Anthony's Story

Anthony contracted meningitis as a baby, right around his first birthday at the beginning of summer 2020, and lost his hearing as a result. Anthony came to the Duke audiology team shortly after; they recommended fitting him with a cochlear implant as soon as possible, as language development in the first few years of life is critical. The entire process -- from recommendation to surgery to fitting to activation -- only took a few months. By the end of that summer, Anthony had his implants and he was back on track with speech development. With his cochlear implants he hears as an adult with mild hearing loss, and he is learning both speech and sign language. Anthony still attends regular speech therapy in his hometown and sees his team at the Duke audiology clinic several times a year. 

Anthony is four years old and lives in Red Springs, NC. His favorite color is red and he loves the outdoors, books, and his big brother, Raymond.