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June’s nearly 90 and she’s just had her first cochlear implant switched on

June is living proof that it's never too late to seek help for hearing loss.
June, an older woman, having her cochlear implant processor adjusted by someone
  • Hearing

Jenny started noticing her mother, June, was struggling to hear her about seven years ago, having to regularly repeat things she’d said.

June, who turns 90 in a couple of months, realised something wasn’t quite right with her hearing, but put it down to being a normal part of ageing and persevered.

June, who loves socialising with friends and shopping, says it was a difficult time. She found herself becoming isolated in noisy and group settings.

Eventually she agreed to have a hearing test and was given hearing aids but found that they did not work well for her, so avoided wearing them.

It wasn’t until mother and daughter attended a NextSense event for our generous bequestors that they learned cochlear implants may be an option. While the technology wasn’t new to her, as her granddaughter Lauren is profoundly deaf and has a cochlear implant, June hadn’t considered it for herself.

Professor Greg Leigh, Director of NextSense Institute, spoke at the event and Jenny asked him what the maximum age was for cochlear implantation.

“[Professor Leigh] said that age is no barrier as everyone deserves to be able to hear,” says June.

Knowing how much the cochlear implant has helped [my granddaughter] Lauren and with encouragement from Jenny, I decided to take the leap of faith.

— June

While June initially had some reservations around surgery – including how much of her hair might need to be shaved off – she says she felt listened to and supported by her NextSense team. The surgery took two hours under local anaesthesia, and she was home the next day. “You cannot even see the scar and my hair is still perfectly in place,” she says.

Around two weeks ago, she visited our Gosford centre to have her cochlear implant switched on by her audiologist, Samantha.

June says she was quite overwhelmed when her implant was switched on but is enjoying being able to hear household noises like the television and doorbell again.

June knows it will take some time to adjust to the cochlear implant and is prepared to put in the hard work to train her brain. “I'm willing to do this for a better life ahead,” she says.

What advice would June give to other adults considering a cochlear implant? "Go for it!”