Auditory Verbal therapy: Call to expand child hearing loss treatment

Louis Moss lost his hearing at a young age

The parents of a boy who benefited from an early intervention treatment for his hearing loss have called on the government to make it widely available.

Louis Moss from Cambridgeshire lost his hearing at a young age, but a cochlear implant and Auditory Verbal (AV) therapy aided his speech development.

AV helps deaf children to understand sounds they hear through hearing aids.

"He's a normal 11-year-old, doing everything all 11-year-olds are doing," said Louis' father Gary.

Louis said: "When I had hearing aids, my hearing wasn't that great and they picked up lots of background noise such as the wind blowing.

"My cochlear implants help to block those out and hear much better."

Mr Moss added: "We were fortunate to have AV and to be able to actually afford the treatment. It should be available to all parents so they have the choice to give their deaf child a head start in life."

Louis' mother, Yvonne Moss said: "He [Louis] is doing well at school, playing with his friends, playing sports and gets on just like everybody else."

Louis' parents Yvonne and Gary say access to auditory visual treatment has transformed their son's quality of life

AV treatment can cost about £20,000, although bursaries are available.

The family were speaking in London as they attended an event organised by the charity Auditory Verbal UK to raise awareness of what deaf children can achieve in life given access to early support.

Anita Grover, from the charity, said: "Far too many deaf children are under-achieving at school, have lower employment prospects, higher risk of social exclusion and bullying.

"That really shouldn't be the case. When deaf children have access to early and effective support, those opportunities can be transformed."