Sask. woman's hearing implant surgery 1st of its kind in North America
Ray Flatt hopes he can soon take his wife, Vi, dancing again.
"It's hard to dance to the music you can't hear," Ray said.
In August, the Regina Beach, Sask., woman became the first person in North America to have a Neuro System cochlear implant surgery.
"When I had my hookup, it just went so quickly. And I was so excited to hear sound on the side that I haven't heard sound for quite some time," Vi told reporters in Saskatoon on Friday.
"And I went a little ballistic, I think," she said with a laugh.
The Neuro System cochlear implant is like many other hearing implants. It has an internal component, which is put underneath the skin through an incision behind the ear, and an external component, which is connected about one month later.
Dr. Nael Shoman, the surgeon who performed Vi's procedure, said the technology is a bit different — and perhaps a bit better.
A company that specializes in hearing aids acquired a company that made cochlear implants, and added its hearing aid technology to the implants.
In the case of Vi's implant, an electrode in the internal component sends an impulse that stimulates the nerve directly.
"The hearing is different because it's an electric form of hearing, but because the processing has evolved so well over the years, the brain can process that new form of information into a sound," Shoman explained.
When Vi's implant was first activated, she first heard bells, followed by the voice of her audiologist — but it didn't sound like a human voice, it sounded mechanical.
"But when I concentrated, I could hear her saying words to me, that it was her voice I was hearing."
Vi said losing her hearing was something that happened gradually. To get it back all at once was wonderful.
"Every time I pass my husband in the house, I say, 'say something, say something!'"
Ray joked that he's also learning about his wife's new implant.
"It's been a long time since I've been asked to turn the television down," Ray said.
Vi said she hopes she can enjoy listening to music again, especially Floyd Cramer on piano.
