Tahlia was diagnosed with severe to profound hearing loss in both ears when she was just eighteen months old. She received her first cochlear implant at two and a half years of age and received a second cochlear implant at age ten. During this time, Tahlia attended regular audiology, listening, and spoken language therapy sessions at The Hearing House.
Her hearing journey is what Tahlia would describe as a slow start. “In primary, I was
the deaf kid, and that was how I was defined. I didn’t let it define me and I remained myself - even in the dark times. When I started intermediate, I was more myself... I started to
make friends that didn’t define me according to my deafness. I’m now in high school and I still have great friends who let me just be myself, with or without my deafness. I have many happy memories of my time at The Hearing House and still enjoy coming to visit”.
When asked for her advice for other deaf teenagers, Tahlia says, “don’t be afraid to be yourself, because that is the best thing you could do. You don’t want to change yourself because that is not who you are”.
“All through my school years, I have participated fully in academics and sports achieving at a high level in both” Tahlia says. Tahlia’s successes include netball and softball, as well as ballroom dancing, and theatre sports. She has also placed in several speech competitions.
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