Sisters receive same diagnosis two years apart: 'I'll never forget that day'
By Jo Abi|
Elle Girardi remembers the exact moment her first daughter, Charli, did not pass the newborn hearing screening in hospital.
"She was two days old," Elle told nine.com.au. It was a combination of "shock, the confusion, and the fear of the unknown.
"We did the newborn hearing check and she didn't pass. Because she wasn't 40 weeks yet, they tested her again.
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"By two weeks old, we had a referral for a full hearing test at the Sydney Children's Hospital."
Charli was diagnosed with sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL), a usually permanent type of hearing loss caused by damage to the inner ear or the auditory nerve connecting to the brain
"I'll never forget that day," she said, describing herself as "like a deer in the headlights".
"My partner and I had no idea what we were doing."
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Elle remembers vividly the day six-week-old Charli received her first hearing aids.
"A mum with a teenage son saw us in the Hearing Australia centre waiting room. She peeked into the pram, saw the hearing aids, and said, 'This brings back memories. It's going to be OK.'
"It was beautiful. I just burst into tears."
Two years later, their second daughter, Frankie, was born จC and once again, the newborn hearing screening suggested something wasn't right.
Frankie's case proved more complex. She was eventually diagnosed with auditory neuropathy, a condition where the ear can detect sound but has a problem with sending sound from the ear to the brain. It required repeated testing and careful monitoring.
"She reacted to sound differently than Charli ever did," Elle says.
"We knew she could hear but we couldn't tell how consistently. We thought she knew her name, but she didn't, not until she got her cochlear implants."
At daycare, Frankie often pulled out her hearing aids in frustration. But after receiving her first cochlear implant, the change was immediate. "She was suddenly calm. She started babbling more. She began loving sound."
Frankie now happily wears two cochlear implants, and Elle laughs remembering her delight at everyday noises.
"She loves hearing the dog bark. The ducks. The little things."
When Charli had a hearing test in 2025, it showed that hearing in her right ear had deteriorated. She received a cochlear implant to help her, and the sisters' bond was front and centre.
"We told her it would help with swimming lessons and with hearing things she'd been missing. When she woke up after surgery, she said, 'I match Frankie now.'
"Frankie pointed to Charli's bandage and then to her own implants. It was really lovely."
The family has been supported by Hearing Australia worker Lauren, who contacted the family shortly after Charli's diagnosis.?
"She called just hours after the diagnosis. A few days later she spent time on the phone with me, answering every question, telling me positive stories, reassuring me that Charli would be OK. It meant everything.
"But Lauren organised the NDIS paperwork, connected us with The Shepherd Centre that help kids develop spoken language, listening and social skills, and handled everything from the hospital reports.
"All I had to do was get a GP form signed."
There was emotional support, too, not just from clinicians, but from other parents who had walked the same path.
Lauren also introduced Elle to other families so she could talk to them about their child's hearing journey.
Today, both girls embrace their devices as part of who they are.
Charli has been taught to say: "I wear this because it helps me hear better."
Charli is now in kindergarten, uses one cochlear implant and one hearing aid. She has quickly grown into an articulate young advocate for herself.
"If we're at a busy family dinner, she'll politely tell everyone to stop talking because it's too loud. She'll say, 'I can't hear you well. You need to talk separately.' She's so confident."
Her school has worked closely with Hearing Australia to prepare for her needs, even designing classroom environments to minimise noise.
"They've been incredible," Elle said.
"They got all her audiology reports with my consent. They asked her preschool teachers how she coped in noisy environments. They're really invested."
"If we're at a busy family dinner, she'll politely tell everyone to stop talking because it's too loud."
Charli also uses a Roger remote microphone system at school as needed.
For Elle and her partner John, navigating two very different hearing loss journeys hasn't always been straightforward. But they are quick to focus on gratitude.
"You could feel negative about it," Elle said. "But our girls are the happiest little things. If this is our biggest challenge, we're lucky.
"And we're lucky to live in a country with so many opportunities and hearing help services. If we can help other families through this, we want to."
Today, when she meets new parents, she offers them the same assurances she received.
"I'd tell them: everything is going to be OK. It's stressful, it's emotional, but the support is incredible."
And she has high hopes for both her daughter's futures.? "I just want them to be happy. To enjoy life. To communicate. To smash their goals.
"And maybe to keep teaching people because there's still a stigma around hearing loss."
This week is Hearing Loss Awareness Week (March 2-8). Find out more by visiting the Hearing Australia website.
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