Mickey Howard, left, watches her daugter LeeAnn Howard work
with UK audiologist William Shelton.
See related story in the Dec. 7, 1999, edition of the Lexington
Herald-Leader. |
LEXINGTON, KY (Dec. 6, 1999) — LeeAnn
Howard, an 18-year-old from Keith, Ky., has a lot to celebrate this holiday season –
the end of the silent world in which she has lived since she was a toddler. LeeAnn
essentially has been deaf since she was 6 years old. At birth, she was diagnosed with
cytomegalovirus (CMV), a viral infection. Today William Shelton, a University of Kentucky
Chandler Medical Center audiologist, "turned on" LeeAnn’s cochlear implant
and she heard her parents’ voices for the first time.
On Oct. 26, Raleigh Jones, M.D., chief of otolaryngology at UK Chandler Medical Center,
implanted LeeAnn with a Nucleus 24 cochlear implant. Cochlear implants bypass damaged hair
cells in the inner ear, providing useful hearing and improved communication to those who
no longer receive adequate benefit from hearing aids. An external speech processor will
work in conjunction with the surgically implanted device to help LeeAnn understand speech.
The Nucleus 24 Cochlear Implant System includes the ESPrit, the world’s first
behind-the-ear speech processor that provides a cosmetically appealing alternative to the
traditional body-worn speech processor. Weighing less than half an ounce, this processor
can be hidden easily in LeeAnn’s hair.
LeeAnn is a senior at Caywood High School in Harlan, Ky., and has attended public
schools all her life. Determined to live in a mainstream world, she learned to lip-read
and has been assisted by an interpreter in the classroom. Despite assistance from others
and her own determination, LeeAnn’s educational and social life has been challenging.
LeeAnn has communicated by lip-reading. Outside of school, LeeAnn works at the local
Social Security office where she has been offered a full-time position when she graduates.
She also plans to take college courses toward an associate degree.
In 1990, Pansy Powers of Frankfort received the first adult cochlear implant at UK. In
1991, Jenna Richards, a 6-year-old from Lexington, was the recipient of the first
pediatric cochlear implant at UK. Approximately 60 cochlear implants have been implanted
at UK since 1990.
By Mary Margaret Colliver
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