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.

Amber Tuggle realizes that her toddler now has a rich, full life ahead of him, thanks to his cochlear implants. Will is the only child of Atlanta attorneys Jonathan and Amber Tuggle, born with profound hearing loss due to an hereditary condition. He was 12 months old when he received an Advanced Bionics cochlear implant in one ear and 20 months old when he got another for the second. Amber tells of her amazement at how cochlear implants have given the gift of hearing back to Will. “Even though we had Will implanted early in life, the hearing loss had delayed his communication development. He’s two years old now, and everyday he closes the gap with his peers who have natural hearing ability. In some areas of communication development and learning, Will has actually passed his hearing peers, I’d have to say. “Jonathan and I often get together with a group of about a dozen friends, and they’ve commented to us how they can’t get over the almost immediate difference in Will now that he has hearing. He used to sit by himself and play quietly in a corner. Now our friends are seeing a Will who is outgoing and wanting to interact with people. “Most importantly, Will is interacting with Jonathan and me more than ever before. For example, we come home from work and Will is in another part of the house with the nanny, but as soon as he hears the front door opening and closing and the sound of our voices, he comes running up to us with hugs and kisses. “I recently had to go out of town on business. While preparing for the trip home, it dawned on me that this was the first time since Will was born that I had not been consumed with worry about him, about what his life would be. Because he can hear, I knew deep inside that he was going to be alright. “I found myself fighting back the tears. This time, though, these were tears of happiness.”

(Interview by Rich Smith)