'Bionic ears' for deaf Rosannah (From Andover Advertiser)

'Bionic ears' for deaf Rosannah

4:00pm Thursday 23rd April 2009 in Basingstoke By Ben Ellery

A PROFOUNDLY deaf toddler will be given the gift of hearing when she undergoes a £60,000 operation to give her 'bionic ear' implants.

One year-old Rosannah Harris, of Cliddesden Road, Basingstoke will undergo the cochlear implant operation after NHS bosses gave the green light to funding for the rare procedure.

Rosannah failed the new-born hearing screening programme at Basingstoke hospital at four days old and six weeks old. She was diagnosed with being profoundly deaf in both ears and was subsequently referred for the operation.

Her family have now received the good news that Hampshire Primary Care Trust (PCT) will fund Rosannah's life-changing surgery.

Her mother Victoria - who is a nurse at Basingstoke hospital where her husband and Rosannah's father Kevin, 39, is a general surgeon - said: "When we found out Rosannah was profoundly deaf, it was a complete shock because there is no history of deafness in the family.

"We had no clue and we are so grateful to the audiology team at Basingstoke hospital because without them it wouldn't have been picked up so early.

"At the moment, we're going to a lot of hospital appointments and we encourage Rosannah to talk as much as possible. When she does, we make a huge fuss over her."

The 36-year-old added: "We're thrilled Rosannah will be getting 'bionic ears', which will have a huge impact on her life."

Rosannah will undergo a five to six hour operation at Southampton General Hospital on a date to be confirmed.

The cochlea is the part of the ear that transforms acoustic signals into electric signals that can be understood by the brain.

The implant sits under the skin behind the ear, and is connected by a wire to the inner ear. A microphone sits on the opposite side of the skin to the implant, attached to it by magnets.

The microphone picks up sounds, which are then passed to a speech processor that is worn on the ear, like a hearing aid, and converts it into a series of electrical pulses, which it transmits into the implant.

This passes the impulses along the wire, into the inner ear to the cochlear nerve and along the hearing nerve to the brain, where the brain interprets them as sound.

Rosannah will be fitted with the external parts of the implant four to six weeks after the operation when she will begin hearing sound.

She will receive intensive rehabilitation training, but until the operation is completed, it is not known how good her hearing will be as the results vary between children.

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is the independent organisation that provides national guidance on which procedures and treatment should be available on the NHS.

In January, NICE revised its cochlear implant guidelines, recommending implants for both ears, instead of just one, should be given to children with severe to profound deafness if they do not get enough benefit from hearing aids after trying them for three months.

Rosannah has worn hearing aids from the age of six weeks.

The operation has been available in the United Kingdom since 1993, and during 2008-09, Hampshire PCT funded 29 cochlear implants.

Rosannah's parents - who have three other children - have been training at Beechdown Health Club, in Basingstoke, in preparation for the Asics British 10K London Run in July to raise money for The Elizabeth Foundation, a pre-school in Portsmouth for deaf children.

Mr Harris said: "We feel very strongly about raising money for the foundation, which is where Rosannah has been going to.

"The staff there do fantastic work, both with the children and their parents, and we're hoping to raise as much money as possible."

To donate to the Harris' sponsored run, visit www.justgiving.com/victoriaharris6