Throughout 8-year-old, Moksh’s life, his mother, Rina and her family, noticed something was different. “He wasn’t able to give a response when we called to him or clapped,” Rina recalls. Concerned, they sought answers from numerous doctors, and one thing became clear—Moksh needed cochlear implants. After a year of searching for answers to help with his hearing loss, Moksh underwent the life-changing surgery that would set him on a new path.
Nemours Children’s Hospital, Florida, became a critical part of that journey. After researching their options online and receiving recommendations from other doctors, Rina and her family turned to Nemours for their son’s care. What they found exceeded their expectations. “They are so intelligent,” says Rina about the audiology team. “They did a really good job with surgery and had accurate results. Everyone, from the nurses to the surgeons, were helpful and kind.”
Moksh was born with profound sensorineural hearing loss in both ears. He was identified at 6 months of age and fit with hearing aids at 7 months of age. His hearing aids provided him with little access to sound, so at 15 months of age he received his 1st cochlear implant and at 2 years old he received his 2nd cochlear implant by pediatric otolaryngologist, Dr. Cedric Pritchett.
At 16 months old, Moksh’s cochlear implant was activated for the first time by pediatric audiologist, Dr. Chelsea Clancy. Dr. Clancy shared that, “Watching Moksh hear for the first time was a beautiful experience.” Moksh’s world was opened to sound and all the new things he could experience with the amazing technology of cochlear implants. Aditionally, Moksh was enrolled in auditory verbal therapy with speech language pathologist, Denyse Sierra-Peguero once he was diagnosed with hearing loss. He continued this therapy until he was discharged at 6 years old.
This life-changing technology, audiology programming of the cochlear implant, ENT care, and auditory verbal therapy have helped Moksh achieve normal speech and language skills and be in a mainstream task. That is a big achievement for a child born with profound hearing loss. With the help of early intervention, an exceptional team and a motivated family, Moksh is a young boy who can communicate with everyone around him.
His results were nothing short of remarkable. Today, Moksh is a thriving 8-year-old who can listen, speak, and express his feelings clearly. “We are really happy that he can now express his feelings to us. He’s happy too,” Rina shares, reflecting on how far her son has come. “It seems like he got a new life.” Dr. Clancy says that “Moksh has always been a wonderful patient to work with and he can speak fluently in 2 languages.”
Moksh continues to grow stronger every day, taking responsibility for caring for his equipment and adjusting to his new world of sound. Rina offers words of encouragement to parents facing a similar situation: “Don’t lose hope. This surgery will give a new life to kids. The more time you spend teaching them after the surgery, the better they’ll be at hearing and speaking.”
For Moksh and his family, the future is bright, and their journey with Nemours Children’s has opened a new chapter in hearing and communication.
