Landmark surgery for little Joshua (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Toddler undergoes operation at Cochlear Implant Service at Bradford Royal Infirmary

1:51pm Saturday 15th August 2009 in News By Claire Lomax

A little boy has made history by becoming the 500th patient of the internationally-renowned Yorkshire Cochlear Implant Service in Bradford.

Two-and-a-half-year-old Joshua Shaw, who has been deaf since birth, has been transformed into a confident little boy since undergoing surgery to have a cochlear implant on his right ear in January.

He has even begun to speak his first words since the “bionic ear” was switched on six weeks after the operation at Bradford Royal Infirmary.

His mum Andrea said: “It was hard to make the decision about the surgery because it is a significant operation – but other parents who I was put in touch with said it was the best thing they had ever had done for their children.

“The actual procedure turned out to be very straightforward and Joshua was in the play room and running up and down the ward the following morning.”

She said the change in her son had been enormous.

“Previously, Joshua was very clingy when he went to nursery and could not stay focused, even on things he enjoyed,” she said.

“Now things are fantastic, Joshua has started to speak and is copying and mimicking. He is quite a show-off with his cochlear implant and is quite proud about it.”

The procedure was carried out by the team headed by consultant Chris Raine, who pioneered cochlear implant surgery in Bradford in 1990. The work of Mr Raine evolved into the Yorkshire Cochlear Implant Service (YCIS), a multi-disciplined organisation at Bradford Royal Infirmary where not only the operations are carried out but also follow-up tests, education and therapy.

The team has just moved in to a new Listening for Life Centre in the grounds of BRI, made possible thanks to the people of Bradford who helped fundraise to build the hi-tech facility where those who undergo hearing surgery at BRI learn to cope with their ‘new’ sense.

The service brings in patients from across the North of England and Joshua, who lives with his family in Harrogate, travelled to Bradford for the operation, after failing hearing tests as a baby.

His mother Andrea said: “We do not really know why Joshua is deaf, and we will probably never know for sure, but it might be due to his breathing problems when he was born or as a result of a certain type of antibiotic he had to take.

“Joshua was originally fitted with bilateral hearing aids and, initially, we thought this would be adequate but further tests revealed his hearing was worse than we would have expected.

“He went for an assessment which showed he also had glue ear so he initially had grommets inserted – these are small tubes for draining the middle ear. Another assessment revealed Joshua was suitable for a cochlear implant.

“I would like to reassure other parents about this procedure. I have been 100 per cent impressed by the work of YCIS.

“The new Listening for Life Centre, where these procedures and follow-up care are taking place, is superb.”