Harrison and Connor’s story: Growing up with cochlear implants

Six-year-old Harrison loves a high-energy song with a big beat. He likes to dance around the kitchen, drum on the countertops and convince the rest of his family to join in.

“He’s got a good sense of rhythm and his 4-year-old little brother, Connor, is starting to pick up on it too,” says their dad, Russell.

After they eat dinner together and the dance party ends, the boys get ready for bed. They brush their teeth, take the sound processor off their cochlear implants and say “goodnight” to their parents in sign language.

“When we first learned Harrison had hearing loss, we felt this sadness because we didn’t know what life would look like,” says Courtney, the boys’ mom. “We felt more prepared with Connor’s diagnosis. There have been hard days, but mostly they’re just like any other kids, with a little extra gear that helps them hear.”

An unexpected diagnosis

When Harrison failed his newborn hearing screening, the care team said they may have tested him too early or that there could be fluid in his ear. But further testing revealed moderate hearing loss.

“We were completely caught off guard,” Russell says. “There was no family history, Harrison and Connor’s older sister has typical hearing. We found ourselves trying to learn everything we could.”

As they met with specialists, they learned that language development happens rapidly during a child’s first few years of life. For kids with hearing differences, early intervention is critical because untreated hearing loss can contribute to language delay and make communication more difficult.

At 7 months old, Harrison started wearing hearing aids. His parents learned he had the most common type of genetic hearing loss and that if they had more kids, there was a 25% chance that they would also have hearing loss. Soon after, they were pregnant with Connor.

“We talked about it and decided that we’d face potential challenges with the same positive mindset we had with Harrison,” Courtney says. “We knew our family was strong, we knew we’d be OK.”

Finding the right team

Shortly after Connor was born, they learned he had “profound” hearing loss. This means he had almost no hearing. Early on, his care team started talking about cochlear implants – small, electronic devices that are inserted surgically.

“Cochlear implants sound different from natural hearing at first. Some people describe the sound as electronic or robotic because the device sends sound signals directly to the hearing nerve,” saysWalter Kutz, M.D., Neurotologist at Children's Health℠ and Professor at UT Southwestern. “Over time, the brain adapts remarkably well, and many children learn to understand speech and develop spoken language very successfully.”

The boy's audiologists recommended they make an appointment to talk about cochlear implants at the Family-Focused Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children at Children's Health.

“Before we move forward with cochlear implant surgery, we talk about the family’s goals and their child’s communication and language development,” Dr. Kutz says.

Doctors, nurses, social workers and other experts all work together to help decide the best plan for each child and family

“One of the things that stood out immediately was how much they listened,” Russell says. “It wasn’t just about a medical procedure. It was about helping our child succeed.”

Connor had such significant hearing loss that hearing aids weren’t helping, so cochlear implants felt like the right choice for his family.

The care team walked Courtney and Russell through the procedure, answered their questions and reassured them that they’d be there every step of the way. One of the nurses brought Connor a stuffed sloth that he still has.

"We knew it was the right decision for our family, but we were anxious,” Russell says. “You just want to protect your kids and want them to know everything is going to be OK.”

Another big decision

As Connor was progressing, Harrison's speech development began to slow. He struggled with pronunciation and sometimes seemed not to hear his parents.

Testing confirmed that his hearing was continuing to decline.

They tried adjusting his hearing aids. But when they reached the strongest settings, the audiologist explained that sound can only be amplified so much, and that cochlear implants may be a better option. Soon, they were back at the Family-Focused Center and meeting with Dr. Kutz.

The hardest part, they knew, would be the two weeks after surgery because the audiologist can't turn on the cochlear implants until the swelling goes down.

At age 3, Harrison was old enough to know the difference between hearing and not hearing — and to be scared by not hearing. But he was not really old enough to understand what was happening.

“They told us if he got really upset to hug him close so he could actually feel the vibrations from sound, which could help comfort him,” Courtney says.

After two weeks of frequent hugs from his parents and his new green dinosaur stuffy, his care team was turning up the sounds, little by little. His language development improved and cochlear implants gave him better sound discrimination and articulation and helped him to hear noises that were previously more quiet.

“Watching him start to learn new words and communicate more confidently was incredible,” Russell says. “That was the moment we knew we’d made the right decision.”

Super ears

Harrison and Connor always look out for each other. They love playing outside, swimming and T-ball.

Harrison has taken an interest in learning sign language and wants to be able to communicate with other kids with hearing differences who don’t use spoken language. And his kindergarten classmates with typical hearing are jealous of his “super ears” – because Harrison doesn’t need headphones to use his tablet. His cochlear implants connect straight to it via Bluetooth.

Whenever other kids ask about what he is wearing on his ears, Harrison simply tells them: “These are my cochlear implants that help me hear.” Connor is learning to do the same.

“He says it with pride,” Courtney says. “I’m so happy to see him proud of who he is and what makes him unique. Both kids have built strength, resilience and empathy and learned that they can overcome challenges at a very young age. And I wouldn’t trade that for anything.”

Learn more

Children’s Health offers leading edge care for kids who need cochlear implants, from preparation to surgery to long-term support. Learn more about the cochlear implant program.