“Words cannot describe the effects of losing one’s hearing.” - those were the words of Goomalibee’s Maureen Cottam who has recently received a cochlear implant.
Whilst the results of that surgery will take some time to work completely, with each day Maureen’s hearing is improving.
A massive country music fan, Maureen has once again been able to listen to all her old favourites, including Slim Dusty.
Not to mention taking part in meal time conversations and hearing her new puppy McLean saying hello.
The surgery had been a long time coming. It was after returning to nursing in the late 1970s that Maureen picked up a stethoscope, but could not hear anything.
“I was diagnosed with Meniere's (disease), and it was in both ears,” Maureen said.
“For years it gave me episodes of being giddy and nauseated, it was a horrible time.
“My hearing was getting worse and worse. I had hearing aids, but as the Meniere's took hold I lost all hearing in my right ear. Then it affected my left ear too.
“After that the hearing aids were almost useless.”
Maureen said as a once effective debater, she found not only was her flow of language broken, but her ability to respond in a debate diminished, irrespective of strong knowledge.
“Around the kitchen table, I struggled to pick up on the family’s news and even the district’s gossip,” she said.
“My life was becoming isolated and silent.”
Decades passed and it was in 2022 that Maureen’s Audiologist Lindsay Symons, from the Goulburn Valley Hearing Clinic, discussed the option of adding her name to a list of patients selected for a cochlear implant.
Concerned about constant trips back and forward to Melbourne, Maureen was excited to hear that, whilst the surgery would be done in the city, the pre-operative assessments and post-operative mapping of the implant would be done in Shepparton.
“For myself, this was by far a more attractive and practical option,” she said.
“It was Elizabeth Webster, a younger enthusiastic professional Audiologist at the clinic in Shepparton, who had accepted the challenge to upgrade her clinical skills to include the management of cochlear implant patients, which made this possible.
“Congratulations Elizabeth for electing to take on this challenge.
“In the future, we can only hope that expertise and resources continue to further develop in our regional areas.”
Following the surgery Maureen has noticed a big difference.
“My left ear, which for many years was incapable of processing sound, is now enabling me to hear the TV news without the aid of my right hearing aid,” she said.
“It may still take many months to hear outside in the noisy world... but even now my family and friends have congratulated me on my ability to be more inclusive in conversations and my ability to communicate and comprehend conversation.
“As for now, my journey leaves me singing along with Slim Dusty’s old hill billy song When the rain tumbles down in July once again, which is fantastic.”