WBAMC surgery is first of its kind in El Paso

Photo By Marcy Sanchez | William Beaumont Army Medical Center and El Paso, Texas first-ever infant bilateral cochlear implant recipient, Zoella Hamilton (right), poses for a photograph with mother, Ashley Hamilton, during an event at WBAMC, Oct. 15. Fourteen-month old Zoella was born completely deaf and is awaiting the activation of her cochlear implants to hear sounds and voices for the first time in her life.  

FORT BLISS, TX, UNITED STATES

10.21.2016

Story by Marcy Sanchez  

William Beaumont Army Medical Center

An Army Family’s 14-month-old infant received William Beaumont Army Medical Center’s first-ever pediatric bilateral cochlear implants at WBAMC, Sept. 28. According to Andrea Sweetnam, local pediatric and cochlear implant audiologist, the surgery was also the first to be conducted in the city of El Paso.

Thanks to the procedure, Zoella Hamilton, daughter of Ashley Hamilton, an Army spouse, will be able to hear sounds for the first time in her life following activation of her bilateral cochlear implants. When Zoella was first born, she failed her newborn screening for hearing and then again in February. She was then referred to an audiologist.

“For a while I was in denial. I thought she could hear but she wasn’t making sounds,” said the 22-year-old mother of three. “She would look at us but there were no sounds, she was silent unless she was crying.”

Cochlear implants, electronic hearing devices which electrically stimulate nerves inside the inner ear, are reserved for patients with severe to profound nerve deafness.

According to Hamilton, a native of Greenwood, Indiana, as the twins developed she noticed Zoella’s development delays. While twin brother Harrison is able to say “mama” and “dada” Zoella refrains from speech.

In social settings such as playgrounds, Zoella doesn’t interact with other children, said Hamilton. While her two brothers play with other children, Zoella tends to find herself in isolation.

The importance of Zoella’s ability to communicate was a concern for Maj. Brian Chen, neurotologist, WBAMC. According to Chen, who inserted Zoella’s implants, the earlier a child receives the implants, the healthier the child’s social development is.

“There are a lot of quality of life surveys for children that look at how well they interact with others; it shows they improve in all aspects, just based on getting the implants earlier in life,” said Chen, a native of Irvine, California. “We’re trying to push it to implant before one year of age. Their ability to speak, their accuracy, their social interactions is better if implanted prior to one year of age.”

In addition to the capability of operating on pediatrics, unilateral and bilateral cochlear implants are now an option at WBAMC for retirees and referred veterans who are eligible candidates for the procedure.

“As you age and have complete hearing loss, you become a good candidate for cochlear implants,” said Chen. “We’re starting a cochlear implant pipeline so that eligible candidates come from the VA to us which allows us to capture a lot more of these patients.”

According to Chen, the availability of the procedure at WBAMC will be a factor in preventing those with hearing loss from becoming isolated or depressed while decreasing referrals out of the community for this type of operation.

What makes the operation unique for infants is based on the structure and sensitivity of the ear canal with careful procedures required for success.

Zoella’s cochlear implants will be activated in the coming week pending a follow-up appointment with an audiologist, of which will determine if she will be capable of hearing her parent's voices for the first time.

To Hamilton, the pending success of the bilateral cochlear implants goes beyond the sounds and words Zoella will be capable of processing.

“The biggest thing for me is for her to hear me tell her ‘I love you.’ That would mean a lot,” said Hamilton.

• Date Taken: 10.21.2016
• Date Posted: 10.21.2016 15:31
• Story ID: 212608
• Location: FORT BLISS, TX, US
• Hometown: GREENWOOD, IN, US
• Hometown: IRVINE, CA, US