Isaac, who is currently four years old, was diagnosed with auditory neuropathy during his first year. Auditory neuropathy is where the brain simply does not understanding the message that is being sent from the ears – traditional hearing aids would not work to rectify the situation. After meeting with doctors at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, Isaac and his parents came to the University of Iowa Children’s Hospital.
At 13 months old, Isaac underwent surgery which required doctors to drill into his skull to plant parts of the cochlear implants. At the time of the surgery, the doctors did not know if this would be successful. The implants were activated a month or so following the surgery and the first sounds he heard was his father Caleb’s voice!
