Meningitis robbed Maggie Keefe of her hearing before she left her Scottish homeland. Photo / Daily Post
Since moving to Rotorua three years ago, Maggie Keefe has seen the sights - now she wants to hear the sounds.
The 46-year-old immigrant from Scotland who became profoundly deaf after being bitten by a meningitis-carrying mosquito 16 years ago, would give anything to hear a tui singing
or the water lapping on the shores of Lake Rotorua.
The meningitis changed her life by giving her a disability. She now hopes a medical procedure could change her life again - this time by helping her to hear the sounds of her adopted home for the first time.
"My husband tries to tell me about the beautiful bird sounds around Rotorua, like the tui ... It would be great to enjoy those little things."
After a recent chance encounter, the Waiariki Institute of Technology staff member, who wears hearing aids and uses a sound amplifier on her phone, may get her wish.
A magazine article given to her by a colleague featured a profoundly deaf woman who regained her hearing after having an electronic device implanted under the skin behind her ear.
Mrs Keefe's hearing was perfect until she was bitten on her top lip by a mosquito in 1990 while holidaying in the United States.
On the plane back to Scotland, she knew something was wrong when she "couldn't stand the light" and the sound of a rustling newspaper became unbearable. Two days later, she was diagnosed with meningitis and put on antibiotics.
Despite recovering, Mrs Keefe went deaf over the next two years because of severe nerve damage in her ears. By lip reading and with help from her two external hearing aids, Mrs Keefe can communicate but still has trouble differentiating between voices and background sounds.
She hopes a cochlear implant, which will transmit sounds straight to her brain, bypassing the damaged tissue, may be suitable for her.
"I don't care how much it costs ... it will be worth every cent if I can hear the birds sing."
- DAILY POST (ROTORUA)
