I believe in Miracles
Bethany Miller - February 2007
Download a copy of Bethany's Story Brochure
Read Bethany's Blog
Bethany talks about her bi-lateral switch on. View it on YouTube (Sub-titled for your convenience)
Read about Bethany's bi-lateral switch on in The Courier
Read Bethany's story in Girlfriend
In 2010 Bethany became one of six finalists in the Girlfriend of the Year Competition. Read about this in the articles in local newspapers."
Bethany lost her hearing before she could speak. This is her story.
I was born on December the 10th 1993. As my parents say, I was a bright and happy baby, always aware of what was going on around me. One day, my mum looked into my room to see if I was awake or not. She saw I was and slowly opened the door and said 'Bethany'. I didn't respond, so she said it again, louder. Still no response. She tried again and again! I didn't respond. She knew then that there was something wrong.
I was just 10 months old and it took five months to get an answer. I was profoundly deaf. How? Nobody knew as there had been no hearing loss in my family and I hadn't had any major illnesses.
My parents had no idea what to do.
My parents had no idea what to do. They didn't really want me to learn sign language as it was unlikely anyone in my family would ever be as good at it as me and this would make communication difficult not just for me but for all our family.
Then one day, my mum received a phone call from the principal of the Cora Barclay Centre in Adelaide. She asked if my parents would like to come down and visit the centre. So they did. During the visit, the principal said 'We believe we can teach your child how to talk.' My parents thought that was the first positive piece of information they'd had ever since they were told I was deaf.
I was first fitted with hearing aids and had Auditory Verbal Therapy with my teacher, Kerry. It was all going fine until my parents and Kerry noticed I seemed to respond less and less to things around me. My Audiologist, Robyn did a test, and found there had been a significant drop in my hearing.
I was taken to the Ear, Nose and Throat Surgeon, Dr Rice who suggested I have a Cochlear implant (a bionic ear). My parents thought about this and came to the conclusion it was a good idea. I was admitted into the Women's and Children's Hospital in Adelaide for the implant operation. The operation took 5 hours. I came out and mum and dad gave me my cochlear bear, which I called Kerry, after my teacher. I was nearly 4 then.
There are two parts to a cochlear implant. One part went into my head during the operation and the other part looks a bit like a hearing aid and sits on my ear and is held in place using a magnet to match the one now inside my head. Two weeks later, I was switched on and for the first time I could hear the birds singing, the sprinkler and the planes above.
I was 4 years old and had to learn to speak.
With hours of my amazing mum's time I learned to speak. I started Kindy, at Hahndorf Primary in 1998. There were concerns about me being able to cope with Reception (the first year of Primary School) because I still only had the language skills of 2 year old but I was nearly 5. However, the teachers decided I could start Reception and if needed, I could repeat. But I got through that year and passed to Grade 1 the next year.
I am in Year 8 now, and I haven't had any problems with my hearing ever since. Because I learned to hear and speak even though I am deaf, I truly believe miracles happen.
If you have a member of your family who is deaf, no matter how old they are, please ring Cochlear on (Aust) 1800 620 929 or (NZ) 0800 444 819 (Toll free) because hearing is the best gift you can give to somebody who's deaf.