Joci was born deaf but not diagnosed until she was two.
Mum Teresa tells Joci’s story...
Joci had worn hearing aids since she was diagnosed, but they were not very helpful and when she started at her local mainstream secondary school, she found year 7 really hard.
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Academically she was fine but she missed out on things like girly chats in the corridors and boys would tease her about the words she couldn’t say so well and her confidence suffered as a result.
Last summer Joci’s whole world was turned around when she had her cochlear implant fitted in Bradford. Immediately after the operation, she felt sick and dizzy for a bit and she cried on the first day of programming because she could only hear a series of bleeps.
However, on the second day these bleeps changed to high frequency noises and after about a week, this went away and Joci began to hear letters, then — after 12 years of being deaf — she began to hear whole words. Six months later a teacher of the deaf came to her school to see how she was getting on. In the three tests carried out, Joci scored 100% on two and 96% on the third!
Joci is now 13 years old and the first half of year 8 has been brilliant for her. She’s much more confident, goes to an after school drama club, holds her head up once again and smiles much more. Having tried and given up on playing the keyboard in the past, Joci now cannot be separated from it and loves singing, composing songs and listening to her iPod.
She has a ten-year-old sister Olivia who is also hard of hearing and wears deaf aids. Olivia used to be able to hear a lot more than Joci, but now the tables have turned and Olivia wants to get her own implant, although unfortunately she will only be eligible for one if her hearing deteriorates further.
