Barbara Bridewell’s family are no strangers to hearing loss. She and her four sisters all have varying degrees of hearing loss – though none as serious as Barbara.
Their mother wore hearing aids until she was 86 years old, when her hearing deteriorated to the point that the hearing aids no longer made a difference. She went on to reach her ninetieth birthday – living her last four years in silence. Barbara managed without hearing aids until the age of 63, but her hearing continued to deteriorate and her husband Reg finally persuaded her to see a specialist and investigate other possible options. She was 75 years old when she and Reg finally met with Ear, Nose and Throat surgeon Philip Bird in Christchurch, who recommended a cochlear implant.
Reg didn’t hesitate for a moment in encouraging Barbara to have cochlear implant surgery, which they decided to pay for privately. Barbara’s surgery was arranged through the Southern Cochlear Implant Programme. Two years later she was back to receive her second implant. “One implant was wonderful but two has given me my life completely back,” she says. “Looking back at the last five years and all that has happened, I believe strongly that both Reg and I would be in an old age home if we had not gone ahead with my two cochlear implants.” That’s powerful testimony from someone who is now determined to do all she can to support others with debilitating hearing loss.
Barbara and Husband Reg
Barbara recognises that having a loving and supportive partner and family was invaluable in her own journey. She and Reg have a granddaughter living in Los Angeles who is hearing impaired and this has created a special bond between grandmother and granddaughter. Now in her 20s, their granddaughter is likely to need cochlear implants at a much younger age than Barbara. Barbara is very careful with her cochlear implants, which she describes as being more precious to her than all the jewellery in the world.
After a recent fall, her first thought was to protect her processors, before anyone could stand on them!
Looking back, she wishes she had got her cochlear implants sooner. “This has been my most wonderful life changing journey.” A journey that has also involved Barbara and Reg visiting the cochlear implant factory in Brisbane.