Taking My Ears on the Road About a month after my second implant was activated and I was hearing from both ears, I decided to take a short venture away from home. It was not to test my hearing but...
My Cochlear Implant Journey, Part 16: Bilateral Heaven
Deciding to get cochlear implants is one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. Having two implants has taken the experience to the next level — being able to hear in both ears is bilateral heaven. I have a greater...
My Cochlear Implant Journey, Part 15: Activating My Second Cochlear Implant
Now that I have two cochlear implants, I’m done with hearing aids permanently. About a week after my surgery, I tried wearing my hearing aid but there was no sound. I realized I was completely deaf now. The attempt to...
My Cochlear Implant Journey, Part 14: Going Under the Knife, Take Two
I said goodbye to the last of my natural hearing on June 24, 2019, when I underwent surgery for my second cochlear implant, this time for my right ear. This second surgery was almost exactly a year after my first...
My Cochlear Implant Journey, Part 13: Deciding to Get a Second Cochlear Implant
There are several reasons I decided to take this journey again. I realize with all the positive outcomes of having just the left implant, it may seem unnecessary, so I’ll try to explain. For one thing, my right ear uses...
My Cochlear Implant Journey, Part 12: One-Year Anniversary
I hit the one-year mark on the left side feeling very positive and grateful for what I have accomplished. I’m continuing to perform well and have started to take for granted my hearing abilities to the point that I...
My Cochlear Implant Journey, Part 11: Adjusting
No Sugarcoating it — Adjusting Is Hard After reading my previous chapter, you might wonder if I ever started to hear speech or anything other than buzzy weird sounds. The answer is yes! And quickly — I’m happy to report...
My Cochlear Implant Journey, Part 10: To Hell and Back
Where will I go with this map? My first trip was to hell and back. Until I became a cochlear implant user, the term “mapping” was a pretty mysterious word. I understood that it basically meant that the implant was...
My Cochlear Implant Journey, Part 9: Activation
A Big Change Twenty-two days after surgery, my cochlear implant was activated. I will be honest: I had some very mixed feelings on activation day. It was all so new to me that I needed time to process from a...
My Cochlear Implant Journey, Part 8: The Bubble
Not My Imagination Nearly three weeks post-op I had a medical scare that was quickly resolved. The process of healing was going well, and I thought I was pretty prepared for what to expect along the way. Still, I’ve come...