Cambridgeshire family support others experiencing deafness

A mum from Ely wants more people to be aware that deaf children can and should be supported to learn to listen and speak. 

Tanya Saunders' seven-year-old daughter, Onna, is profoundly deaf. Her mum says this should not prevent her from having the same opportunities as friends with full hearing. 

Onna was recently given cochlear implants which have transformed her life, allowing her to have some sense of sound.

What are cochlear implants? 

Cochlear implants like those helping Onna are small, complex electronic devices. They are surgically implanted and replace the normal hearing process with electrical signals that stimulate the nerve that delivers auditory information to the brain. 

They allow people that would otherwise be profoundly deaf to have some sense of sound.

The family have been working to help others. Credit: ITV Anglia

The Saunders have been working with the charity Auditory Verbal UK. They want other parents to know how important getting help early can be.

Tanya has written two books which aim to help other families and filmed the girls reading them.

  • Watch: The girls have been reading books to help others

The family believes that with the pandemic causing delays in many medical services it is all the more reason to start getting help for children with hearing problems quickly.