Three years ago Wesley Paul suddenly went deaf. He had no residual hearing in his left ear, minimal hearing in his right ear, and as a result was no longer able to communicate, which meant he could no longer continue to work in the financial sector or participate in one of his favorite hobbies -- singing.

A life-changing meeting with audiologist Dr. Kim Scriven means that Paul, 33, is now able to hear sounds, seldom requires repetition and doesn't rely on lip-reading as often after undergoing cochlear implant surgery at Doctors Hospital. A cochlear implant is the only medical device capable of replacing one of the senses. It works by bypassing non-functioning parts of the inner ear and providing electrical stimulation directly to nerve fibers in the cochlea.

A cochlear implant system consists of two parts -- an externally worn audio processor, which sits comfortably behind or off the ear, and an internal cochlear implant, which is surgically placed just under the skin. Paul was deemed an ideal candidate for the surgery, and on July 4, 2015 underwent the first cochlear implant surgery to be performed in The Bahamas at Doctors Hospital. His surgery was deemed a success.

"Wesley was selected because he met all medical and audiological criteria, had very good post-linguistic skills, was highly motivated with the drive and determination to regain some normalcy and improved quality of life, and the fact that he had only lost his hearing a few years ago," said Scriven.

The first cochlear implant surgery was done as a pro bono case at Doctors Hospital by hearLIFE Clinic Nassau's consulting ear, nose and throat (ENT) Surgeon Dr. Brian J. McKinnon. He was assisted by Dr. Robert Ramsingh, a local ENT surgeon. Dr. Sy Pierre and Scriven donated time and expertise to the procedure.

Paul's implant was activated a month after the surgery and since then he has been undergoing rigorous therapy with Dr. Scriven and Speech Language Pathologist Sharon Clarke to learn how to communicate and adapt to life using a cochlear implant.

"It has only been one month since the activation, but Wesley has done remarkably well. Not only is he able to hear sounds around him, but on the objective tests he also did very well, scoring almost 80 percent on the speech test in quiet without any visual cues," said Dr. Scriven. "His conversational skills are impressive as he now seldom requires repetition by the listener and doesn't rely on lip-reading as often. Results of standardized testing also validate the progress he is making as he is now able to correctly respond to questions with little cueing and repetition. He is also beginning to watch television and listen to music again, which he loves."

The doctor said most adult post lingual cochlear implant recipients like Paul will undergo up to a year of therapy in order to regain the highest possible level of hearing function.

While it remains unclear what led to his hearing loss, Paul recalls having an earache in August 2012. He took over-the-counter medication and never got medical attention. He instead compensated for the deficiency by relying on his left ear for listening and receiving information.

Early in 2013, he subsequently lost his hearing in his left ear. Paul was sitting in a movie theater when he heard a sound he describes as firecrackers after which he was suddenly thrust into a world of silence. He did not know how to sign, lip-read or communicate by any means. His life changed drastically. He lost his job and could no longer communicate verbally, or socialize with family and friends. He found himself retreating more into a "world of silence" to a point where he felt a sense of hopelessness and that at times there was no reason to live.

Paul was fitted with a hearing aid, but struggled to communicate. Losing hope at ever regaining the life he once enjoyed, Paul met Scriven who had recently partnered with the Med-EL company out of Austria -- one of the world's leading manufacturers of implantable hearing devices -- to open one of their hearLIFE Clinics at Bahamas Medical Center offering several types of hearing implant surgeries including cochlear implantation at Doctors Hospital.

McKinnon, who practices and teaches in Tennessee, grew up in a hearing-impaired family and knows firsthand the challenges profound hearing loss can pose to the individual as well as his or her family. Cochlear implant surgery, he said, restores quality of life and function that benefits the patient, the family and the society.

"This technology takes one of the most daunting problems -- an inner ear that no longer works, and helps us give a very effective solution for that, whether you're a child or an adult," said McKinnon.

"Pediatric implants have done wonders for deaf children because they now can achieve similar education and employment opportunities as a normal hearing peer when they are implanted in the first nine to 12 months of life. You can take somebody who can't be employed because of their hearing loss and now they can be employed because the cochlear implant allows them to function within the workplace. You can take the older patient who is unable to communicate with his providers, with his physician, with his family, who is facing the possibility of no longer being able to live independently and you can allow them to live independently because they can hear the environment around them," he said.

For Scriven, who sees first-hand the struggles so many patients experience due to profound hearing loss, the ability to provide cochlear implant surgery at Doctors Hospital is significant.

"For the country, it further validates our position in the rest of the world as that little dot of a country on the map that is able to provide medical treatment and services at a very high and professional level, but in the kind of environment that only adds to the individual's healing process. For this reason too, it will also add to our medical tourism value... persons would be more inclined to come to The Bahamas for standardized medical care in a tried and proven destination, known for treating the customer right," she said.

"Thanks to Barry Rassin, Charles Sealy, Cheryl Seymour and the rest of the team at Doctors Hospital, Dr. Robert Ramsing and Dr. Sy Pierre, the entire team from Med-El in Austria, the staff of hearLIFE Clinic Nassau and all those who partnered with us to make this first time venture the success it was. This collaborative effort and its subsequent results speak volumes about the positive things that can be achieved when everyone works together with the same vision and purpose," she said.

To learn more about cochlear implants at the hearLIFE Clinic at Bahamas Medical Center, contact 242-698-1145 or visit www.hearlifeclinic.com/bs or www.bahamasmedicalcenter.com.

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