News and Stories
SBS’s Insight episode airing Tuesday, 15 June 2021, The Deaf Divide, explores a range of Australians’ experiences about growing up deaf. Hear and Say was pleased to participate through our founder, Dr Dimity Dornan; our clinical team; and a Hear and Say family whose children are in our program. The sector is very passionate about the varied and at times conflicting positions that individuals, professionals and communities come from, and we encourage respectful forums for sharing stories and opinions from all perspectives. The majority of children with hearing loss are born to parents ...
With a love of the outdoors and the beach, one-year-old Lola would be hard pressed to find a better place to grow up than Gympie, a stone’s throw away from the beautiful Sunshine Coast. Equally, her parents Lee and Josh enjoy watching their young daughter playing, knowing that she can hear everything going on around her. Diagnosed with severe hearing loss in her right ear at birth, Lola now wears a hearing aid and has regular speech therapy through the Hear and Say Nambour centre. “Lola’s journey so far has gone quite smoothly, as there has been a lot of support provided from ...
Almost 400 kilometres from Rockhampton is the community of Moranbah, home to six-year-old Aria and her family. It was through a visit from the Hear to Learn program at Aria’s school that her hearing loss was first picked up – a shock to her parents, having watched their daughter pass her hospital-based hearing screen at birth with flying colours. For the past four years, Hear and Say has hit the road through Central Queensland, taking the Hear to Learn – School Hearing Screening program into some of the state’s smallest towns. In partnership with the program’s founding ...
For the second year running, the extraordinary Hear and Say community rose to the challenge of raising funds to ensure babies born deaf don’t wait for the services that are critical for their development. From all pockets of Queensland and beyond came passionate individuals, families, businesses and community groups, all digging deep through generous donations and helping to spread awareness far and wide about Hear and Say’s Triple Impact Day. At the official close of the 24-hour campaign, the live tally had clocked over $335,436 in donations. “The community has always been the ...
For Rockhampton parents Renee and Jacob, finding out their baby girl had been born with hearing loss six years ago came as a complete shock. “Evie’s diagnosis came after her newborn screen at the hospital, and it was a huge surprise as no one in our families had ever had hearing loss,” said Renee. “We didn’t know what we were meant to do, and it was pretty scary particularly as we were first-time parents.” Evie was just nine weeks old when she was fitted with her first pair of hearing aids – “hot pink”, as Renee fondly recalled. Determined to help their daughter ...
A love of adventure is well and truly planted in 11-month-old Ayla, who already delights in playing outside, getting dirty and exploring with her older sister, Elle. Just a few months’ shy of her first birthday, Ayla also adores reading books with her family – especially the thrill of lift-the-flap books. She also loves listening to her dad play guitar and singing together as a family. These moments of music, laughter and sounds are made all the more special for Ayla’s family, following Ayla’s hearing loss which was identified days after her birth. “Our first appointment at ...
From digital imagery of a baby’s brain “hearing” for the first time; to photos of Hear and Say children across the ages; to glittery craft creations of all shapes and sizes – the walls of our centres are a treasure trove of masterpieces. One particularly striking series of artworks on display at Hear and Say in Brisbane was painted in 2014 by 24-year-old Sarah Norton, a past graduate of Hear and Say’s Early Intervention program. Titled Outside Silence, Life of Cochlea and Sound’s Journey, Sarah said the triptych reflected different stages of her journey using two cochlear ...
Hearing loss can impact all aspects and stages of life, both for the person themselves as well as their loved ones. Social work is a profession that supports individuals, families, groups and communities to improve their wellbeing. At Hear and Say, our social work service helps to support individuals and families through a range of short and longer term situations – from parents struggling to deal with the news of their baby or child’s hearing loss diagnosis, or feelings of helplessness in their parenting or everyday life, or if they are experiencing domestic violence or ...
Whether it’s to listen to music or the TV, for a call at work or for study, headphones are a regular part of everyday life for many of us. However, for people who also use hearing devices such as cochlear implants or hearing aids, using headphones comes with some careful considerations. “You will get the best sound directly via your hearing aids or cochlear implants, depending on the hearing technology you have for your specific hearing loss,” said Hear and Say Audiologist, Lorna Parker. “The first step is checking with your audiologist if the hearing device has Bluetooth ...
Hint: it’s not just with the ear! Did you know that it’s actually our brains that “hear” sound? While the ear plays an important role in both hearing and balance, think of it like a funnel. It helps capture sounds from the outside world and takes them to our brain for processing. There are three main parts to the ear: Outer ear: picks up the sound from our outside environment, which turns into sound waves that vibrate down the ear canal. Middle ear: this is where sound waves travel down to vibrate the ear drum, which is connected to three little bones that form what’s ...
Maia’s Story
At 9.10pm on 24 October 2013 our beautiful daughter Maia was born.
The moment of elation was short-lived as we immediately noticed her left ear was missing. I frantically looked to the medical team around me for answers but received none.
Panic set in as we waited 4 days in hospital for an ENT to explain her condition, by which point we already had all the answers from Simone, who runs the Microtia and Atresia Program at Hear and Say.
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