By Sahar Reiazi
Samin was born in a small village in the province of Mashhad in northeast Iran. She is the only person in her family who has a hearing loss. Doctors suggested cochlear implants so even though her father did not have the money they opted to get the surgery. Her father borrowed the money he needed and Samin was unilaterally implanted in Iran when she was 7 years old. Teachers in her school were impressed as Samin proved herself a fast learner and a bright child.
Samin turned 9 and her speech was progressing well. One day when she was riding the bus with her parents Samin dozed off. When they got off the bus, her parents realized the cochlear implant processor wasn’t on her ear. They were devastated. They searched and searched. They contacted the bus company, and they filed a statement with the police saying her cochlear implant device had been lost. But the processor was gone. For the first time in two years, Samin was experiencing silence.
Samin’s family was distraught. Samin cried every day for a month, until she just went silent and communicated with her family through lipreading (speechreading). Her elder brother by two years would cry for her and ask their mother why his sister wouldn’t talk anymore. Samin’s mom explains, “I was so distressed that I would lay down all day depressed and hopeless. I couldn’t muster up the energy to get up and cook for my own children.” She refers to that time as “the dark days.” They were still paying installments for her last device and could not afford to buy a new one. They appealed to different organizations but they all said that due to the long waitlist it could take years until Samin was eligible for a new device. A device the family could not afford to begin with.
Networking among parents of children with cochlear implants around the world leads to a solution for a young girl.
I heard about Samin’s story through a mutual friend. I told her I would help raise funds for Samin no matter what. Something inside me woke up, like a little flame that would not be put out until I saw Samin with a new device. I started making calls and sending out emails. My mind was working nonstop to find someone I could reach out to. Every day counted, because I would wake up thinking Samin cannot hear and that’s not fair.
In less than 48 hours I got so many emails and messages from people across the globe reassuring me that they would do anything within their power to find a device for Samin.
One person I contacted was my friend Hiroko Endo in Japan. She was sympathetic because she had two daughters who wear cochlear implants and she could understand Samin’s situation well. After just 48 hours, I received a call from Hiroko. When I picked up and said hello, she said excitedly, “Hi Sahar, a device has been found for Samin from Australia. It will be donated to her, please contact…” I was crying tears of joy, she was crying tears of joy, it was one of the best moments of my life.
Australia has excellent medical care for their citizens. The country supplies the newest hearing devices and latest technologies for free as part of a government organization called Medicare. That is why people often donate their older devices. The device donated to Samin was an older device—but exactly the same as what she had before.
I offered to pay for postage fees to the kind donor, but she insisted that she would pay for it herself. The device was sent out to Soheila Naderi, the friend who had introduced Samin to me. She lived close to Samin’s village and had better access to her than me. Soheila also has a son with cochlear implants. She is a dear soul who helps and informs families of children with hearing loss on her social media page.
The device arrived! Samin’s mom was informed, and Soheila took Samin and her mother to their local audiologist. The audiologist asked, “Samin, can you hear me?” and she replied “Yes.” Soheila recorded it all using her phone and sent the videos to me. We were all overcome by emotion.
I still keep in touch with Samin’s mom to ask how Samin is doing. Samin is attending rehabilitation classes and mainstream school and her future looks bright.
I aspire to create an organization in Iran which focuses on donating used hearing devices—such as hearing aids and cochlear implant speech processors, and spare parts such as batteries—to families who need them. Who knows, maybe we’ll call it “The Samin Foundation.” Samin is an Arabic word that means “precious,” and not only is everyone in this story precious to me, but so is being able to fully hear.
Sahar Reiazi wrote the cover story of the Spring 2021 issue of Hearing Health magazine about her family’s own journey with cochlear implants.
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