Bringing clarity to their lives

Brothers Sultan and Talal Al Husaini are this week enjoying the sounds of laughter, clear classroom instructions and their favourite TV shows at home with a clarity they have never experienced before Ö thanks to the kingdom’s big-hearted Irish community.

As members of the Bahrain Irish Society celebrated their annual St Patrick’s Day Ball at the Gulf Hotel last weekend the schoolboys from Busaiteen were getting used to wearing new high-tech hearing aids which will help transform their lives.
Since being diagnosed as deaf, the boys have been struggling to hear with basic, single ear aids.
 
Not anymore, with a beaming smile on his face Sultan, 13, said: "It’s amazing, I can hear so much better now," as he played with his brother Talal, 11.

The sleek hearing aids, costing BD1,800, were donated by the Bahrain Irish Society and were fitted to the boys at the Delmon Audiological Centre on Exhibition Avenue in Hoora. The outlet backed the initiative with a BD400 discount.
The aids automatically adjust the volume of sound according to noise levels in a room.

Talal is a Grade 6 student of the Busaiteen Primary Boys School and Sultan is a Grade 7 student of Tariq Bin Ziyad Intermediate Boys School. According to his family, Sultan ‘lost a year’ because he could not cope up with his studies as a result of his condition.

Until recently the boys were also having private speech therapy costing BD10 per hour but the family say the expense and irregular timings of the sessions has made it difficult to continue with them.

Sultan suffers from a sensory neural problem in both ears. It cannot be cured but hearing devices can help because his middle ear is fully developed.
 
His younger brother has more health challenges and will need time to adjust to an environment of noise and using the aid but already this week he has shown significant improvement in hearing his friends and teachers.

Their father Mohamed Al Husaini, who works as a translator with the Government of Bahrain, said: "I am very happy and sincerely grateful for the help we have received. The children are also excited about using the new devices.

"We only came to know that the boys had a hearing problem at the same time, when Sultan was about seven or eight years of age. We used to think that they were very naughty children refusing to respond to questions. But after further examinations it became clear to doctors that they had suffered hearing problems since birth.

"It has affected their speech development and ultimately their academic studies. As they do not speak clearly they are often bullied and mocked by other children. There are many, many challenges.

"They do have their problems but they are also very creative. Sultan loves to work quietly on electronic appliances and Talal loves painting.

"I am sure that with the right encouragement and support they can fulfil their true potential."

Mr Al Husaini said the family received BD100 a month for each child in government support but he would love to see more specialist programmes and facilities available for children in Bahrain who suffer similar hearing problems.

"It is not just about the money," he explained. "We need places where these children can come together and learn from each other."

Officials of the Bahrain Irish Society, which was founded in 1975, said they heard about the brothers’ plight though another local charity which was unable to help them.

Charity officer Aisling Harrington said: "We raise money through our sponsors and different events we hold throughout the year. We like to have a good time but we also want to do things in the community that will make a difference."

The society makes an annual contribution of BD8,000 to local good causes. In recent years other big-hearted gestures have included installing a new bathroom for a family with disabled members and creating a playground at an orphanage.