A brand new ear-a of Cochlear technology

“I thought, if something else happens, I won’t know what’s going on,” Mrs Darlow said.

Now 79, Mrs Darlow started having hearing issues about 25 years ago, the cause unknown.

She’d been wearing hearing aids since 2007, but since Mr Darlow’s brush with death, Mrs Darlow’s hearing had deteriorated quickly.

Goulburn Valley Hearing Clinic’s Elizabeth Webster said Mrs Darlow’s condition had gotten to the point where hearing aids wouldn’t do any more for her.

“A Cochlear implant was the next step,” Miss Webster, an audiologist of 22 years, said.

Cochlear was pioneered in the 1970s, with the first implant on a patient in Australia by Professor Graeme Clark in Victoria in 1978.

While it has had several technological advancements throughout the years, none have been quite as significant as the new game-changing technology Cochlear launched around four months ago.

The Nucleus Nexa implant is the world's first and only smart implant.

With the capacity to upgrade technology as it becomes available — much the same as your smartphone getting an update — it has internal memory and upgradeable firmware.

Previous implants did not have this feature.

The innovative new design also sees the Cochlear program sit outside the implant.

In the past, if a wearer lost their external device, they lost their information.

Now, a new one can be posted to them and attached to reconnect the hearing memory, rather than having to travel to a clinic or hospital to have a new one remapped; a huge benefit for rural and regional recipients.

Mrs Darlow had one implanted during an overnight stay at Melbourne’s St Vincent’s Hospital three weeks ago.

“It was a bit frightening, a bit daunting, not knowing what to expect,” Mrs Darlow recalled.

Her fears had been allayed to some extent after meeting with a past recipient Miss Webster had arranged to chat with Mrs Darlow.

“If she can do it, so can I,” Mrs Darlow said, recalling the moment of empowerment.

Her decision to have the treatment was driven by her desire to socialise more.

“I wanted to hear what was going on,” she said.

“I have Sunday night dinner with the family at my place and I couldn’t hear the grandkids.”

There were also the sounds that many take for granted, such as the birdsong surrounding her rural property, missing from her life.

“I couldn’t hear the birds in the trees anymore,” she said.

A Cochlear implant system consists of internal and external components held together by a magnet.

The internal system is surgically implanted inside the auditory system, while the external system is worn behind the ear.

Two weeks ago, after the minor swelling from Mrs Darlow’s implant surgery had eased, her device was switched on.

It’s early days, with Miss Webster explaining the device takes up to 12 months to learn to interpret new sounds and speech; how quickly it does depends on one’s environment.

She said clients enjoyed more than just hearing their loved ones’ voices, describing how an adult was running and jumping like a child in the leaf litter as she lapped up the sounds of the crispy autumn leaves crunching beneath her feet.

She urged people with hearing concerns to get assessed to see whether they were eligible for an implant, as general practitioners weren’t always aware of the options.

A referral from a GP to the private Goulburn Valley Hearing Clinic, which has been operating in Shepparton since 1987, is not required.

“Don’t wait ’til you’re really, really deaf, or really, really old,” Miss Webster said.

“(Now,) If you get an implant today, you’re not going to miss out on future advancements.

“Age is no barrier; as long as you’re well enough to undergo general anaesthesia.”

While the device and procedure are worth five figures, they come at no cost to the recipient.

Either their private health insurance covers the cost, or they can go through the public system.

Neither list’s waiting times are currently long.

In a further win for hearing-impaired clients, implants can now be performed in Shepparton at GV Health by ear, nose, throat and neck doctor Richard Kennedy, who has a dedicated team that travels with him.

It’s the first time Cochlear technology has been implanted outside Melbourne and Geelong.

All follow-up appointments can also be done in Shepparton.

Miss Webster said after 20 years of working with hearing aids, it was refreshing to do something new, but that was not the only thing that excited her about this new ear-a.

“To bring joy back to people is great,” she said.

“You can’t bring hearing back completely, but you can turn lives around. It’s just great.”

Around 20 local clients have had the new technology switched on, with another handful being processed.

People fitted with older technology can be seen at the local clinic now, too.

Miss Webster said Cochlear was just as committed to keeping the older technology, which millions of people are fitted with, updated.

Goulburn Valley Hearing Clinic runs free information sessions every couple of months, with the next one on Wednesday, August 6.

For more details or to book a spot, phone the clinic on 5821 6600.