Sarah Frawley has always wanted to give back.
Growing up with a hearing impairment never stopped her from pursuing her goals.
Even when she lost all hearing at the age of 23 while in the final stages of finishing her teaching degree.
Fast forward and the 31-year-old, who now calls Victoria’s Kinglake Ranges home with her partner, James, and two dogs, is powering to her second degree. It’s in her passion — audiology.
But it has been the incredible advances in technology, and the support of the National Disability Insurance Scheme and local partner Intereach, that have transformed Ms Frawley’s daily life.
Ms Frawley received cochlear implants in 2015 and 2017.
They helped significantly with work and study, but the latest sound processors, the Nucleus 8, she received using her NDIS funding and with the support of Intereach have been a game changer.
“My hearing experience has been dramatically enhanced. It has been awesome,” Ms Frawley said.
Her new processors are lighter, smaller, more powerful and provide greater clarity, and she can control them through her smartphone.
“It has allowed me to grow in confidence,” she said.
“I can Bluetooth the processors through my phone, which has made taking and making phone calls so much easier. It was something that I wasn’t comfortable doing until this upgrade.
“I have a wire-free experience, which means I can directly stream music and video and phone calls to my ears, which is an amazing experience.
“I want to thank the Intereach so much for helping me get these upgrades.”
Ms Frawley was supported through Intereach’s Seymour office, with the team working closely with the NDIS to have the latest technology made available — and quickly.
Ms Frawley was already severely deaf at the age of two and fitted with hearing aids, but 21 years later her hearing had worsened due to a sudden sensorineural hearing loss.
Hearing aids were no longer an option.
“I remember my total hearing loss, it was traumatic,” she said.
“I had just finished my first semester of my final year of teaching and was meeting up with my partner, James, when my hearing had dropped to what felt like 30 per cent.
“I had about a 70 per cent loss of hearing in a very short time and could feel it rapidly deteriorating down to nothing.
“At first, I thought it was my hearing aid. A change of batteries and a change of wiring didn’t help. It was classic symptoms of me getting sick, which had happened over the course of my life.
“I thought this was normal because my hearing normally fixes itself in a few days to a week after my episodes. However, a week later my hearing wasn’t coming back, and it was concerning at this point.
“Here I was with one semester to go on my teaching degree, and I was told my hearing wasn’t coming back. I went on to a waiting list for a cochlear implant, and I went six months deaf.”
In terms of her academic achievements, it set Ms Frawley’s teaching degree back a year, but with her new cochlear implants, it was the aid she needed to allow her to complete her teaching placements and her degree.
More than six years have passed since her surgery and study, and Ms Frawley has made an impact on many young lives with her teaching skills.
But it has been a wish to become an audiologist and the desire to give back to the medical field that has supported her for so long that is driving her studies and ambitions.
“My passion has always been in audiology. I have always wanted to help others and while teaching has done that, I wanted to do more,” Ms Frawley said.
While at the start of her audiology journey, she is already thinking of ways to support regional communities.
“I really would love to open a hearing clinic around where I live to cater for hearing aid and cochlear implant users, it is later down the track,” she said.
“But I know that for many in regional Victoria, even where I live now, which is pretty close to the city, you still have to go into Melbourne for many of the services associated with cochlear implants.
“I do have a long way to go with my study, but I am excited.”
Intereach has 17 offices across southern NSW, north and central Victoria and the Mallee, with more than 460 staff.
Intereach supports children and families, older people, people living with disability, mental health and carers. If you, or someone you know, needs support, contact the Intereach team on the toll-free number 1300 488 226, or go to www.intereach.com.au