered that she has profound hearing loss in her left ear. Her right ear turned out to be in just as poor condition as her left.
“Essentially, she’s a deaf child,” Christa Jennette said.
Despite her disability, the Jennettes have learned a lot about hearing loss and have worked with their daughter, who they describe as a joy in their lives. “She’s just been such a happy baby,” Christa said. “She catches on very fast.”
On Tuesday, Abby will undergo three to four hours of surgery in St. Louis to receive a cochlear implant in one ear. Doctors have said she is an excellent candidate for an implant because she has no other physical issues and no nerve damage to her ears. Cochlear implants work 70 percent of the time in patients who qualify for them, Christa said.
The cochlea is the auditory portion of the inner ear.
A wire will be threaded twice around Abby’s cochlea, which is about the size of the end of a pinkie, and a small area of her skull will be hollowed out to make room for a magnet for the implant.
“It’s almost like an artificial cochlea, I guess,” Christa said.
The implant Abby will receive is from a company called Advanced Bionics and will be able to stimulate her ear and help it produce more of a frequency and give her a sense of sound.
A cochlear implant does not amplify sound like a hearing aid, but stimulates functioning auditory nerves inside the cochlea with electric impulses. There is more of a benefit to a patient with only one ear receiving the implant, Christa said.
After the surgery, Abby should be able to go home the next day. The surgery is considered an outpatient procedure for older children and adults.
However, Abby will not be able to hear after the procedure. Instead, she will be taken back to St. Louis two weeks later and the implant will be turned on for the first time.
After that, the Jennettes will make four more trips to St. Louis so doctors can slowly increase sound into Abby’s implant, a process known as mapping. The device will have to be removed when she sleeps, swims or takes a bath.
Eventually, Abby will have to work on localizing specific sounds. Because her condition was caught early, she will be able to develop her speech. Christa said until a child is 6 years old, their minds are like filing cabinets, which need to be continuously filled with information to learn before they “close.”
Christa said she wanted the public to know about cochlear implants and the importance of discovering hearing loss early. The family, which also includes Caleb, 3, and Nathan, 5, asks that the community pray for them “during this time,” Chris said.
The Jennettes have received support and their faith has helped them through some hard times. Chris is pastor of Calvary Baptist Church, and he and Christa said their church family has been there for them.
“They’ve gone the extra mile several times for us,” Chris said.
Christa said her sister-in-law told her she had to allow herself time to go through a grieving period.
“It was a little bit of a transition for us,” she said, adding that it was also emotional for the family’s church family to find out.
Initially, the Jennettes found their hopes dashed many times when they thought that Abby did not have a hearing problem when she seemingly reacted to various sounds. They realized that Abby was reacting not because she heard sounds, but more than likely because she felt vibrations or other movements from those sounds.
Her other senses are heightened because she cannot hear.
“She looked at me within three days (after she was born) and smiled,” Christa said. “She’s very visual.”
Illinois Division of Specialized Care for Children has provided help. They sent the family to the Illinois School for the Deaf for a day.
It was there that Abby became “submerged in sign language,” Christa said. She said she also learned that some hearing-impaired babies “babble” by waving their arms or making other motions with their hands.
It also helped that Christa knew some sign language herself from a class she took in college. She also teaches children some sign language Sunday mornings at Calvary Baptist Church.
A speech therapist and a therapist who works with hearing-impaired children works with Abby.
The Jennettes have gotten their church involved in learning about deafness. They will also be taking a group to Vincennes, Ind., in October to be part of a ministry that preaches to the deaf. Anyone interested in more information about the program, which will be held Oct. 19-26, can call Calvary Baptist Church at 392-4531 for more information.
Chris said he plans to give updates about Abby on the church’s website at olneycalvarybaptist.com.
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Posted by 4HL on August 25, 2008 1:00 AM
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