Miami teen is a champion for kids with hearing loss
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Photo: Courtesy of the Cochlear Foundation
Miami 10th grader Theo Valles was recently chosen to become a U.S. National Ambassador for the Cochlear Foundation.
What's happening: The foundation invited Valles to a summit in London this month, where the 16-year-old strategized with Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai on how to help kids with hearing loss.
- That followed a speech Valles gave last year in the Florida Senate that helped pass a law ensuring cytomegalovirus (CMV) is tested for at birth.
Background: CMV is a common virus that can cause hearing loss in babies. It affects 1 in every 200 infants.
- Valles was diagnosed with moderate hearing loss at age 2.
- Hearing aids made sounds louder, but not clearer, he tells Axios. "At age nine, I became profoundly deaf and received my first cochlear implant."
- Cochlear implants work by bypassing damaged parts of the ear and instead sending sound signals to the auditory nerve.
Of note: Yousafzai lost her hearing after she was shot in the head for speaking up for girls’ education in Pakistan, and also had an implant.
- Her nonprofit, Malala Fund, partners with the Cochlear Foundation.
What's next: The activists are challenging governments worldwide to provide early access to hearing health care.
- Valles intends to continue advocating for hearing loss services and awareness in the Florida State Capitol.
What they're saying: The teen now plays sports, serves on his debate team and volunteers with children and families.
- Valles encourages young people with hearing loss to embrace their differences and not treat it as an obstacle, and for parents to do the same with their children.
- "Then hearing loss will soon end up being the least of their worries."