#CalEars Nia's Journey to Hearing & Speech

My youngest daughter, Cali Nicola “Nia” Tan was born with bilateral hearing loss. She is 14 months old with profound hearing loss on her right ear and moderate severe hearing loss on her left ear.


With her condition, my family and I have been very grateful and humbled that our good Lord has guided us in helping provide the best care we can for her. And Nia, just like any other baby, is curious. I teach her and her twin brother different sounds and words, but because of her hearing disability, it takes her longer to understand things. She is currently experiencing delay in her speaking and listening skills. 


I can see it on her face sometimes. She wants to understand us, but she cannot hear me well. I don’t know if she knows what my voice actually sounds like because I know that she does not hear me clearly. But I know my baby is a fighter, so my family and I will always go to great lengths to provide what she needs. Because of the extent of her hearing loss, Cochlear Implant is what is recommended for her. The Cochlear Implant surgery is time bound and doing it as soon as possible is crucial for a higher success rate of her speaking normally.  Her doctors recommend proceeding with the surgery early this year. Her audiologist stressed the importance of early intervention in order for her to be able to develop speech.


I have three kids; my eldest is 8 years old and then the twins. Having the twins back in 2019 was a happy unexpected surprise. And because of this, it has already been financially more than what we were expecting as a family. Coupled with Nia’s medical challenges, some unforeseen business difficulties and this grueling pandemic, our financials have become very unstable.



Nia currently has hearing aids, but because of the range of her hearing loss, they are not enough. I know we need to move forward for her future and I don’t want my baby to suffer. Her doctors, audiologists, and therapist all agree that the Cochlear Implant is the best chance Nia has got to hear better and hopefully speak one day. The time-bound procedure, hospitalization, implant device, professional fees, mapping, therapy and hearing aid for the other ear will cost us about Php 2,000,000. See, therapy and mapping does not end after getting implanted. It’s a continuous thing.

Auditory Verbal Therapy= P1,800-2,000 per session and sessions vary from 2x-4x a month.

Mapping= P2,000 done every month

Additional tests= P1,200 up These tests will be needed to ensure that the implant is working properly, the same goes with her hearing aids.

Changing of ear moulds= P18,000/year because Nia’s ear is still growing, we have to change ear moulds every 2 months.



2020 was a tough year for all of us, but we will stay resilient for Nia. Our dream is for her to be able to talk to us, talk to her siblings. I want her to experience everything this world has to offer: going to school, to university, talking to friends, listening to music, and being whoever she wants to be.

In behalf of my family, I humbly ask for prayers. We know that God will hear our prayers and help us in times like this. If you would also like to extend assistance, we thank you so much in advance. Any amount, big or small, is greatly appreciated. We never expected any of this to happen, so we have faith, work hard and we hold on to God and pray that Nia gets the chance she deserves.



You may reach me thru my email charlenelutan@gmail.com at any convenient time.


Below are direct accounts for donations for Nia's surgery:

  • BDO Savings 007260023306 - Oliver Tan
  • BPI Savings 1640002537 - Oliver Tan
  • Metrobank 5043504503039 – Oliver Tan
  • GCash 0922-8242758 Lim Charlene Frances Ann T.
We also have Fund Raising Platforms for International donations:




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