Lucy, a mum of three from Manningtree, experienced something incredible recently — she heard sound from her right side for the very first time in her life.
Born with a congenital abnormality of her right inner ear, Lucy had always struggled to hear sounds on that side.
Lucy and her husband, James.
However, after having a MED-EL BONEBRIDGE implant fitted at Colchester Hospital – the first person to have the procedure there – everything changed for the 33-year-old.
The major surgery involved placing a magnetic hearing implant in the skull bone, behind the right ear.
Then a SAMBA 2 sound processor was attached behind her ear. The device sends vibrations to her left inner ear via her skull, which then interprets them as sound her brain can understand.
When the implant was switched on at Ipswich Hospital, her husband James watched as Lucy, who is a social worker, easily heard new sounds on that side – something she’d never experienced before.
“I had never heard a single thing out of my right ear so to not have to turn and listen to James talking to me was weird,” said Suffolk-born Lucy.
“I didn’t know what to expect, prior to the implant being switched on, and it was a strange feeling.
“I struggled through school and university and tried to adapt in adult life – working in a busy office environment, and with families as a social worker, and it has been frustrating.
Lucy and implant audiologist Helen Reavell.
“It’s been a long process, and I am excited to get to this point and try it out.”
Mum to George (6), Rosie (4) and Annabelle (20 months), Lucy used to wear wireless hearing aids that sent sound from the right side to her left. Due to poor sound perception she stopped using the hearing aids.
Dr Ashish Alappatt, an ENT consultant and hearing implant otologist, said: “It was a humbling experience to perform Colchester Hospital’s first BONEBRIDGE surgery, and very rewarding to see the positive benefit it has brought Lucy.
“It will make a huge difference to her life, with a husband and three children, and will give her a clarity she has never experienced before.”
Lucy (left) and Dr Alappatt
Chris Durst, Technical Director at MED EL UK & Ireland, said: “The BONEBRIDGE system bypasses parts of the hearing system that aren’t working, and sends sound vibrations directly to the inner ear through the bone.
“This approach can provide close-to-natural sound quality for people with conductive hearing loss, and, as in this case, improved sound perception, on the affected side in single sided deafness.
“The implant is placed fully under the skin and works with the lightweight external SAMBA 2 audio processor, offering a comfortable and discrete hearing implant option.”
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