Taylor Swift was first song little Gracie heard after seven years of silence

Gracie Vandenberg, an eight-year-old South Australian who spent the first seven years of her life unable to hear due to a mistake in her cochlear implants*, joyfully listened to Taylor Swift’s hit Look What You Made Me Do as her first-ever song.

Now, her dream is to hear Swift live at The Eras Tour*.

Gracie, diagnosed* with progressive bilateral sensorineural hearing loss* at birth, underwent cochlear implant surgery at the age of 20 months.

Unfortunately, it was discovered in 2023 that her implants had been incorrectly programmed*, robbing* her of essential sound* for learning to listen and speak.

After seven years of silence, early intervention specialists* at the Little Allied Health* centre made significant adjustments* to Gracie’s cochlear implants. Their work meant Gracie was finally able to hear.

After her first appointment, Gracie’s mum Jennifer Faggotter turned up the radio, and Gracie could hear the music, dancing with joy to Taylor Swift’s Look What You Made Me Do.

“I watched with tears in my eyes as she happily danced with a giant smile on her face,” Ms Faggotter said.

Now, Gracie dreams of attending Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour in Sydney or Melbourne.

Ms Faggotter said her daughter signs* that Swift is her friend whenever she hears her.

“She truly feels that Taylor is her friend that she will see one day,” the Victor Harbor mum said.

“Since Gracie’s implants have been reprogrammed, it has been a very emotional rollercoaster.

“She is still very far behind compared to her peers but making progress each day. We love that she is making progress but still in disbelief that she should have been hearing at 20 months old.

“We were told the cochlear implants were the best decision to help her thrive in a world made for hearing people, only to have the opposite happen. We are still very hurt as parents, we struggle with the emotion at times.”

Little Allied Health chief executive Nicole Eglinton said they were putting the call out to anyone who could help make Gracie’s dream of seeing Swift live come true.

She said Gracie had embraced each adjustment to her implants with a bright smile.

“She clearly wanted to hear and would smile from ear to ear after each session,” Ms Eglinton said.

“The team at Little Allied Health would receive messages from Gracie’s family on her progress following adjustments.

“Our favourite message was after one of Gracie’s first appointments, where she heard music in the car for the first time.”

Gracie was among 30 children affected by the implant programming error, potentially causing developmental delays*. The families received a one-time $50,000 payment from the South Australian state government, which does not impact their compensation rights*.

GLOSSARY

• cochlear implants: devices that help people hear by stimulating the auditory nerve
• The Eras Tour: Taylor Swift’s sixth concert tour, consisting of 151 shows across five continents and described by the singer as a journey through all her “musical eras”
• diagnosed: determined or identified as having a particular medical condition
• progressive bilateral sensorineural hearing loss: a gradual hearing loss in both ears due to nerve-related issues
• incorrectly programmed: the cochlear implants were set up wrongly
• robbing: taking away or depriving
• essential sound: crucial auditory information for learning to listen and speak
• early intervention specialists: professionals who provide early support and treatment
• Little Allied Health centre: a health facility providing specialised care
• significant adjustments: important changes or modifications
• signs: people communicating by making shapes with hands and arms
• developmental delays: delays in reaching developmental milestones
• compensation rights: the right to receive compensation for damages or losses

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QUICK QUIZ

1. Why did Gracie Vandenberg undergo cochlear implant surgery at the age of 20 months?
2. What unfortunate discovery was made about the cochlear implants in 2023?
3. What was Gracie’s first-ever song after her cochlear implants were adjusted?
4. Why did the Little Allied Health chief executive, Nicole Eglinton, put out a call for help regarding Gracie’s dream?
5. According to Jennifer Faggotter, what does her daughter do whenever she hears Taylor Swift?

LISTEN TO THIS STORY

CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. A world without hearing
Now that Gracie is eight years old, and hasn’t been able to hear her whole life, how would that affect her development socially, emotionally and academically?

Try and put yourself in Gracie’s shoes, starting kindergarten, then school, without being able to hear and learn the way most children do. What would be her challenges so far:

Socially:

Emotionally:

Academically:

Time: allow 20 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Science, Personal and Social, Critical and Creative Thinking

2. Extension
How do you think Gracie would have felt being able to hear Taylor Swift’s song for the first time after having her cochlear implants fixed properly?

If you were a member of Gracie’s family, what would you like her to be able to hear the most?

Time: allow 15 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Personal and Social, Critical and Creative Thinking

VCOP ACTIVITY
Base word, opposite and up-level
Create a four column table. Write “base word” at the top of the first column, “up-level it” at the top of the second column, “antonym” at the top of the third column and “up-level it” at the top of the last column.

Pick three words from the glossary to use in your table. They might already be high level words, so use them in the first “up-level” column.

Think of a base level synonym (a simpler word) you could use instead of the glossary word. Add this to the “base word” column.

Come up with an antonym (opposite) for the word and add that to the third column. Up-level that word and put that in the final “up-level it” column.

Why do you think the glossary word was chosen as the best word to use in that article?