Yeroon Melaku's daughter, Beki, gained hearing at age 9 thanks to the Mayo care team that gave her a chance with a cochlear implant. Today, the nursing station technician expresses her gratitude for the life-changing operation.

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Yeroon Melaku's daughter, Beki, was born in 2014 with complete hearing loss in both ears.  

Medical imaging revealed that Beki had rare inner ear malformations known as common cavities, as well as cochlear nerve hypoplasia, which meant her cochlear nerves were small and underdeveloped, says Yeroon, who works as a nursing station technician in the ICU at Mayo Clinic Health System in Austin, Minnesota.

Doctors in California, where the family lived at that time, informed the family that Beki was not eligible for a cochlear implant because of these factors. She tried hearing aids as a young child, but they were not effective.

In 2019, the family moved to Minnesota. Yeroon made an appointment with Matthew Carlson, M.D., division chair of Neurotology and professor of Otolaryngology and Neurosurgery, for another opinion about cochlear implants.

That decision put Beki on a path the family had only dreamed of.

An option when hearing aids won't help

A cochlear implant is an electronic device that can improve hearing in people with severe hearing loss when hearing aids no longer help.

The surgery to implant the device is performed under general anesthesia. Once the patient is sedated, the surgeon makes a small incision behind the ear. Then the surgeon creates a small hole in the part of the skull bone called the mastoid, where the internal device rests.

Next, the surgeon makes a small opening in the cochlea to thread in the internal device's electrode. They then close the skin with stitches so the internal device is under the skin.

Within months of the surgery, most people can understand speech and hear sounds much better than before.

Considering Beki's rare case

"In most children born with deafness, a cochlear implant can reliably improve hearing. However, with a common cavity malformation and cochlear nerve hypoplasia, the outcome from cochlear implantation is less certain," Dr. Carlson says.

After considering all of Beki's options, the team decided to take a chance and proceed with a cochlear implant, despite some questions about the potential for success. 

"As a very energetic, positive and optimistic person, Beki wanted to proceed with cochlear implant surgery," Yeroon says.

Beki underwent surgery on Dec. 18, 2023.

Beki's surgery and outcome

"During the procedure, we used a specialized device type based on her anatomy and confirmed good device placement during the procedure with an intraoperative CT scan," Dr. Carlson says.

After receiving specialized programming by audiologists Melissa DeJong and Natasha Bertsch, Beki's cochlear implant was activated on Jan. 9, 2024.

Defying the odds, Beki could hear for the first time in her life at the age of 9.

According to Yeroon, Beki is doing great and pleased with the results of her surgery. She has started to react to directional sounds and even enjoys listening to music.

Yeroon expresses her gratitude to Dr. Carlson and his team for bringing this excitement and joy to her daughter's life.

"We appreciate that Beki had the opportunity to receive such excellent care and treatment," she says.

Dr. Carlson and his team are pleased to see Beki thriving.   

"We are very happy to see that Beki has already received great benefit from her device and she is using it regularly," Dr. Carlson says. "We could not be more excited to see her do well from the procedure."

Watch a video of Beki trying out her new device: