An Ontario teenager is believed to be the first person in the country to be fitted with a unique hearing device that can help people who are otherwise unable to wear a conventional hearing aid.

Andrea Crowley, of Peterborough, Ont., has not been able to hear fully since she was just seven years old.

And at just 14 years of age, Crowley has already been through a half-dozen surgeries to fix recurring, benign growths in her ear.

Eventually, she had to have her eardrum removed and can now only hear out of her right ear.

She has since been left without an internal structure which could support a hearing aid.

But Crowley will soon be fitted with a Sophono bone conduction hearing device, which uses a pair of implanted magnets to transmit vibrations to the inner ear.

The device is battery powered and normally costs about $4,000.

But Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children will cover the costs of the operation and Sophono, the company that makes the device, is donating it to Crowley.

Click on the video above to see a full report from the CBC's Nil Koksal.