Hearing impairment in kids: a mom’s story

THE right to education might be enshrined in the Constitution, but it is a right that is not fully fulfilled for most deaf children in South Africa.

According to Stats SA, hearing impairment is the third-highest reported disability in South Africa but identifying that a child has a hearing problem is not as easy as it sounds.

The lack of universal newborn hearing screening in South Africa is the first challenge. It results in a late diagnosis of deafness or hearing impairment. International guidelines suggest that screening for hearing loss is done at one month after birth at the latest and that an early intervention plan be implemented no later than 6 months. In South Africa, this can happen any time after the age of 2 years.

“Deafness is the last thing you see when you have your baby. It’s got 10 fingers 10 toes; you don’t think about its hearing,” says Dr Belinda Birdsey.

Birdsey has a Master’s degree in neurodevelopment, but she is also the mother of three hearing-impaired children. Her experience led to her founding the Thrive Parent Support Group for families of children who are deaf or hearing impaired.

Her twins, Hadassah and Tahlita, were diagnosed when they were 3.

“They were about 2-and-a-half when I started getting worried. And everybody kept telling me that I was being paranoid.”

It was at the end of a visit to Johannesburg when the twins were about to turn 3 that the problem became clear.

“We were paying for our accommodation. And I could hear the one crying. She had tried to follow me and got lost in the garden. I went outside and shouted her name, and she didn’t turn… So I went right behind her, and I shouted her name with every ounce of strength I had. She didn’t turn. I touched her shoulder and she turned around; she was so happy to find me. At that moment, I realised she was deaf.”

The children were tested, and their hearing impairment was confirmed.

“It had just taken such a long time to figure out. Nobody else in our space, including professionals, they just didn’t see it.”

Within months, Birdsey noticed that her youngest child, Eden, was also displaying signs of hearing impairment. “It was a hectic four months of finding out that all three of our kids were deaf.”

The family moved swiftly to make up for the lost time to get them on track to be able to communicate.

“We got them all hearing aids, and we started talking with them. But that’s a very long process. So I also learned some sign language and put them in a school for the deaf.”

The pay-offs came swiftly.

“Three weeks after starting to learn sign language with them, we were going to the shops, and it started raining. One started freaking out. I had all three kids and I needed to get to the shop, so I used the few signs I knew and I asked ‘what?’ She looked at me and said, ‘shoes wet’. I took them off, and we carried on shopping. At that moment I realised how priceless that was, being able to communicate with your kid.”