The following story is one person's experience with a cochlear implant. Your experience may be very different. Success with a cochlear implant is influenced by many factors including how long a person has had hearing loss, the age a person receives an implant, medical and anatomical factors and more. Please consult your cochlear implant professional and/or the Bionic Ear Association with questions.
In 1997, I gradually noticed a change in my hearing capabilities. In November 1998, my hearing went completely out in the left ear in a matter of seconds. I thought the hearing aid had malfunctioned. In March 2001 when I woke up in the morning, the hearing in my right ear was completely gone. We made an appointment with an audiologist, and the results showed profound deafness.
People who didn't know wondered why I seemed different and uncommunicative. I didn't feel like telling people that I couldn't hear, so I shut myself off from the world and my family. I sold my business since I couldn't use the telephone. I felt cut off from the world. I couldn't even take care of my grandchildren without a hearing person there to help. My driving was limited, and shopping became a nightmare. Included in my husband's extended duties was being my personal secretary by taking phone messages and ordering for me in restaurants.
The audiologists asked me to think about the cochlear implant. My family encouraged me to get the implant-but it was very scary. Then, we contacted the clinic and scheduled surgery.
The four-hour surgery was completed on August 31, 2001, and I went home the next day. (A person does not hear following the surgery.) After one month, I returned to receive the external components. That day, I heard my husband's voice for the first time in months. He said, "Hear me when I say I love you." And I did! From there, we did all the programming and mapping; then they said I was ready (ha!) to test out the real world again.
As I left the programming room, I could hear my footsteps on the floor. I couldn't believe it! My first experience outside the clinic was a construction site. It was too much noise for a first experience, but still a joyful experience to hear-it was better than no sound at all. The audiologists had advised me to experience different situations such as restaurants, malls, and musical situations, so that I could go back the following day for fine tuning. I continued to go for reprogramming every three months. During this time, I realized that this will be an adjustment, and was I willing to give it my best shot.
Upon leaving the clinic, the audiologist told me that I probably would not be able to use the telephone effectively, maybe not ever. That wasn't going to happen! I had made up my mind that I wanted to be able to use the phone effectively. My husband Phil and I set out to use the cell phone and call our family to let them know how well things had gone. The first call was to our youngest son who lived out of state. I had not heard his voice for over a year. When my son answered I heard his voice! I told my husband, "I hear him." Then I said to my son, "I hear you." My son remembered encouraging me to get the implant and said "I told you so."
I was fearful of returning home, because I was on my own to face the challenges of everyday life-such as answering the phone or going to the grocery store. I didn't want to fail. Our first night home, we received a visit from my family. My granddaughters had been confused as to why Grandma couldn't hear. They thought screaming louder was the answer. When they walked in the door, they were so excited. They came running to me screaming, "Grandma, Grandma, we don't have to talk loudly to you anymore!" Out of the mouths of babes came music to my ears.
As a Human Services Specialist Consultant, I had done presentations on Alzheimer's disease to various groups, organizations, and healthcare facilities. Because of my hearing loss, I had not done this in a long time. A week after I was home, my husband took a call from a professor at a college where I had done presentations for several years before the hearing loss. He did not know what had happened to me and wanted me to speak at the class in one week. I said, "No way, I can't do that!" After my husband explained to him what had been going on, the professor asked, "Well, can she still talk?" He had always pushed me to do well and to never give up.
He got his way. A week later, I was presenting to a group of 30 students. It was my first time explaining the implant process. I told the class that life is not a guided tour; there are many detours in the roadmap of life. Using your disability as an ability is the right path to take. I was given a standing ovation, which is an experience I will never forget. I credit the professor in getting me back to informing people of Alzheimer's disease and now cochlear implants. I have been giving presentations continually since then.
I recall my first experiences with sounds before my hearing loss and realize now that I had taken so much for granted. For example, birds singing in the trees as I walk down a garden sidewalk, the crackling sound of the curling stone going down the ice, my grandchildren saying "I love you Grandma," and clerks telling me to have a nice day. When I attended my first musical concert, it wasn't perfect. But I enjoyed it, and music continues to improve. I have decided to enhance my phone skills and become a Telecare volunteer, where I call someone everyday to check on him or her. Using the phone effectively was my biggest challenge. This daily call has been the highlight of my morning.
Each day is a challenge to experience new sounds. I can now communicate again, and I feel like I HAVE MY LIFE BACK. I want to educate the public about hearing loss, cochlear implants, and autoimmune disorders. I quote Christopher Reeves when he dealt with his disability: "I will not let this disability dictate my life."
And to my husband Phil, Hear me when I say I love you
Sally Carlson