A little boy from Erith born virtually deaf has been told he needs to find £40,000 for an implant to enable him to hear.

Four-year-old Jacob Ryan was born profoundly deaf in his right ear, and severely deaf in his left ear. He has been in and out of hospital since he was born and in July he and his family were told they had been denied financial aid for a cochlear implant to allow Jacob to hear in his right ear.

The family quickly turned to fundraising to pay for the £40,000 operation privately, having raised more than £17,000.

Jacob’s aunt, Nicola Chambers, of Low Close in Stone, said the support for Jacob has been amazing.

She said: “There has been so much really good support since we started. Businesses and people have been really generous.

“We recently held an auction night and loads of companies donated prizes and helped support Jacob, we raised £5,000 in just one night.”

Jacob and his family have all learned sign language, but Nicola said the quicker they can raise the money the sooner Jacob can work on his speaking and listening skills.

She said: “He’s such a bubbly and loving little boy. He’s confident as well, he’ll walk right up to you and talk to you – or he’ll at least try to talk to you.

“He has just three per cent hearing in one of his ears and that’s why he couldn’t get the implant on the NHS. He has been having tests since he was born. We want him to be able to communicate without as many issues, because now he isn’t always understood.”

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Jacob recently started reception and lives with his mother Sarah Ryan in Peareswood Road in Erith. Neither his mum or dad, or any of his family, are also deaf.

Jacob needs a special implant that replaces the function of a damaged inner ear to send signals to the brain.

Ms Chambers said: “To find out he wasn’t going to get the implant was a big blow. He is at an important stage for his development, we knew we had to get this implant for him no matter what.

“It is a lot of money but we started fundraising straight away. We have a psychic night, and an evening at Crayford Dogs all coming up.”

So far the family have raised £17,414 towards their goal. You can donate here and view all the upcoming events here.