Laura, from Mt Barker, in South Australia, has just finished her psychology degree. Now she’s excited and busy planning the next chapter of her life.
Identifying as deaf, the 23-year-old is grateful for cochlear implants that connect via Bluetooth to her phone to help her hear.
Now she’s about to do a masters of audiology.
‘I’m going down the cochlear implant pathway,’ she laughed. ‘It will take 2 years to do my masters, then I’ll be a qualified audiologist!’
At 4 Laura underwent her first operation to have cochlear implants fitted. It was then doctors diagnosed her ‘officially’ with Pendred syndrome.
‘We think it went undetected. Sometimes I could hear and other times I couldn’t,’ she said.
An Australian citizen, Laura was eligible for government funding through a Hearing Australia program, and she is grateful it has helped to support her family to cover costs.
Now an adult, Laura is even more grateful to have NDIS funding, which will continue to support her for the rest of her life.
‘Our healthcare system is great. I would never move countries. We are so lucky,’ she said.
‘In other countries governments don’t cover the costs of things like cochlear implants.
You have to pay for them yourself. They’re costly, so it means most people can’t afford them.’
With her NDIS plan in place, Laura knows support is there if she needs it.
‘Cochlear implants need replacing every 5 years, so it’s nice to know the funding is there to help me to continue to pay for them and the operations to fit them,’ she said.
‘It’s also a relief to know I’ll have funding for any other necessary hearing related supports I need to help me through life.’
