Cody's Story
By Gemma Naylor
Cody was born in 2010 and at birth he had Microtia of the right ear. As a younger mum I didn’t understand what this meant for Cody at the time and what a journey we would be going on.
Cody did not pass his Newborn Hearing Screen in hospital and we were referred to audiology very quickly. We saw the audiologist a couple of weeks later and Cody slept through the whole thing!
They told us he has a conductive hearing loss in the left ear and a severe hearing loss in the right ear. After a CT scan of the small ear we went on to having regular hearing tests and ended up with an air conduction hearing aid at 9 months old.
Two years later Cody was wearing the one hearing aid and we requested to try a bone anchored hearing band which was all new to us but Cody struggled with direction of sounds and the audiologist trialled it on a soft band. With both devices Cody was progressing well with his speech and sound tests at audiology along with using a radio aid at school.
Cody has been asked if he would like to have plastic surgery for his small ear and we visited Great Ormond Street hospital in 2017 but Cody really likes his small ear and has chosen against it for now and we always wanted it to be his decision.
​
Cody went on to receiving care under the Auditory Implant Service at Southampton University and got funding for two bone anchored hearing aids on a new sound arc. This was a lot smaller and nicer than the soft band. We have been so grateful for their help and support and they have helped us along the journey to provide Cody with great hearing devices and upgrades when available.
Cody really enjoys wearing his sound arc which he can change the colours of the sides and pick what colour his aids are. We are very grateful that technology keeps being updated and new things come out all the time.
As Cody is getting older his confidence is soaring and he is so comfortable wearing his sound arc which is so much a part of him. We have been worried about friends and school in general but Cody has adapted well, he enjoys school and gets regular visits from his Teacher of the Deaf who visits to check up on everything.
​
Cody is a very positive young man and I hope this continues as he grows up.