Feeling Fabulous


Annette

Annette Gilmore-Scott was diagnosed with a severe sensorineural loss at 18 months of age. Fortunately her mother was very patient with her which is the main reason Annette is able to speak so clearly today. Every time she mispronounced a word, Mum took time to teach her how to say it correctly. This is her story.


Annette's story was featured in Disability Action Week


It would seem I was born deaf or became deaf shortly thereafter. Once I was diagnosed I always wore binaural hearing aids, although my right hearing aid primarily provided a sensation of surround sound. I always had to adjust the volume of the hearing aid to reach the best compromise between sufficient volume and best sound quality, but still relied heavily on visual cues.


Once I was diagnosed I always wore binaural hearing aids, although my right hearing aid primarily provided a sensation of surround sound. I always had to adjust the volume of the hearing aid to reach the best compromise between sufficient volume and best sound quality, but still relied heavily on visual cues.


In 1986 I went to San Sisto Girls' College and was in Grade 8, but had many problems. For example, when the teachers talked about certain things, I couldn't understand, especially when they had their backs to me while writing on the blackboard.


As I grew older, I went to a normal school without any special assistance but always found school work a struggle simply because I couldn't hear. In 1988, I went to St Peter's Claver College, but later my parents decided to send me to a school with a special unit which had special education facilities for the Deaf/Hearing Impaired. One facility I had there was the use of interpreters and the help I received from the interpreter improved my education and I began to confident and good about myself and my ability to communicate.


But by 2003, my family knew my hearing loss had worsened and knew that I was having more trouble communicating. My mother took me to see an Audiologist to have my hearing tested and we were both devastated to find that my hearing had decreased considerably. The Audiologist advised me to have a Cochlear Implant but I refused, feeling negative towards the idea. Looking back, part of the reason why I did not want a Cochlear Implant was because I had no knowledge of them. I reasoned that I didn't want to have a head operated on to have an implant that may not help any more than having a hearing aid. At the time I did not think there was anything that could be done to really improve my hearing. Instead I tested four different types of powerful hearing aids eventually choosing the newest release from Europe.


After two years I realised even these latest technology aids weren't helping much because I was having more and more trouble communicating. Friends and colleagues also told me my speech was starting to slow down. I had a good friend who had a cochlear implant about four years earlier and loved it! I watched him communicating with other people and lots of his friends were telling me he has been improving a lot and his speech was also a lot better than before. After seeing what a positive impact it had on his life, I realised a cochlear implant might not be such a bad way for me after all!


A good friend took me to CICADA (Cochlear Implant Club and Advisory Association) Christmas break up dinner party where I met a few people who had cochlear implants. I asked them about their personal stories and experiences and felt very inspired after hearing about how much difference it had made in their lives. Mostly they were saying they have a lot more confidence, and after a while got used to all the crazy noises.


Before Christmas in 2006, I told her mother I was ready to have a Cochlear Implant. Mum seemed surprised but very pleased and took me to see an Ear, Nose and Throat Specialist. He was very excited and enthusiastic for me to have the operation because he felt it would probably be an easy transition for me because I could already speak well, was good at lip reading and had worn hearing aids all my life. He referred me to an Audiologist for a four hour assessment.


I was worn out from concentrating because there were a lot of tests with electrodes stuck to my body, and there were brain, speech, lip reading and listening tests. When the Audiologist gave thumbs up to have a Cochlear Implant in my right ear, I was petrified and elated at the same time but also very proud that I had finally decided to do it!


On the day of the operation I was very nervous but knew I was in good hands because I had a very good doctor and was feeling very positive about it. The operation was a success and only required an overnight stay at the hospital. Two weeks later I received my speech processer and my implant was switched on.


I can't describe how excited and nervous I was. My parents and a friend were with me. When my Audiologist first turned on the implant I heard a tiny soft pinch sound "Bing" and smiled then burst into tears. I found it amazing that if I listened very hard I could hear all the soft sounds and pitches that I hadn't heard in any of previous tests. I listened to my family's voices for the first time; although all I could initially hear were gobbled noises meaning I couldn't understand what they were saying. But it was beautiful because I could hear them. My Audiologist said he didn't want me to have too much sound right away as it would take some time to adjust to the noise.


The next day I went for a drive and heard lots of noises; cars, trucks and motorbike. My whole body started shaking, it was such a shock! It was frustrating and I felt a bit crazy and frightened because I wasn't used to all these new sounds and didn't know what was making them. I had terrible headaches, but after a few days got used to sound and the headaches went away.


It's amazing all the things I heard for the first time; plastic bags rustling, key rings rattling, birds singing, footsteps, water running, kettle boiling, the phone ringing next door - there were so many noises and I identified them very quickly. I found that when walking, I could hear my pants making noises and felt a bit funny about it. I walked very slowly because I felt so embarrassed and didn't realise that I was so noisy! If I closed a door it sounded like I slammed it and closing a desk drawer, or typing on a keyboard seemed very loud causing me to just freeze and try to keep the noise down. I just couldn't believe how many sounds there were to hear.


It was so funny, I was in a public toilet at work and I ran out of toilet paper. I was thinking "Oh dear" then I heard someone walk in and I said "Excuse me, can you please get me some toilet paper?" She said "Is that you Annette?" and I said "Yes". She says "OH MY GOD can you HEAR me?". I laughed and said "Yes I can hear you" She carried on saying "Oh my god" and "Can you hear every word I say?". I rolled my eyes and replied "Yes! I can hear every word. "Could you please pass me a toilet paper roll"!"


My Audiologist recommended I start trying to listen to find out what was going on around me, rather than looking. I had been practising listening to music and trying to understand the lyrics, watching television without captions, and having conversations with people and trying not to lip read. This is probably the most challenging because everyone speaks differently, different accents, pronunciations, tone, and volume so I have to keep practising! I started using the telephone to practise as well and have found my parents make great guinea pigs!


It's now more than one year since I was switched on. I'm still learning different sounds and still practise a lot with speech. Before I couldn't pronounce some long words but now can pronounce a long word easily, for example, I used to refer to a shortened form for the word "Rehab" now I can correctly pronounce "Rehabilitation".


I have worked for the Government for the last eleven years and during that time have tried to get a better position with the Service by applying for higher level jobs. The majority of positions I applied for required the applicant to answer telephones which I could not do. A few of the positions required specific qualifications which I was unable to achieve because studying was so difficult.


But recently I was seconded as Acting Training Officer within Government. I believe that if I didn't have the cochlear implant which allows me to hear, I would never have the courage or the confidence to apply for this position after being passed over so many times previously. It's a great experience being in a more professional role within the Government.


Looking back over the years I remember thinking I would be trapped doing the same type of work at the same level for the rest of my life and it was devastating. Now I am excited about where my career is heading for the first time in 11 years, and now believe I can overcome any hurdles that I may face, including obtaining her Certificate IV in Training and Assessment. This has been a great achievement for me both having a cochlear implant and conquering the challenges that having it, have given me.


Annette with Simon

December 2008 saw the most major achievement that I received. The 2009 Kaye Byrne Encouragement Award for the project - "Communication with Hearing Impaired Colleagues in the Workplace" at Police Headquarters on the International Day of people with a disability.


Annette's personal involvements are: