“The Sound Barrier“, an hour-long public education documentary about cochlear implants in Ireland, screened on RTE, the state television channel on Tuesday, July 14th at 21:35. View the documentary here in its entirety, with the trailer at the end of this post.
Celebrating Bionic Hearing For Children
In July 2014, bilateral cochlear implants for children in Ireland became reality after a parent campaign in 2013, a true game-changer when paired with the availability of newborn hearing tests.
Ireland’s Pediatric Bilateral Cochlear Implants
Accordingly, children under 18 in Ireland who had one cochlear implant (typical since 1996) can receive a second implant based on suitability, while younger children suited to bilateral simultaneous cochlear implants, can receive both devices during one surgery.
This RTE documentary screening coincides with the one-year mark of twenty-five first bilateral simultaneous and forty first bilateral sequential (second-ear) cochlear surgeries at Dublin’s Temple Street Hospital, with follow-up at Beaumont Hospital.
Acknowledging The Happy New Ear Campaign
Here’s a look at a Sound Advice post, “A Sound Case For Bilateral Cochlear Implants“, written in October 2013 as the then Minister for Health, Dr James Reilly, deliberated his health budget for 2014. From here, a timeline for bilateral cochlear implants in Ireland was communicated, and families were notified of their assessment dates for ‘going bilateral’.
Watch the RTE Trailer here:
Another RTE documentary, “Deafening“, with young people, screened nationally in 2017 – with people routinely expressing interest in seeing a follow-up documentary to both these programmes.
