"Believe in your children, that's the most important thing!"

My name is Sabine, I live with my family in Tyrol and I am the mother of a daughter with bilateral implants. We were diagnosed with a hearing impairment at the age of three months at the HSS outpatient clinic at Innsbruck University Hospital. At first we tried conventional hearing aids without success. At the age of two, there was still virtually no spoken language. We therefore sought advice from a therapist and also met with a mother and her implanted daughter in our village. They encouraged us in our decision to implant. Shortly after the initial fitting, speech developed very quickly.

After all these years of therapy, an almost normal everyday life is possible with a child with a CI. She likes sports, spends a lot of time in nature and is also very musical. It is still fascinating for me to watch my daughter sing and dance. At first, I couldn't imagine that she would develop a sense of rhythm in addition to spoken language and be able to reproduce the entire spectrum of sounds and melodies. But now it's all possible.

I advise all parents to take advantage of the support available. I also think it's important to empower children and stand up for them, but at the same time pay attention to their independence and personal responsibility.