For Stephen, music has long been the defining passion of his life. So, when he completely lost hearing in his left ear, he wondered what this might mean for his future as a professional musician, music teacher, songwriter, producer and performer.

Three years on, he is elated to have been supported by cochlear implant company MED-EL to represent Australia at an international music festival in Poland. The 11th Beats of Cochlea Festival brought together implant users from across the world. It was a huge moment for Stephen, who connected with other musicians who are deaf or hard of hearing and use cochlear implants. Together they showcased their musical, instrumental and vocal abilities, and Stephen had the opportunity to perform his own song.

The journey to this point has been a long one. It began when, during a conversation with parents of a student at his music school, he heard what sounded like a low double-bell in his left ear - and then no sound at all.

Once he had come to terms with the fact that his hearing would not be returning, Stephen was referred to NextSense and ENT surgeon Clinical Professor Catherine Birman, who is part of our network of surgeons. He was found to be eligible for a cochlear implant and decided to go ahead with the surgery for a MED-EL implant.

Stephen knew he would have to learn to interpret the new sounds from his implant and was up for the challenge.

He was supported by his audiologist Maxine, who modified and enhanced the audio frequencies of his sound processor to identify the optimum settings. Stephen also put in the hard yards in his spare time. ‘I began doing exercises using apps designed specifically for cochlear implant users… designed to help the cochlear implant user to differentiate between sounds which initially can sound quite alien, distorted and difficult to understand,’ he says.

Stephen says music – as well as his supportive wife Roxanne, who he describes as his ‘partner in rhyme’ – kept him going as he adjusted to life with his new implant. He says his hard work is paying off, bit by bit. ‘The first few months were very difficult, as I could not detect pitch differences between notes on a keyboard. However, over time I began to very slowly hear pitch differences in the central area of the keyboard, and that area expanded, little by little, over the months following. This has been invaluable to my continuing to work on audio recording and production for our children's multi-media project, Busy Izzy and Friends, as well as performing live and in the studio on other projects,’ he says.

Being able to perform his own song, ‘I Don’t Mind The Rain’ at the final festival concert, was a huge reward for all the rehabilitation and perseverance involved in learning to listen with an implant. Stephen also experienced the pleasure of being joined by Maestro Krzesimir Debski, who accompanied him on violin after hearing his song during a rehearsal.

Stephen says he was very impressed by the diversity of the performers, who came from a range of musical and cultural backgrounds. ‘From a nine-year-old boy with bi-lateral cochlear implants who played a lovely saxophone piece to veteran musicians like myself, the participant performers gave the audience an incredible concert,’ he says.

Having returned from Poland, Stephen and Roxanne are not planning on slowing down anytime soon. They are looking forward to continuing to pursue their Busy Izzy and Friends project, which includes videos, illustrated books and live shows that they co-write music for.

Image: MED-EL