Giving back their hearing: Mission close to Brett Lee’s heart
When Professor Graeme Clark first introduced the concept of a cochlear implant he was referred to as “that clown Clark.” But in 1982, when the world’s first multi-channel cochlear implant was performed on Graham Carrick in Melbourne, Professor Clark disproved his critics. Carrick had been deaf for 17 years; then the implant in his ear was switched on and he heard sound for the first time in almost two decades-“To get this sound was fascinating and mind boggling,” Carrick is quoted as saying. “Tears ran down my face.”
Former Australian cricketer Brett Lee recalls a similar experience that cemented his commitment as ambassador for this cause. Lee is the Global Ambassador of Cochlear and has sat in on several implants; “there was a 74-year-old called Pamela who had lost her hearing and isolated herself from all her friends,” he told a gathering on Friday, April 15 at the Galle Face Hotel. “The expression on her face when the device was switched on-it was incredible.”
Lee was in Colombo as part of a tour around the country, where he was scheduled to visit hearing impaired patients, raise awareness about cochlear and play a friendly cricket match with children who have received cochlear implants. On Friday, April 15 he joined Wickramarachchi Opticians and Hearing Aids to celebrate 40 years and 400 successful cochlear implant stories by the company. The function at Galle Face Hotel was attended by stakeholders in the health and government sectors.
The cricketer picked this rather unusual cause for reasons very close to his heart. At the age of five, his son lost hearing in his right ear after an accident. It was a difficult time, Lee shared later during a quick chat with the Sunday Times. “As a parent you always want what’s best for your child. You can imagine me when it happened-I was constantly trying to learn as much as I could about hearing loss and what we could do about it.” School proved to be a great support system, says Lee. His son’s hearing came back naturally, but he had also learnt about the work Cochlear was doing by that point. “I was inspired. I loved what they were doing and wanted to be a part of it.”
The cochlear implant system is described as a safe, reliable and effective treatment for severe to profound hearing loss in adults and children. A cochlear implant is an electronic device that is surgically implanted bypassing the damaged part of the ear; a microphone and some electronics that reside outside the skin-generally behind the ear-transmits a signal to an array of electrodes placed in the cochlea which stimulate the cochlear nerve.
At the celebration two successful child implantees were awarded certificates for excellent academic performance. Dasitha Samarasinghe from Royal College scored 8 A’s at his O/Ls and Sashen Piumal Jayalath from Kanotuwa Vidyalaya performed very well at his Grade six scholarship exam. Dasitha noted that he has been able to lead a school life much similar to his friends following the implant.
While several private hospitals and hearing specialists offer the implant, state hospitals such as the Lady Ridgeway in Colombo, Sirimavo Bandaranaike Hospital in Kandy also offer the procedure. The Sri Lankan government has completely subsidized the cost of an implant at these hospitals, said Dr. Saman Yasawardena, ENT specialist at the Lady Ridgeway Hospital. The hospital conducts around 50 implants per year, he added, noting that this number could be much higher if more people were aware of the option.
This was the overarching message that Lee wanted to share with his audience. “The earlier the better,” he says. “I always meet implantees who say that they wish they had heard of it earlier.”
Wickramarachchi Opticians and Hearing Aids Chairman Mihira Wickramarachchi too noted that this was their aim in Sri Lanka; “we have to get the message out that this option is available for children and adults with hearing impairment. The sooner you do it, the more fulfilled your life will be.” The company also launched a Mobile Hearing Unit to take the message around the country.