Lise-marie Fourie

04/03/2026

3 March 2026 |WORLD HEARING DAY

🦻Most people know what a hearing aid looks like.
Very few know what a cochlear implant processor looks like.
Not one of my immediate friends — or people I met along the way — knew what this small device was or what it does.
I started losing my hearing at 15.
It took me 10 years to accept that I needed hearing aids.
Getting used to amplified sound was overwhelming — especially coming from a musical background. Sound wasn’t just louder. It was different. Mechanical. Exhausting.
Then came even more devastating news a few years later:

🦻“Hearing aids are no longer suitable for your hearing loss.”
At the time, my hearing was moderate to severe.
Today, I am completely deaf.

🦻It took me another 10 years to come to terms with getting a cochlear implant.
How I wish I had known then what I can hear today.
Over time, my personality changed.
I went from being extroverted and social to withdrawing. Avoiding gatherings. Avoiding conversations. Avoiding embarrassment.

🦻My career suffered. I was called “slow” and “dumb” because I needed more time to process information while lip reading and piecing together limited sound.

🦻Hearing loss is an invisible disability.
You don’t want to be treated differently.
You hesitate to share your vulnerability.
And sometimes, people make jokes — because they simply don’t understand.

My cochlear implant changed my life.

• My speech improved.
• My confidence returned.
• I can enjoy music again.
• I lead a full, active life.

Sometimes, I even forget that I am deaf.

(And yes — I can sleep through a storm. No, I don’t sleep with the processor on. It charges overnight.)

Communication is one of our most powerful human tools.
When you lose access to it, the emotional impact is enormous — frustration, misunderstanding, isolation, anger. Everyone’s experience is different.

For children with hearing loss, the challenge is even greater. During critical developmental years, not being able to express yourself verbally can shape confidence and identity in profound ways.

Today, I call my cochlear implant — and being deaf — my superpower.

I read lips.
I read body language.
I sense energy in a room.

And I am incredibly grateful for the medical team behind me, and for companies like MED-EL who continue to innovate and support people like me.

You can’t “get your natural hearing back.” While stem cell research and regenerative medicine are advancing, protecting your hearing now is critical.

Protect your ears.
Seek help early.
Ask questions.
And most importantly — create space for understanding.

Awareness changes lives.

MED-EL South Africa MED-EL

29/12/2025

30 years ago, I saw Cats in London at the New London Theatre, an unbelievable experience as a child - I still had normal hearing at the time.
Today, as a deaf person, a more unbelievable magical experience happened when I watched Cats in Cape Town at the Artscape Theatre with my cochlear implant. This was my first musical theatre experience since and the sound sounded just as I remembered. How the impossible became possible to reconnect with something in me, that was lost for centuries. What a believable gift, blessing and divine grace by God!
Sometimes in life you meet extraordinary people who guide you to be brave to conquer, to open up your heart and to step out into this world - I call them my angels!
MED-EL South Africa MED-EL Pieter Toerien Productions Pty. Ltd.

11/09/2025

September is month!

I lost my hearing at age 15. Neither my family nor my friends could predict the journey of obstacles and miracles to come.
Hearing loss is one of the most difficult and brutal disabilities to live with, it's invisible.
🌟It has become my superpower, I am differently enabled.

Who can function in this world without being able to communicate?

So what has this journey taught me:
🌟 Your circumstances do not define you but your determination and resilience will.
🌟You can’t control people and their responses. Your circle will get smaller, and that is okay. Find your own tribe.
🌟Work environments and especially corporate, won’t adjust or change for you, you need to adapt to survive and strive. Hearing fatigue is real, your brain works three times as hard to process information. Speak up for your needs and support.
🌟Stay on top of research and hearing technology, my world changed when I first received my cochlear implant, and it took me years to come to terms with it. Be brave!
🌟Your hearing-partners, family, friends, and professionals are your warriors, be grateful for them.
MED-EL South Africa MED-EL

Photo: Here I am for a routine mapping session with my audiologist. Mapping sessions for those who want to educate themselves, are needed to programme the cochlear implant and processor to optimise your hearing.
The second photo is my audiogram showing how my hearing improved over time.

Yes, it takes time for the brain to re-learn the new sounds and to adjust.
The sounds are amazing and according to my hearing memory 99% closest to natural hearing.
There will always be limitations with a hearing device, for example in noisy environments, like restaurants, speech detection is difficult but once again, we have the tools to adjust.

11/08/2024

Mia le Roux
I am immensely proud of you. Mia made history tonight becoming the first deaf women with a cochlear implant winning the Official Miss SA crown.
Now, unless you are deaf and has worked with this community you will never be able to fully understand what it took and takes for her to just get to this stage, never mind winning! Unbelievable.
Mia, you inspire!! I can't wait to see what you are going to accomplish on this powerful platform.

19/03/2024

Vandag Maak Ek Jou My Vrou is David Fourie se nuutste treffer vanaf sy Afrikaanse Album "n Stukkie Hemel"Koop die album op Itunes: https://itunes.apple.com/...

06/09/2023

As a child, the only anniversary I knew to celebrate was my parent’s wedding anniversary. I could not have imagined a . Today marks my 5th cochlear implant anniversary.

What was to be a very difficult year leading to the surgery, filled with uncertainty, anxiety and not wanting to face my reality, changed into the most magical and deeply connected experience of my life.
I have had 5 years of the most beautiful sounds and appreciation thanks to pioneer, Ingeborg Hochmair and MED-EL who dedicated her life to helping people with hearing loss.

Every day brings more challenges and opportunities to help others through my journey. It is the most wonderful gift I could have ever asked for making me stronger and more grateful for this life.

MED-EL South Africa

01/02/2023

Hy ry weer op die klankgolwe David Fourie is nie ʼn groentjie in die Suid-Afrikaanse musiekbedryf nie. Na ʼn breek van vyf jaar in Nieu-Seeland, is hy terug o

21/01/2023

Super proud of my brother, launching his new song and video, watch it here:
Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻

David Fourie On the radio Links. Available on all popular platforms.

14/09/2022

Miracles for this little boy from Angola. Just look at his progress in this video. My heart is exploding and it is such a honour and privilege to work with patients and experience moments like these. My hearing journey is connecting me with people all over the world. Well done to Jose and his amazing family, you are giving many parents hope!

30/08/2022

Thank you to the Reconnect Network for this wonderful opportunity to feature on your blog.
If you are keen to see my contribution, click on the link below.
https://reconnectnetwork.co.za/lets-get-loud/

Reconnect Audiology Network
Deon Ceronio David Fourie Christiaan D Fourie Clare Fourie

“I raise up my voice—not so that I can shout, but so that those without a voice can be heard. … We cannot all succeed when half of us are held back." Malala Yousafzai